Ivy's POV
“Ivy!”
I stopped and turned around to see Ruth running up to me. “Where are you going?” She asked, raising her brows as she looped an arm around me.
“To the pack kitchen,” I replied before turning to continue my walk. “I've been hearing a lot of complaints about the food not being served in time. I need to check if they're understaffed,”
“Can I come with you? I'm freaking bored out of my mind staying in my house,” Ruth grumbled.
“I thought you had games,” I chuckled.
“I had,” she sighed. “My dumb brother took them to play with his friends,” Ruth rolled her eyes with a pout.
“So sad,” I couldn't help but smile. Ruth was excited to spend the few free days at her hands before joining the patrolling duty by playing games and watching crime series but I think it didn't go as she planned. “Anyways, good thing you came to me. I could use some company,”
“I’m coming with you because I'm hungry as hell and Lesly might give me something to snack on,” Ruth grinned. “You said there's a delay in food being served. What's up? Aren't you the one who assigned kitchen staff?”
“That's what I'm thinking. I’m sure I assigned enough staff so there should be no reason for the delay.” I frowned.
“Maybe someone fell sick?”
“Then shouldn't it be reported? I've heard no such things,”
“That's right,” Ruth nodded. “Maybe Lesly has some explanation. She's the one managing the kitchen after all,”
“I hope so,”
____
“Luna, you're here,” the pleasant voice of Lesly is what invited us into the Pack kitchen.
“Urgh…it's really hot in here,” Ruth mumbled. I frowned and looked around, everyone was sweating like crazy. The big hall felt like a steam room.
“Do you need something?” Lesly approached me with a smile.
I smiled back at her, “How's work going?”
“The same old. Since the winter is gone, everything is a bit more hot.” The middle-aged woman replied, using the cloth on her shoulders to wipe away the sweat on her neck.
I gave her a nod before turning to Ruth. “Ruth, can you do me a favor and get me a notebook and pen?”
“Huh? What for?”
“I'll show you once you get it for me,”
“Fine,” The girl grumbled before walking out.
“Luna, is everything alright?” Lesly asked nervously. Maybe my silence made her think I was angry or something. I quickly gave her a smile to ease the tension.
“Everything is fine. The reason for the high temperature in this hall is poor ventilation. We need more air coming in and going out. I can't believe you all have been working in this scorching heat,” A frown made its way into my face as I looked around everywhere, Lesly following close behind. I should have visited them while they were working. All those times I came here were either before they've started or after they've finished.
“Here,” Ruth extended a small note and pen towards me as soon as she entered the hall. “I borrowed it from a kid. I need to give it back,”
I shook my head and smiled at her before taking it. Ruth and Lesly watched as I drew a small plan of the kitchen hall.
“What's this for?” She asked.
“For remodeling,” I answered. “It's suffocatingly hot in here. A good ventilation system can change it.” Lesly and Ruth followed as I walked into the middle of the hall. There are about four small windows in total and an exhaust fan that does nothing much. “Since the wind is often coming from this side, we need to expand this window to at least two meters wide. Yep, we'll do that here and here,” I pointed to the back of the hall.
“But Luna, isn't that going to be a problem once winter arrives? Most of our dry woods are going to get wet then,”
“Uhh, don't worry about it. The window will have a shutter. I'll talk about it with the carpenter. You don't need to worry,” I assured Lesly.
“When will the work begin?” An old lady spoke up, a little bit giddy and excited about the thought that they might be able to get away from the scorching heat.
“Soon,” I smiled.
“Can’t we mount wall fans in here?” Ruth asked, genuinely confused.
“Uhh, no dear. It will make the spices fly when we put them in the pot,” Lesly explained. “And it might cause someone’s clothes to catch fire,”
“Besides, putting fans without good ventilation will only give you hot air which is not going to help them with the heat.” I shrugged.
“Ooh, right,” Ruth nodded.
“Anyways, Lesly, I've heard some complaints that there's a delay in serving food. What seems to be the problem?”
Lesley let out a sigh, before looking at the back door. “We try to speed it up but the dishwashing department is dragging it out. Sometimes we don't get clean dishes to serve or even cook. I've talked to them many times and then for the next two days it'll be on time then it goes back to the way it was before,” she shook her head, causing me to frown.
“Then I think I should have a talk with them,” I frowned.
“They're at the back, Luna. Should I come with you?”
“Thank you, Lesly, but I'll be alright. You can go back to work now,”
“Sure, Luna.” Lesley gave me a smile before walking away. Ruth and I walked towards the backdoor that led to the work area where the dishes were washed. We saw two middle-aged ladies struggling to clean a big pot.
“Excuse me,” I said as we approached them. The ladies stood straight with a smile.
“Oh, Luna, what brings you here,” one of them asked with a bright smile.
“Just here to check up on you but are you two the only staff in here? Where are the rest of them?”
“Oh, the kids?” The ladies looked at each other. “They're outside taking a breather,”
“They're what?” Ruth raised a brow.
The old ladies looked at each other again. “They're young and they're not familiar with this job so they were struggling a lot. They went outside to take a breather….” She timidly explained.
I nodded, my brows pinched into a frown. It's Liya and Jessica. I know they're the reason for the delay. I had a gut feeling from the beginning but I didn't want to make assumptions. Now, I'm sure they're abusing the kindness of these poor ladies and lazing around.
“They're outside, right?” I asked, pointing to the door.
“Yes, Luna,” one of the ladies replied.
“Thank you, you can continue your work. Sorry for the interruption.” I smiled. “Everything else is fine, right? Do you need anything else to make the work easier? You have proper gloves and aprons, right?”
“Yes, Luna. Everything is fine,”
“Okay, then, you can continue your work,”
Ruth is the one who opened the door. “Uh-oh, bitch alert,” she scoffed at something outside. I peeked over her shoulders to see Liya and Jessica sitting down under a tree very relaxed in pretty gowns, scrolling through their phones while giggling and chewing gum.
“The audacity,” I gritted my teeth.
“Right,” Ruth agreed.
“What are you two doing?” I questioned as soon as I approached them. Their giggles stopped and both of the girls froze before they looked up at me.
“Oh, Ivy…” it's Liya who spoke up first.
“It's Luna to you both,” Ruth intervened.
“Didn't you hear my question? I asked what are you both doing here while you should be working inside,”
“Why are you raising your voice at us? We only came to take some rest. We've been working all day!” Jessica angrily shot back.
“Really?” Ruth scoffed. “Then why do you both look like you haven't even touched a scrubber?”
“What do you mean?” Liya frowned.
“You're both wearing pastel dresses, Liya. Who wears that while going to wash dishes? And they're spotless. It's obvious you both were lazing around,” I crossed my arms, glaring at the girl who clicked her tongue in annoyance.
“Do you know how hard it is to wash the dishes?! They're gigantic pots! You expect us to work without rest? We're not used to this at all, okay? So why can't we take some rest? Look at my nails!” She held up her hands, angrily showing off her nails. “Do you have any idea how much it cost me to get them done? And they're all chipped! And what's wrong with dressing up? Pretty dresses are to wear. Not everyone was born in the woods like you,” she scoffed. “Some of us know how to look presentable,”
“How dare you?!” Ruth sneered before I could even reply. I stopped her with a hand.
“Liya, both of you are only required to work two hours every day except for Saturday when you have to help with lunch and dinner. Sundays are free. And, you only have to do this until both of you enroll in a professional course or degree. It is simple work but you've been lazing around and creating delays. The pack has to eat and your childish behavior cannot be an excuse for why the hungry can't get their food on time,” I gritted out.
“Then why don't Ruth work too?!” It's Jessica who spoke up this time. “Is she getting special treatment because she's your friend?”
“Ruth is enrolling in patrolling duty from next week. If any of you are interested in patrolling our territory in the dead of the night, you are welcome to join her. If you are not, do your work properly.”
“We are trying. We just don't know how to clean them properly,” Liya said as she checked her nails with an uninterested look on her face. “They send back the clean dishes saying it's not properly cleaned. That's what's creating the delay. See? We're slowing everyone down. We should be assigned to the nursery as I said. That's where we fit the best,” she shrugged nonchalantly.
“And you're doing that on purpose. Weaponized incompetence won't work with us, dear,” Ruth smirked.
“If you don't know how to clean properly, then that means you need practice and training. Sundays are free for you both, right? Stella will be training you then,”
“What?! I can't do this on Sunday, too!” Jessica shouted, stomping her feet in frustration.
“Well, then, you better learn fast,” I gave them a tight smile. “Be ready, girls, Stella will train you from tomorrow morning,”
“You!” Liya shouted at me through gritted teeth as she took a step forward.
I gave her a sharp glare. “Be mindful of your tongue if you want it in your mouth, girl. I'm your Luna, don't forget that. Pregnant or not, I have enough strength to slap some sense into your thick head. And I'm pretty sure you know that my mate isn't as forgiving as I am. There won't be no next time to this type of disrespect,”
My threat made her pause and gulp. She gritted her teeth and her disdain was still present on her face even though she was smart enough to step back and look away.
I gave a nod to Ruth before walking back towards the pack house. What a long day. My back is killing me.
I'm about to hear an earful from my alpha at night about this but at least I can make him give me a massage. One of the perks of having a buff alpha mate is that you can use him as a full-body heating pad.
I hope he comes back early today.