"Ah… Monique, you really did him in." Arnaut massaged his temples as he saw Ein lying unconscious on the hospital cot again.

"Hey mate, you still with us?" Arnaut gently pats Ein's face. "Damn, he's really out cold." He then takes out a small flashlight from his right pocket and checks on Ein's irises by flashing light into them.

"Can you please be careful? The man had just woke up and now you've knocked him out back to sleep." Arnaut scratches his head in frustration, his black hair was in disarray and his black irises seethe with irritation. "You are aware that this is not a playhouse and you can't just run around and lunge at people." He then scoffs at Monique.

Monique's eyes were filled with guilt as she gazed at Ein who was unresponsive and was sprawled on the bed.

"B-but I didn't mean to! It's just that the heel on my shoe broke as I was about to hug him! See! Look at it! Not my fault!" Monique held out her left shoe and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and small beads of tears swelled from her eyes.

"If this escalates into a concussion, you'll be the one suffering anyway." An exhausted sigh escapes Arnaut's mouth and his voice had a sardonic tone to it.

"Looks like he hit his head on the side rail when you landed on top of him." Arnaut then removes Ein's coat and places a blood pressure and heart rate monitor on his arm. He then checks on Ein's head, lightly touching his scalp and was able to feel a swollen bump a few centimetres down his crown. It was quite large and tender, thankfully Arnaut found no blood or wounds on it, he then checked his ears, eyes and mouth for any signs of bleeding.

"W-will he be alright? I-I'm really sorry!" Monique's face darkens, her beaming aura vanished and was replaced by gloom.

"The sound of the impact earlier was pretty loud though." Arnaut inspected the side rail, a small indent was visible. "We'll need to observe him until he regains consciousness." He then removes Ein's shoes and tie and heaves his legs onto the bed.

"Hey, help me fix Ein's posture!" Arnaut grunts at Monique. "Since you're the culprit, be responsible and help me."

Monique groans, she then helps Arnaut in supporting Ein's head and neck as he hoists him to a supine position. Once Ein was properly lying down, Arnaut adjusted the cot's angle to facilitate Ein's breathing, he then looked at the time on the wall clock and noted it down on his smartphone.

"I guess the countdown of the first 48 starts now." Arnaut sighs. He then checks the monitor attached to Ein's arm. "At least his vitals are normal. Haha…" A nervous chuckle escapes Arnaut's mouth.

Monique's blue irises dilated in astonishment. "Wait, what do you mean by the first 48?"

"Ah… it's to observe for concussion symptoms." Arnaut looks at Ein with a worried expression. "Worst case would be internal haemorrhage and he'll probably need a few days or a couple of weeks in the hosp-"

Monique's face loses its colour, she then cuts Arnaut off. "I'll bring him to St. Thomas' Hospital then!" She takes out her smartphone and rings a direct line to St. Thomas' A&E. "I'll have him admitted and-"

Arnaut snatches Monique's phone and then hangs up the ongoing call. "No need for that, we can treat him here in the health centre, Monique." He then returns the phone to her. "I apologise if I made you panic for a bit there."

"You… really, why are you such a wanker!" Monique's face flushed red in embarrassment.

"Payback for what you did earlier. At least this ought to teach you to stop running around the Health Centre. I swear, your recklessness could-"

Monique cuts off Arnaut and glares at him. "You know if you weren't Ein's doctor and Seori's boyfriend, I would have given you a knuckle sandwich." Monique crosses her arms and her sharp eyes pierce through Arnaut, intimidating him.

"H-hey, calm down! We just need Ein to stay here for the rest for a few hours, and also ice his bump." Arnaut groans. "I'm a neuropsychologist by trade and a GP on the side so… if in any case, our buddy here gets an unusual symptom after this, I'll send him off immediately for an MRI!" Sweat dribbled from Arnaut's face as he tried to quell Monique's fuming gaze.

"Well, you better watch him good!" Monique clicks her tongue and sneers at Arnaut. "Or else I'm gonna have to sue you for malpractice and send you back to Austra-"

A loud knock on the door interrupts Arnaut and Monique's banter, they turn their heads toward the door as it opens. It was Seori, her neat ponytail had loose fringes and sweat dribbled from her cheeks, it looked like she was out of breath.

"Is Ein awake?" Seori takes out her handkerchief and wipes her sweat with it. "I just got back from the adhoc and I really need to sort some of the urgent paperwork with him." She then sees Ein, he was still lying down unconscious.

"Seori, your boss here knocked Ein out col-"

Monique quickly shuts Arnaut up by stepping on his foot with her right heel.

"Ouch! You are aware that stiletto heels can kill a person, Monique." Arnaut bends down and massages his painful foot. "If this draws blood, then I'm the one who's going to sue you!"

"I said it's not my fault! It's just that I have rotten luck today! Goddamn you, Arnaut!"

Seori groans and takes a deep breath, she then yells at both. "You two, stop it! I've had enough of seeing grown-ass men and women quarrel like kids!" Her stern voice intimidated both Arnaut and Monique and her diction reverted back to a crass, New York accent.

Seori looks at Monique. "Since our assistant manager is currently out of commission, here are the papers that needed to be signed and approved today." She then gives Monique a thick file case. "These are from the adhoc earlier." She then looks at Arnaut.

"I'll bring Ein's belongings here, phone or message me immediately should he wake up." Her lips curved upwards and formed a gentle smile. Her smile flattens as she turns to Monique. "GM Salva, let's get back to the office upstairs and work, shall we?"

***

The smell of freshly baked bread wafts on Henry's nose, the sweet and warm aroma of pastries baking and yeast leavening woke him up from his dazed state. There was a multitude of bakers, pastry chefs, kitchen apprentices and hotel staff that were running around the place. There were some from logistics who would drop off pallets or sacks of baking ingredients at the larder. Bakers and pastry chefs would knead, carve and decorate some of the freshly baked goods at the atelier. And some of the apprentices or kitchen crew would haul trays and sort the bread and pastries that were freshly baked from the oven.

"I guess this is your first time seein' this place here!" Emery gently pats Henry's back. "As the new kitchen manager, you must know at least where you need to go… should in case there's a breakdown on the internal logistics. Hahaha!"

"I… never thought that Hotel Citron's bakery was massive." Henry's eyes widen in astonishment. "I think the so-called bakery, or should I say… a factory?" He then looks at Emery with an inquisitive expression. "I think you guys would rival Larina Bay Hounds in Singapore at this scale."

"Well, we do supply bread to other businesses like bistros, cafes and some quaint small enterprises like BnBs and Homestays." Emery then came close to Henry's left ear. "Also, don't tell anyone, but the Palace also buys some of our bread, specifically our Shepherd's Pie and our Mince Pies during the holidays."

Henry's jaws dropped and his face lost its colour in shock. "Holy shit! You mean the Que-"

Emery quickly covered Henry's mouth. "Woah! You haven't formally started yet and you're already fessin' up confidential info!"

Henry breaks free from Emery's grip. "I was just shocked, Ems! I mean… I have experience preparing meals and dishes to politicians but I didn't expect that Hotel Citron's service would go above that."

"Well, good luck Henry, Make me proud! You'll manage the operations startin' tomorrow. Also, Monique told me what happened to the both of yous earlier…"

Emery notices Henry's ears and face flush red. His complexion looked like a sun-dried tomato.

"W-what did M-Monique tell you?!"

~~~~~

To be Continued.

~~~~~