The Alchemists

The next morning when Finland woke up, Caspar was already waiting for her with Aleksis, looking all neat and ready to go.

"Where are you two going, looking so handsome and beautiful like this?" Finland asked in astonishment.

"There is no food in the fridge, so I can't prepare breakfast for us. That's why I want to invite you to have breakfast at the hotel," Caspar answered.

Finland patted her forehead and realized that they had left her apartment for almost 3 months and there was really no food in her kitchen. She nodded and hurriedly took a shower and changed into her office clothes.

Half an hour later, a taxi dropped them off in front of the St. Laurent Hotel. Caspar walked in casually and asked the hotel staff to direct him to the restaurant for breakfast.

The atmosphere in the restaurant that morning was very lively. One restaurant staff immediately approached them and asked for their room number.

"Good morning, Sir and Madam. May I have your room number, please?"

Caspar smiled slightly. He had never experienced this before. The hotel staff did not recognize the owner of the hotel.

"We are from the Presidential Suite," Caspar answered curtly.

"Oh... let me check first..." The staff looked confused. He did not see any guests from the Presidential Suite on the list he held. He picked up his phone and called the reception. In a low voice he asked the reception about the Presidential Suite and, after hearing the answer, he hung up and looked at Caspar apologetically. "Sorry, sir. But I can't find your name on our guest list."

"Do you know who my name is?" Caspar asked.

"Uhm... I mean, I checked with the reception, and they said that there are no guests currently staying in the Presidential Suite. That means that there is no name on my list..."

"Who is the General Manager here?" asked Caspar, who now felt that this incident was no longer funny. He was hungry.

"Sorry, our GM hasn't arrived yet. He will come to the office at 9."

Finland, who did not want to cause a commotion, immediately took Caspar's hand and asked him to go, "Let's just buy food at another restaurant, there's a McD nearby... They have a breakfast menu there..."

"No, I'm hungry. Let's just eat here." Caspar turned to the restaurant staff, "I will wait until your GM arrives. Meanwhile, we will eat first."

Caspar entered the restaurant and chose the best table. He then placed Aleksis on his lap.

"Is there a highchair for a child in this restaurant?" he asked.

"Sorry, there's no such thing, Sir." replied the restaurant staff.

"Gosh... Isn't it part of the SOP to provide high chairs for guests who bring children?" In the past, Caspar did not really care about facilities for children in his hotels. But now, since he had to take Aleksis everywhere, he began to see things from a parent's perspective, and realized that there were many things that needed to be changed.

"Sorry, Sir. We once provided high chairs in the past, but there were hardly any guests using them, so we kept everything in the storage."

"Please bring one here."

The restaurant staff felt rather uncomfortable. These people were not even hotel guests and they dared to come in, eat, and order him around. He didn't need them to tell him how he should do his work.

"Sorry, sir... Since you are not a guest at this hotel, you may not come here for breakfast. Our breakfast is provided exclusively for our guests..."

Caspar laughed. He was impressed by the restaurant staff's persistence to drive him out, but in a way that remained friendly and polite.

"Hm... okay. Wait a minute." He pulled out his cellphone then called Stanis. "Stanis, please call the GM of St. Laurent Hotel in San Francisco, and tell him to come to the hotel immediately. I'm waiting for him at the restaurant."

It was 8 AM in San Francisco, which meant that it was 3 PM in Barcelona. Stanis shouldn't take care of such trivial things, Caspar thought, but he had no choice. He was hungry.

Finland smiled seeing what happened. This staff did not know that he was trying to evict the hotel owner from his own restaurant.

Fifteen minutes later, a middle-aged man, who was still wearing his pajamas, came hurriedly into the restaurant. As soon as he saw Caspar, he approached his table.

"Good morning, Master. Is there something I can help you with? Why did you call me so suddenly?" he asked breathlessly.

The staff, who saw his GM arrive, immediately approached their table. He heard what the GM said to Caspar and suddenly his face went pale.

"I want to have breakfast here, and we are in a hurry, but your staff here does not recognize me. He continuously refused to allow us to have breakfast and didn't want to bring a high chair for my baby daughter," Caspar replied with a smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the restaurant staff's face turn even paler.

The GM immediately turned and scolded his staff. He could not believe that he was forced to get up and rush to the hotel this early just for such a trivial matter.

"I'm sorry, Master. I didn't know..." said the staff regretfully.

"It's okay, I forgive you. I'm really hungry, so my patience this morning is running thin." Caspar waved his hand as to show that the matter was now behind them, "But please get me a high chair, okay..."

"Yes, sir. I'll get it right away." The staff hurriedly disappeared and returned 5 minutes later with a high chair. From his gasping breath, it was clear that he ran as fast as he could to fulfill the request of the Big Boss. Caspar immediately placed Aleksis there and then nodded in satisfaction.

"All right, everything is settled. I will forget about this incident and eat in peace. I am planning to use the Presidential Suite of this hotel for a month to work. Please have it prepared for me," he said afterward.

The GM and staff nodded in unison.

"Thank you for your understanding, Master. If there's anything else you need, please contact me directly..." The GM took out his business card and handed it to Caspar. "Enjoy your meal. Excuse me first."

"Hmm..." Caspar just nodded when GM excused himself to go home and get ready to work.

He and Finland then peacefully had their breakfast while discussing their plans for the day. The restaurant staff, who almost made the mistake of driving away the hotel owner, seemed very relieved because the big boss hadn't exaggerated the problem and was now leisurely enjoying his meal.