Help! My Male Employees Are Having Babies!
Chapter 123: When Your Food Critic is Also Your Landlord

Chapter 123: When Your Food Critic is Also Your Landlord

The morning started out just about like every other morning on the Z1, young Donnie had been up before dawn trying to create a new dish. He was doing good too, he was excelling in his cooking courses. He had plenty of victims, and Zach was his favorite.

A small knock came at the door. "Come on in Donnie, who else would be here but you at this time of the morning?" Zach replied.

Donnie came partially waddling in, he still hadn’t mastered the pregnancy walk. Yet his basket was already prepared for Mr. Z and it was filled with some of his best dishes this morning.

Zach looked at the young man trying to tote the basket in front of his big belly. He was doing okay but was still struggling a little—he needed to lighten the load quite a bit and stop bringing so much food.

Zach walked around the desk and helped Donnie put the basket upon it. As the two took the meal out of the basket, Zach smiled. "You know young man, you’re going to get too big to do this. I know you mean well but you’re getting kinda big. Have you been to your visit yet to Lex to make sure everything’s okay?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Zach, I sure have and Lex says everything’s going just fine. I’m not but four months pregnant even though I look like I’m almost eight. I’m shorter so that might be part of it, but mostly because Lex says this is one huge young man I’m carrying." Donnie paused, his hand resting on his belly. "He said he doesn’t foresee any problems or any difficulties in delivering him though. Lex says I have hips like a space dock—I could deliver a deep space transport through these hips. Claims I was made to be a bottom breeder."

"Yeah, and from the size of it you just might be delivering a cargo ship." They both laughed.

Zach sat down and started his breakfast—it was a specialty: fresh eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce over fresh baked English styled muffins, along with fresh juices and hot coffee to go with it.

Donnie had a seat and watched Zach as he consumed the meal without much of a word. "Mr. Zach, do you think my cooking will pass? Do you think that I could have a restaurant at the complex and serve my style of food? Do you think that people would eat it?"

"Donnie, I can tell you one thing—if they didn’t eat it they would be a bunch of damned fools. I have never in my life tasted anything like this. You continue to outdo yourself." Zach set down his fork and looked directly at the young man. "Hell, the young man, you’ve got your restaurant and it will be an exclusive restaurant so that reservations have to be made in advance for people to dine in luxury and prestige. But it can’t be too high class, so that the normal Genmen and humans cannot afford it and only upper class can afford—no sir, we want a restaurant that will give them a dining experience that’s not available anywhere else on the planet. We just have to figure out what hours you can be open for casual meals and what hours you need to be open for reserved dinner meals."

Donnie was so excited he forgot himself, jumped up and raced around the desk and hugged Zach around the neck and kissed his cheek. As soon as he realized what he did, he turned bright red and started to profusely apologize.

"Donnie, it’s just fine—you’re excited, you are hormonal because you’re pregnant and I’ll forgive you. It’s not every day that you get a chance in a lifetime and young man, you have earned this one." Zach patted his shoulder reassuringly. "So, I want you to keep up the good work, keep bringing in the great meals, try them out on everybody. Heck, try them on the stuffed shirt Ben—see what he thinks. He’s always got a burr up his butt about something; maybe it will help him."

"I already do, Sir." Donnie smiled. "I don’t think that Claude can cook that good because Ben’s always saying that he knows someone who could learn a lot from me as a teacher."

"Who knows, Donnie, you might even start your own cooking school here at the Z1. We can definitely build you your own classrooms with your own kitchens—everything you need to train other Genmen and humans alike to cook like this. You could even possibly hire a couple assistant chefs."

When Donnie departed Zach’s office, he was so proud of himself. Not only did Mr. Zach love his cooking, he had given him his own restaurant and told him that he could even help him start a cooking school for others. This was one thing Stephen had to hear tonight, but first he had other things to do at work.

Zach hit the speaker button on his phone and dialed Emma. The phone rang and she answered. "Good morning, Miss Emma, how are you doing?"

"I’m doing fine, Zach, and yourself? How are you doing?"

"Emma, I am enjoying the best breakfast I’ve had in ages—eggs Benedict, hollandaise sauce, fresh English styled muffins, juices and coffee that works."

"Well Zach, it sounds like young Donnie has been by to see you today already."

"Yes, he has and I have a dilemma for you and the design crew."

"And exactly what would that dilemma be for my design crew? What have you got working in that brain of yours this time?"

"Well, I’ve already given Donnie the clearance, now you just need to make it happen. He will have a restaurant there in the complex—in the daytime he will serve simple meals but at four o’clock he will be serving exclusive meals by reservation only. Plus, in a different location he will also be operating a cooking school for humans and Genmen alike to train additional chefs to help them out in the restaurant."

"Wow Zach, you don’t mess around—when you go, you go whole hog or none. But personally, I think it is a fantastic idea." Emma’s voice carried excitement through the phone. "Yes, we have a snack bar that’s going to have the pancakes and everything—Uncle Zach’s world-famous pancakes and the other eateries and ice cream and all this other stuff—but I agree we need to open an exclusive restaurant."

"And it should be called Donnie’s. It has to be nice and it’s going to take some money because this has got to be first-class, with affordable meals during the daytime and after four o’clock exclusive reservations only that also includes a tour of the Museum and mockup system of the ship slave ship. And of course we got Tim’s ultimate Genmen experience that they have to see." Emma paused, catching herself. "But Zach, I’m getting ahead of myself—I cannot let all that out of the bag yet. You have to be surprised, and don’t worry, Tim won’t tell you because he’s sworn to secrecy or I’ll rip off part of his anatomy."

"Sounds fine to me, Emma, and I believe you about the anatomy part because I’ve talked to Leo and he told me just how much you depend on another young man that lives with you. And if he’s ever mistreated, it’s Leo that will be scooting out the front door on his butt cheeks getting grass burns."

Emma laughed. "And Leo knows it’s the truth too. If it wasn’t for Max juggling everything, I couldn’t get it done. He’s doing all right with the cooking, but he might be learning a few things new from Donnie himself before long. But as far as Allison, she is taken so good care of and she loves her daddy Max. Max takes care of Leo’s needs and Leo takes care of Erin’s needs, so I’m truly the blessed one in the bunch. Thank you, Zach Spinelli, for allowing me to work for you and helping the Z1 see its true potential."

Zach and her said goodbye and they hung up the phone.

Later, Zach ran into Charlie and asked him how it was going with Deeke. "It’s going wonderful, Sir, we’re doing just fine together. Raymond and Elton get along well too—we’re still swapping houses until ours are finished but it’s going well."

"So, let me ask you, Charlie—you are starting to show. When are you going to tell the man that he’s going to be a father?"

Charlie panicked and put his hand on his stomach. "Am I showing already, Mr. Zach? I thought I had a little more time to get used to it before I told Deeke."

"Charlie, how many times have you been knocked up around here, really? You’re scared to tell the man that is so in love with you—and that I might say that you’re in love with also—that you’re going to have his child?"

"Mr. Zach, I just thought we had a little more time. I wasn’t sure I was on my cycle, so I’ve been waiting."

"Charlie, how many years have I been running this place? I can tell you the very next morning after one of you has conceived a child." Zach’s voice carried a mix of exasperation and fondness. "You need to march your ass right over to that office and tell Deeke Reynolds that he is going to be a father in about seven months. You might be surprised by his reaction—I know that he wants to be a father and he’s so in love with you. How can you not think he wouldn’t be excited? So, get your ass over to that office in construction, have a talk with Deeke, and tell that man the truth or I will."