Fit For a Princess
"Don't forget the beef roasting in the oven, okay?" Zeke Baylor reminded one of his kitchen crew. Tomorrow's the opening of his own restaurant and everybody's busy seeing to all the details. He was also expecting his girlfriend, Sharpay Evans' father for lunch, and knowing Sharpay and how much he loves her, everything has to be perfect.
They met at age 13 when the Evans' moved to Albuquerque when Vance Evans II took the reigns in the elite Lava Springs Country Club after his father died and had to move his family of four with him. Both he and his wife came from distinguished families with businesses scattered all over the US. But Lava Springs was the first big investment success of the senior Vance Evans and thus held very dearly in his heart that though the base operations of their whole venture was in Rhode Island, he still insisted to hold office and to manage hands-on the operations of the country club. Which led to the junior Vance Evans to do the same after his death, knowing his father would want it no other way. The Evans' have two children, a set of twins, one of which was Sharpay, the other, a boy named Ryan. They used to go to an exclusive school in Rhode Island but Derby enrolled them in public school upon moving to Albuquerque. It has a lot to do with the fact that though the Evans' come from rich families, it wasn't like so at first. Vance and Derby's fathers were good friends growing up and became business partners right out of college. They started off small until their business grew due to their hard work and honesty. What their shareholders, most especially their employees love about them is that they stayed humble despite their success. Those were the same values that they instilled in their children as they grew up, which Vance and Derby thought Sharpay and Ryan had to learn as well. So it was decided that they will attend East High School in Albuquerque so that they will experience dealing with diverse people and appreciate the value of hard work.
When Zeke saw Sharpay, he thought he hasn't and will never again see anyone as beautiful as her. She has blonde hair and brown eyes, tall, and as he later learned, smart and talented. There was one problem though, she was quite a snob, and for the next three years, ignored Zeke and was always pining after his friend and basketball captain , Troy Bolton. This didn't cause any problems with his friendship with Troy since he knew that Troy doesn't like Sharpay that way and merely tolerated her as best he could because, being the good guy that he is, didn't want to hurt her feelings. If for anything, Zeke respected Troy even more for this. After Troy found the love of his life in their junior year in high school, and Sharpay being knocked off her virtual pedestal, she started giving Zeke a chance. And once she did, she saw him for who he was: patient, compassionate, humble and, in her own words, gorgeous. That last bit made Zeke laugh the first time he heard her say it but she merely insisted on it. Dating Zeke did a lot for Sharpay. The once proud and glittery girl transformed into the modest and kind woman Zeke always believe was in her all those years. Zeke learned that a few months before moving to Albuquerque, Sharpay's so-called friends turned their back on her one day followed by her grandfather's death. Sharpay was too broken and her once carefree attitude turned cold and uninviting, not letting anyone else get close to her other than her twin. After all the drama during the summer after their junior year, she was surprised to find that the rest of the Wildcats took her in their little circle, despite of how horrible she was to them. She realized what true friendship was and that started her change. Senior year for her was still a bit shaky but after graduation, she settled in to being the old Sharpay much to her mother's delight.
Zeke emerged from the kitchen only to find Vance Evans coming in through the door. He asked him earlier if they can have lunch together to which the older man agreed to. But to his surprise, Derby came in after him.
"Hey Zeke, I hope you don't mind that I brought Derby along. We've always had lunch together as much as we can."
Zeke merely smiled at the couple, "sure, I have enough prepared for the three of us." One of the things he admired about the Evans is how closely knit they were, even if Vance and Derby traveled a lot. They made sure to spend time with their children, bringing them along if possible. The couple also spends a lot of time with each other, which, in Zeke's view is the reason why their marriage stayed solid throughout the years.
He gestured them to a table and had one of his waiters to serve them.
"This is a beautiful place you have here." Derby said, admiring the interior of the restaurant.
"Yeah, uhm, it isn't much yet but if all goes well, I wish I could expand and buy the next stall." he said rather shyly. He knows the extent of the Evans' wealth and Derby saying that meant a lot to his confidence.
"Don't be ridiculous, boy." Vance clapped his shoulder, "I remember working in the kitchen in Lava Springs before, it was a tough job."
"You worked in Lava springs' kitchen?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. My father, our fathers, rather, wanted to instill in us the value of hard work so we had to work in one of the businesses every summer once we were old enough to do so." Vance proceeded to tell him the whole success story of his father and father-in-law. Zeke then understood why Vance and Derby were so humble and accepting to him. The first time he was to meet them had him all nervous. He came from a middle class family, and though he wouldn't want to assume they were racist, he was a bit worried how they would react to their precious princess dating him. Surprisingly, Vance just gave him a firm handshake and Derby gave him a hug upon introduction and all went well.
"I think I respected you even more for that." Zeke said sincerely, making Derby smile at the humble young man sitting across her. "which makes telling you this next more difficult than it already is." He shifted nervously as Vance picked up his glass to take a sip.
Putting the glass down, "Well, I've been wondering since early this morning what brought this on. I'm assuming it's more than giving us a first glimpse and taste of your new restaurant since Princess is not here."
"Well, she can't be here since it's actually a surprise for her." He took a deep breath and continued, "I… uhm, want to ask for Sharpay's hand."
There was a short pause that made him more nervous, he ended up blabbering, "I know we're just right out of college and my restaurant is merely starting but I really love your daughter and I'm afraid she'll end up proposing to me so I'm going to ask her this time around."
Vance and Derby laughed at that, knowing their bossy daughter was the one who asked Zeke to prom and the one who asked him to be her boyfriend.
"Zeke,' Vance interrupted him, "I'd be honored to have you as my son-in-law. Honestly, I don't think I would want anyone else to marry my daughter other than you."
Derby reached across the table to pat Zeke's cold hands, "Welcome to the family, dear."
"Wow… uhm, I wasn't expecting that reaction. Thank you, thank you so much. I promise you I will take her of her." he said as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"No promises necessary. We've seen how you've been taking care of her all this time and you have my full trust. I do expect you to keep it."
"Yes sir."
"When do you plan to ask her?" Derby asked, interrupting the men's serious talk. She's excited for her daughter.
"Tomorrow, if all goes well."
"That would be great, son."
"You both could make it to the opening right?"
"Yes, it's been blocked by my secretary a month in advance. I know how important this restaurant is to you and I want you to know that if you need any help, you can always approach me."
"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it." Zeke's dad died when he was young. The two of them has always been close and Vance giving him this kind of support a father normally gives his son meant a lot to him.
"You're welcome, and you can call me dad. Well, maybe not until Sharpay has said yes but I know she will."
The rest of lunch went on with them discussing the restaurant and Vance giving a few pointers to Zeke.
Yep, I'm trying a hand at writing a Zekepay since I love Sharpay and her craziness. This was supposed to be a oneshot but seeing how this is turning out to be longer than intended, I'm splitting it into two.
Don't worry, I plan on getting back to my other stories soon. I just would like to work on this while it's still fresh in my head. Tell me what you think. :D happy new year everyone!