Page 52 of Room Service

20

Jessi

My alarm clock went off, waking me up from a pleasant dream. As I looked up at my new ceiling, lying in my new bed, waking up to a new day, I had the sudden urge to cry. Because my dream of being back home, surrounded by my friends and family, had been great, so much better than I could have expected it to be.

“I want to go back home,” I whined out loud to myself.

But no matter how badly I wanted it, I had no plans to head back to the hotel in Charlotte after I’d run away not that long ago.

I got out of bed and went and got ready for the day reluctantly. On the way to work I tried calling Emily, but my friend wasn’t picking up.

“Are you mad at me for leaving?” I asked, scowling at my phone. “Just pick up, would you! I could use a friend right now.”

By then, I’d made it to the hotel, and I had to put the phone away so I wouldn’t get into trouble. As soon as I walked in, I was taken to task.

“Hey, newbie!”

I started at the loud call and looked up at the reception. Two people stood there, a woman and a man. It was the woman who had called out to me.

“Yes?” I said timidly, shifting my feet, wanting nothing more than to turn and run off to work.

“You forgot the entrance again or what? And aren’t you a bit late? What, were you on the phone with your boyfriend so long you forgot when you were supposed to get into work?”

I tilted my head a little to the side. “I’m… late? But…”

I was reaching for my phone to check, but she scoffed at me, giving me a scornful look Trent would have been proud of.

“Just get to your station in the kitchen, would you?” the guy said. “You know what happens when you show up late, don’t you?”

It had happened to me a few times already in the past couple weeks since I’d been at the new hotel. I made a quick bow as my heart started to beat a little in panic, then I practically ran in the direction of the hotel’s kitchen. I prayed the whole way that I was in the clear. But then I got there…

“Jessi!”

I was startled for the second time that morning, only this time, the person called out my name. He wasn’t the head chef, but he was a guy that didn’t particularly like how I intruded on his life either. In his head, he probably thought I’d come to ruin any possible chance of him getting a promotion with my good performance. In the beginning, he’d hoped I would fail, and when I didn’t, he’d used every moment possible to give me shit just to try and put me down.

After years of putting up with it from Trent, not just anyone was going to affect me that badly. More than anything, he was annoying.

“Excuse me,” I murmured, keeping my head ducked down so he wouldn’t see the irritation in my eyes.

“Why are you late again?” he asked, voice sharp.

“I’m not late, sir,” I said quietly.

“You are late if you get here and half of the staff is already in here!” he snapped back. “Look around and tell me if half the kitchen staff made it here ahead of you.”

I looked around, and sure enough, it was true. I winced, knowing this wasn’t helping my case. But I hadn't been late! I had my schedule memorized, and I knew it was still some minutes until my official shift time.

Not that I could say that out loud because I knew these guys would just flay me over it.

“I’m sorry, sir,” I muttered.

He huffed. “You think an apology will make everything okay, huh? I don’t know what you did at the main branch, but things here are a little different, Jessi. You need to get your act together before you get your ass handed to you. Hurry up and get to work already. You’re late enough as it is.”

I watched his back as he walked away, then moved slowly over to my station. It was smaller than the one I used at the hotel back in Charlotte, and I had to share it. My new colleagues didn’t bother hiding their snickers and whispers as work went on, glad I’d gotten in trouble again. They were pretty tight-knit, a lot like the old guys I worked with. Of course they would give me a hard time, being the outsider. It was to be expected, but maybe not to the extent that I’d felt it already.

After working through the morning and stopping in midafternoon, I was feeling hungry and exhausted. I was a little fearful to go on my break without finishing my work for the day, so I stuck it out until I could leave for a breather.

The hotel itself was pretty beautiful, and just outside there was a nice view of the beach. I felt some longing, wanting to go down that way for a walk, but it was too risky while I was still on shift.