AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I have a feeling that mentioning my phone call with Tyler isn’t the right move, so I just shrug.
“Oh, you don’t know? How do you not know where you were? We don’t do smoke breaks here, new guy, and there’s this great new invention called a clock to make sure you’re on time.” She points at my hand that’s resting on the stainless steel counter. “Or maybe you could check your richy-rich watch. I’m guessing you’re just here because Daddy made you get a job, but if you don’t take it seriously, you won’t last.”
At the mention of my father, my blood floods out of my face, and I look at the ground for a moment, then back up to Alexis. “He died,” I say quietly. “Both my parents did. Last year.” I hate saying it, but I can’t stand the idea of her continuing on this rampage that, for some reason, involves my parents and their money.
She opens her mouth like she’s going to say some sort of retort, but then my words process. She goes as pale as I feel, then slams her mouth shut. After a pause, she says, more gently, “Just don’t be late again. I won’t report you to the manager this time.”
I nod, properly chastised at this point despite the fact that I know the manager can’t fire me. If I’d known that ten minutes would be such a big deal, I would have gotten here early. I won’t make that mistake again.
Alexis grabs a stack of appetizer plates and flees the dish pit, clearly embarrassed by her outburst. She didn’t know about my parents, but that doesn’t make the words hurt any less.
A hand falls on my shoulder. “Sorry about your folks, man,” Hector says. “My dad died a couple years ago. Cancer. I take care of my mom and my little sister. She’s the smart one, so I’m helping keep her in college.”
I look at him, and his brows are tilted with concern.
I swallow the pain. “Let’s just get to work,” I say. I don’t want to think about this anymore. Any of it.
He nods, and we get to work.
“That is a pretty sweet watch,” he comments, trying to lighten the mood. “Is it a knockoff?”
Why is this old thing such a big deal? I guess I really don’t understand the working class, because to me, it’s just an old thing my dad passed down to me as a graduation gift. I didn’t think that it had all that much monetary value, although it’s priceless to me in sentimental value.
I shake my head, rinsing plates and racking them to go through the industrial dishwasher. “No,” I say. “It was my dad’s. He got it as a college graduation gift from my grandpa, and then he gave it to me for the same thing.”
Hector gives me a weak smile. “That’s beautiful.”
I shrug. I suppose so, although I didn’t think too much about it before. It’s pure luck that I ever received the watch. Dad forgot to get it to me before they left, and he had his assistant bring it back to campus. Camilla delivered it herself just before the plane crash. We found out together, and she expected that she was out of a job, but I kept her on. She was supposed to be on that plane, but because of a thread of coincidences, she survived.
The rest of the day runs smoothly, and, as Alexis promised, nobody comes to talk to me about my lateness. It helps that the manager is in on my little scheme, as I’m not sure I’d be so lucky otherwise. Could ten minutes really ruin someone’s life like that? That’s a depressing thought.
“What made you decide to come here?” Hector asks as we’re clocking out by the kitchen. “Out of all the resorts, I mean.”
I decide to go for honesty, even if it’s not the whole truth.
“My dad used to work here. Management.” It’s a bit of an under-exaggeration, but I’m not going to tell him that my parents started the company.
Hector’s eyes widen, and his skin flushes slightly. “Ah, carrying on the family legacy and all that.”
I shrug. “That’s what everyone says.”
I don’t know if I see it that way. Mostly, I’m hoping I don’t run the place into the ground.
“Want some lunch?” I ask.
Alexis walks up to clock herself out just as I ask that, and she looks between us.
Hector shakes his head. “I’ve gotta help my cousin do some house repairs. Thanks, though!”
When he walks away, I’m tempted to flee, but there’s no escape with tiny Alexis standing there like a honey badger ready to pounce.
I remain silent, and when she steps back, I see my opportunity for escape.
“Listen,” she says, “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t know about your parents, but even if that wasn’t the situation, I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that.”
I shove my hands in my pockets, trying my best to hide the watch that’s so scornful.
She notices the movement and sighs. “As an apology, I’d like to offer you dinner.”
