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“Cool, bring me a beer then, lady,” he replies, picking up a blue crayon and filling in the sky on the coloring page.
His mom and dad laugh, and I can’t help but laugh, too. “How ’bout a root beer.”
“That will be fine,” Kiara answers for him.
“Perfect. Any other drinks?”
They both order water and I tell them I’ll be back to take their orders in a few. I never let the other staff wait on the owners, I always do it myself. Especially if it’s busy, and it’s picking up in here now.
As I’m filling their drinks one-handed, Roman approaches me and I startle.
“You scared the stuffin’ outta me!” I say, almost spilling the root beer. I awkwardly put the plastic lid on and the straw in it.
“Sorry about that. Just wanted to talk to you about something. But first—what’s wrong with your arm?”
“Apparently, I have a torn rotator cuff. Fell off my mountain bike last weekend. Hurts somethin’ awful.”
“I’m sorry,” he says. “Do you need surgery?”
“Dunno. I see the doc in a couple days.” I fill up both water cups and hand him his.
He takes the other water and kid cup and says, “I’ll be right back.”
I watch as he delivers the drinks to his wife and son and comes back to me. “I understand Linc talked to you about the regional manager position.”
I nod and grab a towel, cleaning off the soda machine. “Yes.”
“What did you think?”
“I’m really flattered, but I’m still thinkin’ it over. I really like my job here at Silver Park. But man, that money’d have me sittin’ as fat as a house cat on a mouse farm.”
He chuckles. “In this economy? Maybe. Raises are yearly, based on performance, just so you know. Yearly bonuses, as well. You should keep those in mind.”
“Well, Lincoln didn’t mention those two things. So that helps me in makin’ my decision, I think. I told Lincoln I’d call him later with my answer. Plus, he wants an update on my busted shoulder.” I stop wiping and sling the towel over the shoulder of my Metallica T-shirt. “Why do you ask?”
“I just wanted to make sure Linc had asked you. We have a few other employees we might be considering, or we might go through an employment agency, but we wanted to offer it to you first. Lincoln says you’re smart and have good people skills. He’s not the most personable guy, but I trust his business sense implicitly.”
“I’m very flattered, and honestly it kinda shocked me. I do have a question, though.”
“Shoot,” he says, glancing to where his wife and child sit. Kiara is helping Rhett color.
“How often will I have to travel out of Colorado? That might be a problem for me.”
“I’m not sure, but why? Are you afraid to fly?” He smirks at me.
“No, it’s not that…” I’m not sure if he knows I’m on probation and would have to request permission every single time I fly somewhere, so I keep that part to myself. “It’s nothing. I’ll figure it out. I actually love to travel.”
He puts his hand on my injured shoulder, “Quinn, I—”
I wince. “Ow.”
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry. Have you taken anything for the pain?” he asks, looking stressed.
“It’s all right. I just have to be careful. And yes, I’m taking Aleve, but it really only takes the edge off.”
“Well, again, I’m sorry. I was just going to say, I really hope you consider the offer. I think you’d be great.”
“I will. Let me go out and take y’all’s order. I’m sure eatin’ for two makes a girl mighty hungry. My sister ate like a horse when she was expectin’.”
