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“That’s amazing,” Angela says, her eyes wide as she glances around the room. “Do you know how expensive daycare is these days?”
“We do. It’s why we built this. We didn’t want our employees worried about the cost. Plus, this way, they can check on their kids throughout their shift.”
I see Angela surreptitiously wipe away a tear. “I can’t believe this place exists. You really take care of your employees.”
“We know how important they are to our success. If our employees are happy, they stay loyal, and they work hard. They extend their happiness to our customers, which we appreciate.”
“Do you think you’d like to come here to play?” Max asks Angelica, who stares at the table where two girls her age are drawing with crayons and markers.
She nods. “Do Elina and the boys ever come here?”
“Sometimes,” Max says. “Alisa will bring them when she’s working on a project at the casino.”
“I miss them,” she sighs.
“We’ll go visit them soon,” Angela promises. “Maybe we can stop by the clubhouse before we go home?” She looks at Max, who gives her a nod.
“Yeah!” Angelica shouts, raising her fists in the air.
We laugh as we head for the door. From this side, we can see through the window and into the hall.
“There’s Alisa now,” I say, opening the door to greet her. “What are you doing here?” I ask her.
“Well, hello. Hi, Angelica! Hello, Angela.”
“Is Elina here?” Angelica asks her.
“No, baby, I’m sorry. I had an appointment and stopped here before heading back to the clubhouse.”
“We were just saying that we’ll stop by there later,” I tell her.
“That’s great! I know Elina misses you, and so do the boys. I take it you’re getting the tour?”
“We were just headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Want to join us?”
“I’d love to. I’m starving,” Alisa says, leading the way back downstairs to the employee-only cafeteria. This is another area of pride for us. We serve food from every restaurant in the casino, but employees don’t have to deal with reservations or wait times.
Since I already know what I’m having, I help Angelica pick out her meal. She selects chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, and a salad. I admit her choice has stumped me until Angela explains how much Angel loves salad.
“I don’t know why, but she tried my salad one day and can’t get enough. I think she likes all the salad dressings, but ranch dressing is her favorite.” Once Angelica takes her seat, I go after my favorite, Chinese food.
When I sit down, Alisa is explaining about the new project she’s working on for the casino. Specifically, the daycare center. “We’ve had a few parents asking for a quiet space for the kids to do their homework. We’ll have to move some offices around to create a new room, but I think it’s a good idea.”
“It is,” Wildcard agrees. “Human Resources has their office space next door. We could easily move them across the hall.We’ll have to sacrifice a conference room, but we don’t use all the ones we have now.”
“We’ll need to hire a new employee to watch the kids who use it. I was thinking of hiring a teacher, but I doubt we’ll need someone full-time.”
“You could hire a substitute teacher,” Angela suggests. “I know substitute teachers are always looking for a second gig. It’s hard to earn enough money as a full-time teacher these days. Substitute teachers have it harder.”
“You sound like someone with experience,” Alisa says.
“I do. I have my teaching credentials, but I wasn’t able to find a position when we lived in Henderson. It’s why I went to work at the diner. Wayne said I needed to earn more money.”
“How would you like the job of manning the study room for the daycare center?” Alisa asks.
“Really? Are you sure? Wouldn’t you like someone with more experience?”
“I’m certain. We need someone we trust. These are our employee’s kids. We’d be lucky to have someone like you.”
