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Not One Of The Girls - Part 16
🕑 Added 2023-06-27 14:40:47 +0000 UTCAfter a few minutes of waiting, I was joined by a guy roughly about my parent's age. "Well, you are a pretty thing, aren't you?" the man greeted with a slightly creepy edge to his voice. I looked up at him in alarm as he stepped past me and dropped into the seat on the other side of the desk.
He was wearing a chef jacket that was a little dirty and had been unbuttoned a few notches, hinting at a well-defined chest beneath. He smiled at me toothily as he grumbled, "I'm kidding of course, I mean you are very pretty, but I'm not that kind of boss" he smiled at me warmly to assert that he meant it.
He had naturally sun-kissed skin that made me think he was of Southern Euro can-on-ins, Italian, if I'd had to mess, he also had dark eyes intelligent eyes, that appeared to take in every detail at just a glance. "I value hard work and loyalty above all else and I expect those in return for a fair wage, do you think that's a fair arrangement?" he stated. I nodded my agreement as the man continued, "So Alexis, is it?" again, I nodded. "So, what can you tell me about my restaurant?". I visibly hesitated and Mr Angelou sat back with a knowing smile on his face. "Chloe didn't tell you that you were applying for a job here, did she?".
I shook my head stiffly, then realizing my inability to speak could come across the wrong way, I blushed furiously. The man sighed heavily. "That girl is a menace to my sanity" he looked at me as though questioning if I agreed with the sentiment, before laughing heartily, "I mean that in an affectionate way of course".
I smiled; he had a nice laugh. "Well, from the start then" he grinned as he sat forward and began clicking away on his computer. "My name is Darius Angelou I, along with my wife Sakura own and operate this restaurant" he paused, with a glance at me to make sure I was keeping up, I just nodded quickly as I absorbed the information. "We serve Italian-based foods mostly, with some Japanese influence thrown in.
Though we do have some multicultural items on the menu, to appease the masses, so to speak". He seemed a little bitter about the fact but the darkness in his eyes slid quickly to be replaced with his wide smile.
"We've been here for nearly ten years and god willing will be for at least another ten, we run what I consider to be a firm but fair establishment". There was a light clunking and grinding sound as some papers shot out of the printer, he offered to me across the desk. I took them with a slightly shaking hand as he continued, "Suki is the boss out on the floor, you will generally answer to her as I'm more kitchen based. She also happens to be the disciplinarian, though, in all our years, we've rarely needed to go beyond a stern talking to. "We tend to have a lot of High School and College kids much like yourself, passing through.
Temporary employment before moving onto hopefully bigger and better things. "We do have a few 'permanent' residents, who you'll meet in short order if you are actually interested in the job that is?" There was a look of amused hesitation on the man's face as I still hadn't been able to utter a word, I nodded again whilst still blushing furiously. "Well if you're going to work here, you're going to need to find your voice, otherwise you'll sink into the background and be forgotten about" Mr Angelou teased as he climbed to his feet. "Uh, yessir" I grumbled as he offered his hand to me and pulled me lightly to my feet, he then led me out and along the hall towards what I assumed was the kitchen. "Seriously though, the kitchen team doesn't have time to be chasing you up on your tables.
You need to be assertive in what you need from them" Mr Angelou insisted as we passed a large two-way door, through which the hustle and bustle of a busy restaurant could be heard. "The job you 'applied' for" the man did the air quotes jokingly as we passed Chloe on her way between the kitchen and the restaurant; causing her to giggle darkly as she disappeared out towards the customers "Is maternity cover, so it's technically only a short term gig, but provided you're a good fit within the team, Suki and I may be encouraged to extend your contract, if you still wish to work here at that point that is".
He turned and winked at me playfully as he pushed open the door into the kitchen. My ears were instantly assaulted by a cacophony of sounds as my nostrils were receiving the same treatment from the aromas. "Speaking of contracts " the owner called over the hubbub "the papers I have given you are your application form, a formal copy of your contract for your own records, and a permission form from your Mom, Dad, guardian, whatever, "As you're a minor that form needs to be signed by the adult responsible for you before you can officially start working here, it's an insurance thing" Mr. Angelou looked around quickly as though looking for somebody specific, turning back to face me he pushed, "I would suggest you get that form signed, sooner rather than later as otherwise you'll find yourself gainfully employed, without any shifts". "Ok, I'll get my mom to look at them when I get home tonight" I asserted.
Mr. Angelou nodded quickly as he appeared to spot the person he was searching for. "SANKA!" the Italian hollered, making me flinch from the loudness as he got the attention of the black man. Turning his attention back to me Mr. Angelou then said, "I won't waste time introducing you to everybody on the team, you'll get to know them all in due course, but there are a couple of people you should know". "Ari!?" I questioned as the colored man weaved through the small crowd of bodies to reach us.
"Nah girl, Ari's me little brother, you know" the man greeted, I blushed at my mistake as he grinned at me toothily. In hindsight, I wasn't completely sure why I had mistaken him for the Fellow's private chef, although they definitely had a familial resemblance, Sanka was stockier, whereas Ari was taller. Sanka's accent was also a lot thicker than Ari's. I was a little confused as the younger chef had never mentioned any siblings during our chat, I would have to ask him about that when I next saw him.
"Sanka is my head chef and Ros over there" the boss indicated to an older woman with an almost surly disposition over by the window, where food was being quickly combined to amazing effect, before being whipped away by the serving staff out front "is his second in command, they will be your port of call, for basically everything, the only other person you'll need to know for now is Kit, Sanka where's Kit?" Mr. Angelou asked the Head Chef as he looked around the kitchen. "Ah, he's killin' himself slowly, if ya know what I mean?" Sanka winked at me as he indicated toking on a cigarette. Mr Angelou nodded his acknowledgement and I was led away towards the back end of the kitchen.
We were just heading for an emergency exit when an old wiry guy stepped in through the door, rattling a set of keys as he did so, he hooked by the door before turning to Mr. Angelou with a grin, "Ah, fresh meat huh? He grinned as he licked his lips jokingly. I smiled nervously as the boss introduced us, "Abel Kitteridge, this is Alexis Evans, she's going to be Miri's cover during her maternity leave". "Another cheerleader, huh?" the old man chuckled as he washed his hands ready to get back into the kitchen.
I blushed as I pointlessly grumbled about not being a cheerleader. "Kit here is our dessert chef. He's the best at what he does, but when we get busy; as we will tonight, you may find yourself dropped in to help him with certain menial tasks, such as balling up ice cream. Do you have any issues with that?". I shook my head stiffly and remembering the man's words from earlier about 'sinking into the background' I stated clearly, "No Mr. Angelou, I don't have any issue with that". The boss smiled coolly as he said, "Good girl, now so far as I understand it, Chloe has brought a spare shirt for you to wear for tonight.
We only maintain a shirt for the front of house uniform, it's up to you if you want to wear pants, jeans, a skirt...whatever, the only rule Suki really enforces is nothing too revealing, so definitely no yoga pants and if you wear a skirt, it needs to be knee length at least, provided we are all happy moving forward, Suld will get your measurements and you will be provided with your own shirts, do you have any questions?"
"No sir, not at this point" I insisted to which the boss grinned, "Good, I'm going to grab Chloe quickly, so she can lend you her other shirt, I've specifically adjusted the rota so that the two of you will be on the quieter section tonight, to give you a feel for what is expected of you, essentially you will be shadowing her and helping with her tables, you reckon you can manage that?" "Yessir, let me at 'ern" I smiled as the man led me back to the team room.
"That's the spirit, if you do have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Your young friend has been here for nearly a year so there isn't much she doesn't know and even if she doesn't, Suki will be about so she can answer any other questions you may have" Mr Angelou determined before disappearing to grab Chloe.
He himself didn't return, but moments later Chloe bustled out into the team room and pulled the aforementioned shirt from her bag, "You and I are going to have words, miss" I growled as I ducked into the women's changing room and swapped out my top for the branded shirt. "What!? You said you needed a job and Miri's going to be off for the foreseeable future, so it's a perfect fit" she insisted. I frowned as I made to respond but we were interrupted by a curt woman's voice, "Chloe, two new tables in your section, let's go sweet!".
I assumed by the authority that the voice oozed, that it was Mrs Angelou, although she was to the point, she didn't sound mean in any way. I hurriedly spritzed myself with my perfume and pulled at the shirt to adjust it as best I could, before following Chloe out to her section. To state that I was overwhelmed would be an understatement.
I followed Chloe closely as she flitted about her section; greeting the new tables that Mrs Angelou was seating and taking their drinks orders, these would be dropped off at the bar to be poured while she rang new food orders through to the kitchen or collected waiting for orders from the serving window, she would deliver the prepared meals before doubling back around and dropping the drinks orders to the newer tables before collecting their food orders and repeating the whole process.
Add in the occasional collection or delivery of a dessert order and it honestly seemed like an awful lot for one person to handle, so much so that on at least two or three occasions during the evening, I felt like bailing, but any time Chloe felt that I was entering 'panic' mode, she would pull me aside and tell me that I was doing fine.
It did alleviate some of the immediate stress, but it didn't really squash the overall feeling of being way out of my depth. It was only when Mrs. Angelou herself pulled me out into the hall by the kitchen to chat to me that I realized just how much of a flow I had actually gotten into. "You just need to relax, love" the Asian woman insisted. I was shaking slightly, so she encouraged me to take a few deep breaths. "There's a reason why Daz had Chloe bring you in tonight, you know what that is?" she inquired, I looked up at her quizzically as I shook my head "Because, if you can deal on a Friday night, you can deal on any night".
A smile flickered across her face as she finished with, "Did you notice that Chloe has been leaving you to deal with more of the tables?" I nodded, "That's because I told her to" The woman smiled coolly, causing me to frown. "But why" I began. Mrs. Angelou held her hand up. "Look...you're pretty and you're certainly a capable young woman" I blushed furiously as she continued, "You have a great work ethic; you're not afraid to get stuck in, and don't think I didn't notice how you managed to upsell those desserts on table nine" she paused for a second before stating "the only problem I see, is you have no confidence in yourself.
So here's what I want you to do; I want you to walk out there with your head high and just own it...think you can do that for me?". I hesitated for a second, I genuinely thought I was out of my depth, but here was one of the owners basically telling me that I was doing a good job, I just needed to have more faith in myself. A steely resolve washed over me as I looked the older woman dead in the eyes and said, "Yes ma'am"
She smiled coolly as she replied, "Good girl" before guiding me back out onto the restaurant floor. I think I surprised myself more than anybody else as for the rest of the evening, I was on top of almost everything, it wasn't perfect, there were a couple of minor mistakes, the worst of which required Mrs. Angelou to saunter over to speak with the table, after a brief chat, the owner walked away with both parties smiling and happy.
I apologized profusely for my mistake as I served the table their free desserts, to which one of the elderly ladies chuckled, "It's ok dear, your boss explained this is your first shift...it happens". She winked at me with a kind smile, I returned the smile and after apologizing again, I left them to their desserts. As the evening wore on, Chloe all but disappeared and spent the remainder of the shift helping Kit with the desserts, leaving me to run the section by myself. I had really gotten into the flow and dashed about taking and delivering orders, around taking payments and doing what Chloe had termed as `check backs'.
I even had time on a few occasions to stop and chat with a couple of the customers, some of the apparent regulars were surprised that Chloe had been 'replaced', I, of course, explained that wasn't the case and that she was just 'out back' helping the dessert chef to give me an opportunity to learn the ropes. They would laugh at their mistake before telling me that they were impressed with how quickly I had picked it all up, it really did fill me with a sense of pride.
By the end of the evening, I was exhausted, but I was still buzzing from the adrenaline, although Mrs. Angelou had told me I could finish up and that they would call me in the morning, I insisted on sticking around to help my friends with closing down. I was busy cleaning tables and resetting for the next day when Mr Angelou appeared, Chloe smiled at him hopefully as Kat peered curiously over from the section she was closing, but apart from asking the girls a couple of questions to do with their work; the boss didn't give any hint as to his thoughts on my work.
Once he had finished relaying information to the two of them, he indicated that I should follow him as he headed back towards the office, I looked over at my friends nervously before heading after him. Upon entering the office, I saw his wife sitting on a sofa in the corner of the room, her face was mostly unreadable, which just made me even more nervous. "Take a seat, love" Mr Angelou offered as he sat behind the desk, I took the proffered seat and waited anxiously. "So, Alexis, how do you think it went tonight?" the man asked me softly. I looked hesitantly over at Suki before stating, "Um...well, I did make a few mistakes.
At one point, Mrs Angelou had to speak to the table concerned, but, um, aside from that, I think it went ok" I murmured with a determined nod. Mr. Angelou hesitated for a second as he looked round at his wife, "Mistakes?" he asked her softly. I was busily inspecting my knees, but upon realizing that she hadn't actually told him of my mistakes, I looked up to see her smiling. "I didn't feel the need to inform you as the mistakes were only minor ones, to the cost of a few desserts" the woman asserted as she looked across at her husband.
He nodded his acknowledgment before turning to look at me and shrugging nonchalantly, "Just sounds like teething problems to me. So, apart from the slightly shaky start, which, if we're honest, is more than understandable, given that Chloe didn't even tell you about the trial shift" "Wait! She what?" Suki gasped incredulously. "Oh yeah, as it turned out, Chloe didn't tell Alexis she had a trial shift arranged for tonight. Just dragged the poor girl along". "Yeah, I'll need to be having words with her about that one," I said tersely, making the couple laugh. "Well, considering the circumstances; you did really well" Mr Angelou grinned "Apparently you ended up running the section on your own by the end?".
He looked back at his wife who nodded the affirmative "I did wonder why Chloe spent most of her shift in the kitchen helping Kit" Mr Angelou pondered as he looked round at me once more. "Well, I think it's fair to say that you are definitely a good fit within our team if you actually want the job that is?" he grinned as he played on his joke from earlier.
I flushed pink as I said brightly, "Oh yessir, if you think I'm good enough, I couldn't say no" I murmured causing Suki to chuckle. "Good, good, we'll make sure to get your paperwork filled out and get it back to us ASAP. Suki will get your measurements before you go and one of us will call in the morning to confirm your shifts with you. Sound good?" Mr. Angelou beamed. I nodded stiffly as the man leaned forward and shook my hand gently. "Um thank you, sir" I looked over at Mrs. Angelou "Ma'am".
I climbed to my feet and headed out to the restaurant, where Chloe and Kat were just finishing up the last few jobs. I forced a solemn look onto my face as I approached the two, they looked around at me hesitantly and upon seeing the look on my face Chloe sighed, "Aw babe, I'm sorry, I really thought". I shook my head slowly as I stated, "I know, it's bad enough that I have to go to school with you, now I have to work with you too" My face split into a smile as Kat chuckled. It took Chloe a second but then she squealed in excitement. "Ooh you bitch! Congratulations Mlle, I'm so proud of you" she gushed as she pulled me into a fierce hug.
As she let go of me, I got a more reserved hug from Kat as she congratulated me too. "Your Mom is going to be so thrilled" Chloe grinned. I looked at her questioningly, "Wait!? What!?" Chloe sighed before explaining, "Well, your mom knew about the trial shift, I had to let her know why you would be home late tonight, so she didn't worry. Obviously". She rolled her eyes as she dragged me towards the team room to get ready to go home.
We stopped in the kitchen to say goodbye to the closing team, which happened to include Sanka. I blushed as he insisted that I had done well, he then embarrassed Chloe by revealing that on her first shift, she had dropped nearly a whole table's worth of food, she made a couple of sarcastic comments to the guy before cheerfully bidding the kitchen team goodnight and heading out to the team room.
The three of us chatted about the shift as we changed out of our uniforms, we were just pulling on our jackets when Mrs Angelou appeared. "Well done tonight girls, we're well on target for our staff outing" She grinned before looking at me directly and stating, "Pop your jacket off love, I need to get your measurements".
I blushed as Chloe cheered and Kat wolf-whistled, "I hate you both so much" I grinned as Suki took a moment to fit me up with a tailor's tape. "Ok we're good," she said as she stepped back, allowing me to pull my jacket back on. "Daz or I will call in the morning to discuss your shifts" she confirmed. "Um thank you again, Mrs. Angelou" I murmured to which the woman responded, "You are very welcome and it's just Suki dear unless you're in trouble of course" She winked at me before stepping out of the changing room, leaving just the three of us once more.
Once we were ready, we left the locker room and were just about to bundle out of the side door when Chloe suddenly stated that she needed to use the bathroom. Kat rolled her eyes and joked about the younger girl having the bladder of an old lady. So we doubled back to the team room and Kat and I made small talk as we waited for Chloe to finish her business. Finally, we were actually ready to go home. As we exited the restaurant onto the parking lot, I was surprised to see Mom waiting to drive us home. "Hey baby!" she called excitedly as she rolled down the passenger side window. I blushed as I looked around at Chloe accusingly.
"What? When I told her that you had a trial shift, she insisted on picking us up afterward" she simpered as she and Kat headed for the back seat, leaving me to climb in the front with Mom. I was immediately bombarded with questions by her as she started the engine, I answered them as best I could and on a few occasions, the other girls answered for me, some of their comments caused me to blush. At one point Kat; a little coolly, stated, "She made the rest of us look bad by upselling desserts so well". I knew she didn't really mean it in a nasty way of course and I felt elated that I was regarded with such a high opinion.
We dropped Kat off first as she was the closest to the restaurant, though we had to detour somewhat to drop Chloe off as she lived further out than we did, I spent the additional time with her chastising her for not revealing her intentions to me, "I could've done some research into the restaurant before arriving, I looked like a right ass when Mr. Angelou asked what I knew about the place" I sulked, I half turned in my seat as I admonished, "it's lucky he knows all too well what you're like" I grinned playfully, causing her to giggle. "You can't complain, you got a job out of it" she simpered as we pulled to a stop outside of her house.
We had another one of those awkward hugs, again giggling like mad, this time it was she that climbed out of the car with a farewell and a thank you to my mom for the lift, we waited until she was inside her home before pulling away. Mom was still full of questions as we drove the rest of the way home, again I answered them as best I could, but as she started to run out of steam, I turned and stated, "I can't believe you knew about Chloe's plans and didn't say anything". Mom glanced at me before chuckling,
"I thought it was sweet that she went out of her way to get you a trial shift at her workplace, so when she asked me not to tell you, I felt obliged to keep shtum". I frowned a little sulkily as we made small talk about the rest of our day, she was interested in my thoughts on the football game and although I was reticent to begin with, I eventually admitted that I was genuinely impressed with the level of teamwork and I ended up breaking out of my grumpy slump as I gushed about the girls with their various routines.
Mom gave me a knowing look when I explained about my ideas for a six-girl squad. We pulled onto our drive and after stepping into the dark entrance hall and kicking off our shoes me with a groan I joined Mom on the sofa for a glass of wine. We continued to chat late into the night about everything and nothing and it was only as Mom glanced over at the now very empty wine bottle, that she happened to check the time. Realizing that it was nearly three a.m. we decided we should head up, so after washing our glasses and with the usual fare of hugs and kisses and with a final congratulations from Mom we went to bed.
