Our little stand-off went on and then he finally dropped his arm, but didn't step aside. I had to squeeze past him. Jerk. Riley knew, or thought he knew, and I wasn't sorry. Anytime he was a jerk to me, I would think of how I had moved on to a thing that actually gave me something rather than took away, maybe even something with potential. It was still something to think through, getting together with someone a decade older. Saying that, there was something to be said for a boyfriend who actually cared about you.
If I was honest, I was more confused than anything, but also excited because there was potential there, one I suspected I had to initiate, or not. But then there was Riley, who apparently was furious. What the hell? He treated me like crap and then was furious because I didn't run after him, begging him for forgiveness. Well, he could fuck off.
"I need everyone to gather around," Julian said, stepping out of his office. I stopped walking and waited for the others. It struck me how attractive I thought Julian was now. Yes, he was a bit older, but he wasn't an immature cretin either. There was something to be said for that.
The others came, including Riley, who stood there with his mouth drawn tight. He refused to look at me. Ooh, big loss. Maybe this would end his constant picking. I could only hope.
"Corporate is dropping in for an inspection tomorrow," Julian said. "They probably won't stay all night, but there is a good chance they will be here when you start your shift. Obviously, if it doesn't go well, all sorts of shit will follow." He smiled tightly. "So mind your p's and q's and answer any questions they have. Other than that, go about your work as if they aren't there. That's all."
"Finally," Matilda said as she turned to walk back to the counter.
"What do you mean?" I said, following her.
"About time they knew what was going on here."
I felt dread creep up my spine. Matilda had always had it in for him and had apparently been waiting for the opportunity to sink him. Shit. There was no appealing to her either. She wanted his job and could smell blood in the water. What I'd done in the store room might come back to haunt him, even though he'd said he didn't care if he got fired. I would feel like utter shit if he did. Double crap.
Walking into the back again, I found him sitting in his tiny office. "Matilda is going to try to sink you tomorrow."
He looked up and smiled tightly. "She will," he said.
"It isn't right; she is being totally self-serving. She thinks she can get your job if she gets you fired."
Reaching up, he took my hand, stroking his thumb across the back. "Don't worry about it. I know how to deal with Matilda," he said, and let go of my hand. "Matilda isn't quite the maverick she thinks herself. It will be fine." He nodded for me to return to work, but I didn't have the confidence he did that everything would be fine. Matilda likely had a long list of grievances, including his now stellar record of getting involved with all female employees who weren't outright evil.
Instead of going back to my register, I walked out front to where Ella was mopping the floor. It was late and the customers had thinned out.
"Matilda has it in for Julian big-time in this inspection tomorrow."
Ella looked at me, seeming to study me for a moment. "Were you and Julian… you know, before?"
Distress flared through my whole system, but I didn't feel right lying to her. "Yeah, kind of," I admitted, trying to stop myself from flaring red.
She inhaled and looked away.
"I didn't think I was stepping on anyone's toes considering you had moved on."
She softened a bit. "Will probably make Mia ecstatic," Ella said and I knew she wasn't devastated by it. A huge weight lifted off me.
"I wouldn't have if I'd known it was a big deal to you. I was just a mess and he was… "
Her smile was close to a grimace. "I don't need to hear the details."
"Not that it matters now, because Matilda is going in with both guns blazing tomorrow. She's intent on getting him fired. Doesn't she get that no one wants to work for her?"
"She will probably sell herself like the second coming to the corporates though," Ella said. "Perhaps we just need to let them know that her word is less than trustworthy."
"Riley might have it in for him as well. He's frickin livid about …, you know."
"Is he? That is interesting. Guess his treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen strategy's backfired a bit."
"Like there was ever an option," I said, but Ella tilted her head, looking at me like I wasn't being entirely truthful. "Come on, me and Riley, on what planet?"
"So, you’re all go with Julian now?"
"I don't know," I said, shifting across my feet. "I don't know anything right now. Everything’s up in the air with what’s happening." It was true; at this point, I just wanted to get through the summer and start college in the fall. Okay, yes, I wanted to sleep with Julian, but more than a summer fling? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was interested and I think he have been too.
"I'll talk to Wyatt," Ella said, "about the Matilda thing."
I nodded, still worried that Riley was going to have a stab at Julian too. Our defense against Matilda wasn't going to be totally effective if we weren't all united.
"And about Julian," Ella said when I was walking away. I stopped and turned, again feeling wary of what she was going to say. "He genuinely cares, but he can't turn it off. He cares about everyone."
I didn't quite know, but enough to know she was warning me off in some way. Was this jealousy? There was a good chance. Maybe now that she was on the rocks with Brandon, she wanted to keep Julian as her back-up option. I hoped she wasn't warning me off out of jealousy; I wanted our friendship to mean more than that. Or maybe she was acting all nice to my face, to then stab me in the back. Maybe she was just as furious as Riley was and was a better player at this game. I felt a slight shiver going doing my back.
* * *
Chapter 25:
* * *
The team of inspectors were already there when I arrived at work. There was a woman in a navy suit with a skirt. She wore pantyhose, which I swore I hadn't seen in years. Whatever kind of creature she was, I didn't know. Slicked back hair, twisted into a tight bun. She was definitely not from around here. There was also a guy, tall, who smiled a lot. He wore a suit too, and then another who wore khaki pants and was apparently only interested in Julian's computer.
I tried to get on with taking orders, but it was so distracting having them there, especially when the woman came out to watch us work. Suddenly I was bumbling orders and had to apologize to customers. I didn't do well in test situations. Every time I looked up, she was watching me.
As she walked out toward the front of the restaurant, where Ella was clearing tables, Matilda followed her. It was clear Matilda was going in for the kill. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I exchanged glances with Ella. I couldn't believe what a cow Matilda was, to just openly stab someone in the back, but I guessed that was her style. Technically was it backstabbing if everyone knew she was doing it? She would have made a good mean girl in high school if she'd been remotely cool.
The corporate woman's face contorted into a look of concern and I swore. Matilda smiled more sweetly than I'd ever seen her manage. The inspector nodded at her and Matilda withdrew, looking pleased with herself.
"Feel better?" I said when she walked past me.
"Just said what needed to be said," she said tartly.
"In the book of Matilda."
She gave me a scathing look and then returned to her duties as if I was below regard.
The inspector walked over to Ella and started asking questions. I could see Ella puffing up, her fist at her hip, her mouth going a mile a minute. Now was the test for both her and Riley; if either of them tried to sink Julian, I was going to write them off as two-faced assholes. What I didn't need were toxic people in my life—I'd been there, done that. Admittedly, Riley was toxic enough based on personality, but this was character, and it all came out in situations like
this. I hope they passed, if for Julian if nothing else.
I heard Deseree in the back. "I don't have time to deal with this," she said sharply, snapping her fingers together so the nails make a clacking noise. "There are customers expecting their orders." I saw her turn her back on the tall, smiling inspector, who now looked lost for words. Deseree ignored him and continued taking orders. The man awkwardly stepped away, turning his attention to Riley.
Meanwhile, the lady inspector had walked up to Mia and asked her to step away. Mia only said a few words with her then the woman approached me. "Hi, Pepper," she said, consulting my name tag, "mind if I have a word or two?"
"Sure," I said.
We walked over toward the main entrance and I crossed my arm as she leaned close like we were conspiring together. "There have been some accusations laid about Mr. Worth's competence." She meant Julian. I'd never heard his surname used before.
"I don't doubt it," I cut in when she was set to continue rattling them off. I didn't care what Matilda had said. "There is a team member that is bitter and divisive." A word I remember from vocab cramming. I hope I was using it correctly in my attempt to sound authoritative to this woman. "This specific person, I won't name names, but you spoke to her earlier. She's always trying to cause trouble and tear things apart. She believes if she can get Julian fired, she'll get his job. We'd all quit if that ever happened." I shrugged. "So you need to keep that in mind."
The woman stared at me like she was trying to find something to say.
"It's been said that he's particularly attentive to females."
I sighed, trying to show how bored I was. "He's attentive when someone needs attention. He's a good manager. He's a saint for putting up with some people. For some reason, he thinks even people like her deserves a chance. Personally, I think we'd be better off without her, but I guess employment contracts aren't popularity contests. Although pulling this shit, I think he could make a case." I looked back at the line. "The customers are growing restless. I better get back there."
"Okay," the woman said. With a small smile I walked away. Should I feel bad about the fact that I had kind of lied? Julian did some things that were fireable offenses. In this case though, Matilda's intentions were self-serving and malicious. If I believed for a minute that Julian's attentions were coercive, I would probably have let Matilda's accusations stand. I guess that was the side effect of bad behavior: you left yourself open for others to sink you. Some could see it as a sign of trust. We are now responsible for judging his behavior and have to do as our conscience dictates; he would suffer the consequences of our collective decision. Or else he just didn't care, which was a possibility, but I'd seen him respond when someone was losing the plot, and yes, maybe it did have the tendency to twist into the inappropriate.
I didn't feel like I was protecting a predator; I felt like I was protecting someone who gave too much—incidentally someone who I could potentially be interested in. There was still a bit of a dilemma there.
The inspectors eventually left, speaking quietly between themselves. We, on the other hand, felt exhausted. None of us spoke, just got on with our jobs until it was time to leave. Julian and his bad behavior had been put to trial today and we didn't really know the outcome.
*
Matilda wasn't there the next day when I arrived. I felt a bit better, but the atmosphere was still subdued. Even Riley didn't dig deep for some scathing remark. He still utterly ignored me and I couldn't say I was sorry. From his perspective, I should probably feel deep and lasting shame, but I didn't.
It was quarter past and Matilda still hadn't appeared. Finally she walked in, wearing her uniform. She stopped in the middle of the back area. "You're all sheep," she said, accusingly. "You let him screw you all over and you just put up with it. It's pathetic. That's all you'll ever be." She was shaking with anger, her eyes bugging. She obviously knew something we didn't. Just like her to follow up with the inspectors to get the verdict, probably so she could volunteer herself for the task of handing over Julian's work as he was given marching orders.
Whatever they told her, it hadn't pleased her, which probably meant there would be no marching orders for Julian. He appeared out of his office and Matilda turned to him. "This isn't over."
"I'm sure it's not, but for now it is. I am willing to take your resignation if you feel you cannot continue."
All of us stood around watching. I almost felt for her, her humiliation. Her coup attempt had failed, been foiled by all of us working against her. From her perspective, it was probably devastating. I kind of hoped she’d quit—although I still didn't understand why Julian didn't fire her.
"I'm not done," she said with tightly drawn lips. She walked to her register and unlocked, her temper tantrum now hidden away behind the typical cheery smile she met customers with.
Julian returned to his office too, leaving us to stare at one another.
"Julian is too generous," Ella said as we started to break up. "He should fire her ass, but he can't bring himself to do it. She poses a clear threat to him and he still won't do it. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me multiple times and promise to do it again and again, what the fuck?"
As I recall, I'd had roughly the same conversation with Julian about Riley, which had also included Wyatt and Deseree—and Matilda. They were all less than ideal employees, but he refused to get rid of them. Who had responsibility for them, he'd said. Matilda even meant him ill and he still put up with her. Was I one of his fuck-ups too? Ella, as well, whose life revolved around being gorgeous?
It also made me wonder if he'd been making out with me simply because I was a crying mess—just another injured animal he couldn't ignore and walk past. Ella had more or less alluded to it. I was thinking of him as prospect material while I was just a blubbering mess he didn't have the heart to ignore.
It was uncomfortable to think about, compounding on top of other uncomfortable things to think about. At least Ella was true; there had been no back stabbing. Riley, well, he was still a fuckwit no matter what he'd done.
* * *
Chapter 26:
* * *
After all the drama, things seemed quiet the next day. Maybe things would finally get back to normal, return to an even keel and all that. Matilda was exactly the same, no doubt planning her revenge on us. She was kind of creepy to have around, but she rarely moved away from her register and she didn't talk, so there was that.
The dinner rush went quickly and then things slowed down as they normally did. Hunger was starting to gnaw on my insides and I'd brought leftover spaghetti tonight. Julian's door was open. I could see the length of his leg as he sat on his stool, stuck as he was in that tiny office.
"Hey," I said quietly, walking over to lean on the door frame.
Looking up, he smiled. "How's it going, Pepper?"
"Its nice things are calm again. Restaurant's not so busy tonight. Any news on the inspection?"
"There are a couple of things we have to address, but nothing major."
I smiled, feeling awkward, wondering if he felt exactly as awkward. He didn't look it though. Crossing his arms, he twisted his head. "I can't take any more of this paperwork," he said, flopping his head back.
Shifting on my feet, I felt uncomfortable. I didn't quite know what to say. He was older, not a kid, so how did I broach the subject of maybe hanging out sometime, maybe away from work. I couldn't very well invite him over to my house. Imagine the awkwardness of him coming over and my mom being there. Not to mention that she would probably flip. I couldn't even ask him out for a drink, and neither could he the other way around. Would he even want to hang with someone who wasn't legally allowed to drink?
I felt like I was totally crashing and burning. "Let me know if there's anything you need me to do," I said, probably meaning the anything more literally than he was taking it.
"Go have your dinner. I'll be fine." He picked up a pen and brought it up to his mouth. What I really wanted was for him to wrap his
arms around me and say something sweet, but this was at work, in the middle of the shift. Not that it necessarily stopped him. He just wasn't with me.
Did he want anything to do with me? I couldn't help the thoughts creeping in as I walked to the lunch room. Was he trying to gently hold me at a distance, give me the message that we weren't going there again.
I ate my spaghetti without tasting it. Being interested in an older guy who was more secure in himself was supposed to bypass all this uncertainty and self-doubt, but here it was, flaring to life with a vengeance.
Packing my dinner away, I returned to my locker. I was too agitated and stressed to even contemplate quitting smoking today. That would just have to wait for another day when everything was calm. Calm and collected—how long had it been since I'd felt that way?
It was dark outside. The seat was empty, so I took it, lighting the cigarette and drawing the acrid smoke into my lungs. It really was the worst crutch in the world. Hey, I'm going to kill you someday, but not today, so there's something, an upside. I rubbed my palm across my fore head, trying to dissipate the headache what was starting to form. Maybe I needed to drink more water. Had I even had any water today?
The door opened and I tensed, relaxing and pleased to see Julian step out. "Hey," he said, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of the pocket of his navy pants. See, he had his own cigarettes, like a mature person. "Sitting in the dark contemplating?"
"Contemplating quitting smoking, actually."
He smiled, the scarce light showing the contours of his cheek. He really was cute. I couldn't stop myself wondering what he looked like sleeping. How would it be to wake up next to him? White sheets, nice and warm, gentle morning light. Goosebumps traveled up my skin.
Done Burger Page 13
