Page 18 of The Billionaire's Fortunate Accident
“A burger. And not just one of those plain Jane’s you guys make either. I want it all. Grilled onions. Jalapenos. Add some of that special sauce that you put on that specialty burger that came out last Christmas. That shit is the bomb. And run that bitch through the garden too. I want all the veggies. And don’t be skimpy with anything. Oh shit!”
She startled me with her sudden cursing. “What?”
“Bacon. Don’t forget the bacon, man. And some fries, and the biggest lemon-lime drink you got.” She put her credit card on the counter. “Hook me up, player.”
“Consider yourself hooked.” I keyed in all the things she’d said, then ran her card, feeling like I was kicking ass at this. “Next.”
Tammy rushed up behind me. “Get behind that grill and get cooking. I’ll take their orders now.”
“Cool.” I went back to the kitchen, finding so many orders on the screen that I froze for a moment. “No. I can’t do all of these.”
Tammy must’ve heard me because she shouted, “Just get to work!”
“Okay, geez.” I took one order at a time, making sure to get everything just right. More beeps came, signaling more drive-thru customers. The door dinged more often, informing me that more people were coming inside. And I just kept cooking, cranking out the food as fast as I could — with a little sloppiness, as I had to rush.
“Stone?” I heard a familiar voice.
“Jessa. Yeah, it’s me.” I glanced at her. “I’m swamped here. Can we talk later?”
“I can see that.” She put on an apron. “Tammy should’ve told me she couldn’t get anyone to come in. I’ll take over back here on the grill.”
“How about you just help me out?” I pointed at the veggies that were nearly out. “Can you cut up some more of those for me?”
“Yeah, sure.” She went to work, smiling away as she did.
I began to smile too since she was around. “This isn’t as easy as I remembered from when I was a teenager.”
“You worked in fast food?” She poured some more pickles into their place in the condiment line.
“For a year or so. Mackey’s, the place was called. We sold all sorts of things, too. It could get crazy. Just like this.” I wrapped up a burger then tossed it into a bag. “Order up.”
Tammy grabbed the bag then added the other things before giving it to the waiting customer. “Not too shabby, Romeo.”
“Thanks.”
Time flew by as customers kept coming. And then some guy came in, took an apron off the wall, and said, “I got it, Jessa.”
Jessa pulled me back. “The morning shift has arrived. We’re free to go, Stone.”
Taking off the apron, I put it back from where I’d gotten it. “Man, I was in the zone. I got lost in there, didn’t I?”
“You did.” She took my hand, pulling me out of the kitchen. “Thanks for the help. I’ll be sure to put you into the system so you can get paid.”
“Tell you what.” I looked at our clasped hands, liking the way hers fit mine so perfectly. “Add my time to yours instead. You can take my pay. I don’t really need it.”
“I can’t do that.” She led me out of the door, into the still dark parking lot.
“Well, I can’t take the money. Consider it a favor for a friend.” We stopped in front of a little blue car, and she opened the door. “So, this is yours?”
“Yeah. I know it’s not much. But I did buy it with my own money. It’s paid for.” She got into the car. “I’m sure that wasn’t how you planned to spend your night. Go home and get some sleep. I’m sure you’ve got things to do today.”
“Yeah.” I couldn’t stop looking at her as I held the door. “You working again tomorrow?”
“You mean tonight — and yes, I am. But you can’t come and be our cook every night without being hired first.” She laughed. “I’ve gotta get home and get some sleep before I go to the hospital. Thanks again, Stone.”
“You’re welcome.” I closed the door, watching her as she pulled out of the parking spot.
She’d almost got out of the parking lot when I remembered that I had originally come to get her phone number. Sprinting after her, I finally caught up just as she was about to exit onto the road. Banging on her window, I clearly startled her.
