Page 12 of Don't Hurt Us
“I think I’d rather charge you once a week if that works for you?That’s what I’ve been doing with the restaurants I’ve been working with.I feel like it’s easier.”
“That sounds great.Thank you for this, Syd… How much longer are you working today?Didn’t you say you had to come in at four o’clock this morning?”
“Yeah, I got here a little before four.”She winces.“It’s a long day, but I’ll be leaving any second.”She glances at the clock.It’s a little before noon.
“I can’t even imagine being finished with work for the day at noon.”I chuckle.“I don’t even start until four o’clock at night.We basically work opposite shifts.You’re probably waking up when I'm going to bed.”
“Yeah, we don’t have the best schedules.”
My heart falls as reality sets in.As much as I’d love to have a relationship with Sydney, we’d never get to see each other.If we were married, we wouldn’t even get to sleep in the same bed at the same time.I can’t even imagine that.She’d come home from work only a few hours before I’d be leaving for work and that’s the only time we’d get to see each other.
“Thank you for this.I’ll let you know how it goes.”I nod towards the box.I hurry out of the bakery before I can say anything else.I need to remember the reality of our situation before I make a move.
My head is in a weird spot since I realized a relationship between Sydney and me would be practically impossible.I know she feels something towards me.Something I’d like to explore, but what’s the point?The last thing we need is to fall in love with each other and break up because our schedules don’t line up well and we never get to see each other.
I work in the office, printing out the specials for the rest of the week.I have a little plastic stand on each table and on the bar that tells customers the specials for the night.I make sure to change them out every day and I don’t keep set specials for set nights.I like to surprise people.
I make these signs a little more flashy than normal.I want people to realize this is different from what I normally have.I want them to want this even more.
By the time I finish in the office and make my way out into the bar, one of my bartenders is walking through the door with two servers behind him.
“Hey, guys.We have a special going on tonight and we’ll be doing this daily from now on.I want you to try this.”
I head behind the bar and grab four glasses.I pour a small amount of champagne into each one.Pulling the box from Sydney’s out from under the bar, I place a lemon bar and glass in front of each one of them.
“Every night we’ll sell a limited number of pairings.Tonight, it’s champagne and lemon bars.Tomorrow, we’ll have a hot toddy with an apple fritter and the next night is a grasshopper with chocolate cake.”
I motion for them each to try the combination.I normally wouldn’t encourage my employees to drink while on the job, but I think it’s important for them to understand what we’re doing.Also, they deserve to try this and enjoy a little treat.
“This is amazing!”Mark, one of the servers, says.
“Yeah, I'm not a fan of champagne, but this is good together.”Brad, the bartender, nods his head.
“This is delicious.Are these from Sydney’s Sweets?”Doug, the other server, asks.
“Yeah, we’re working together.We met last night and have almost twenty combinations we want to try and see how they go.I'd love it if we could figure out thirty pairings so we could do something different every day of the month.It would be fun.”
“How many do we have available for tonight?”Mark asks.
“We have fourteen left.I told Sydney we’d start with a dozen a day, but then I wanted to let you guys try them so I got some extras.We can easily adjust those numbers, I just don’t want to overdo it in the beginning.”
“This will be amazing!We should take photos of the pairings to put on the specials sign.We could also keep a running tally of how many are left on the white board.This way people will feel pressured into ordering theirs faster.Also, it will help make sure we don’t tell someone we have a dessert available if we don’t,” Doug adds.
“Oh!We should call it out to Brad when we get an order.Say something like ‘We’ve got another special!’, that might make people realize how amazing these are and make them feel like they’re missing out if they don’t get one.I know I feel that way whenever I go to a fast-food restaurant and the cashier calls out that they need another order of mozzarella sticks or chicken tenders.I immediately want them.”
“That’s a good idea.”Brad nods.“There’s nothing worse than thinking you’ll get something special and then finding out you can’t have it.”
“I love these ideas.You guys are the best.”I shake my head, but I can’t hide my grin.They’ll make sure this turns out even better than I ever imagined, I have no doubt about it.
I'm in my office working on our alcohol order for next week.Every few minutes I hear Doug, Mark, or Brad call out ‘We’ve got another special!’and each time my smile widens.I can’t believe how well this is going.
Within the first hour of the bar being open, we’ve sold out.I contemplate sending Sydney a text, but I change my mind.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Sydney, it’s Maverick.”
“Oh, hey!How are you?”
