Page 21 of Hot and Bothered
My face fell.Evan put his arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze. I looked up at him hopefully.
“But I’m sure if you stick to non-customer stuff, you’ll be fine,” he continued.
That squeeze was affectionate, almost brotherly. Not suggestive or sensual about it at all.
But from the way my stomach fluttered, I knew the feelings I had were anything but familial.
9
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the bar closed and the last of the customers cleared out.
I slumped over the counter, lowering my head with a sigh.
“Tough night?”
I lifted my eyes to see a good looking man coming out of a room at the back with a stack of papers in his hands. This had to be Mason, the manager I’d yet to meet.
“Don’t worry,” he continued. “It’s hard on everyone at first. You’ll get used to it.”
I sat up straight and cleared my throat.
“Thank you for giving me a chance,” I told him. “You and Evan were very kind to hire me out of the blue like this.”
“We really need someone until we hire a full-timer to replace some of Grant and Lizzy’s shifts,” Mason said. “But you’re welcome to keep on helping out for as long as you want. We’re a busy place.”
“I’ve noticed.” I wrung my hands in my lap, wondering how much Mason knew about my screw-ups. “I’m still learning, but I promise I’m trying my best.”
“Evan told me this is your first customer service job,” Mason said. “We don’t expect you to be an expert right away.”
I didn’t know if I’d become an expert at it ever, the way things were going, but I was willing to work my hardest. I wasn’t going to disappoint Evan or make him regret helping me.
“This stupid machine!” Lizzy cried out with a frustrated groan.
“Still haven’t gotten the hang of it?” Mason asked.
“I hate you.” She pointed a finger at him. “What was wrong with the old system? Why do we need this newfangled thingy?”
“It’s supposed to be more customer-friendly,” Mason said. “Easier for calculating tips when splitting between multiple people.”
“It may be customer-friendly, but it’s not Lizzy-friendly,” she fumed. “The instructions make no sense. It’s all numbers, and equations, andmath.” Her nose scrunched up in disgust at the last word.
“Can I see?” I asked curiously. “I was pretty good at math in school.”
“Be my guest,” she said with a wild wave of her hand.
The expensive private school my parents had sent me to had been more of a finishing school for young ladies, but the academics were rigorous at least, and I’d always excelled at anything to do with numbers. As the headmistress would say, I’d be well equipped to do the finances involved with “running a household.”
I took Lizzy’s place in front of the computer. There was some kind of spreadsheet looking program open on the touch screen. I tapped to open the help menu and skimmed through the FAQ section. I found something about calculating the sums for split orders and tips. I went back to the spreadsheet. It looked a little complicated, but after examining it for a few seconds, I thought I had a grip on the problem.
“Hm.” I tapped a few more buttons. “I think this is it. Try it now.”
Lizzy’s skeptical frown didn’t leave her face, but after running a few test purchases, the frown melted into a surprised smile.
“It works!” She enveloped me in a hug, nearly knocking me off my feet. “You’re a genius!”
“I just read the instructions,” I told her.
“And Alice saves the day,” Evan announced as he slid over to our side of the bar. “I think this makes up for a few broken glasses, don’t you?”
