Page 40 of Pucking Matt
“No,” I mutter.
Her brows furrow as she studies me.
“Oh my God,” I whisper.
Matt turns around to read the menu above him. He’s so calm and so broad and so…annoying. Jen returns to the front counter while I find busy work like refilling the utensils, takeout bags, and straws. I’m ignoring Matt and Jen. She’s running through everything on the computer end. It’s very simple, but she’s giving away all her tips. When she places a hand on his bicep…first of all, why is she touching him? Secondly, her hand makes him look huge. I’m not okay with any of this. He’s here to win this war, but I’m going to make sure this is the most memorable job of his life. I’m not going down without a fight.
A few customers are lingering outside, so I brace myself. I am a professional, and even near someone I most definitely dislike, I can still act professionally.
“Jen,” I say. “Take Matt in the back and give him a tour. I’ll take care of the customers that are coming in.”
“Oh,” she says, shrugging. She looks at Matt. “Okay.”
Matt says, “Actually, I was hoping you could show me the back, Amber.”
I’m thrown off by that. I remind myself to be professional, but in the face of my enemy, that’s a lot harder than it sounds.
“Okay.” I nod. “Sure. Follow me.”
He follows me to the back.
“Okay, so this is where we clock in and out as you already know. Some more common sense things, don’t forget to clockout. If you do forget, come back here or call someone. It causes more problems than good. Okay?”
“Got it,” he says.
“These are always the clean aprons. At the end of your shift, put your dirty apron in that basket. Never hang it up.”
He nods, and I hate this so much.
I point to the lockers next to the aprons. “These are the employee lockers.”
“Which one is mine?”
“Huh?” I glance at the lockers and shrug. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Jen. Wait.” I open a locker and it’s empty. “Come closer.”
His nose scrunches for a split second as he takes a step closer.
“Aw, it’s a little too small for me to shove you in there.”
He chuckles, wiping his mouth.
I hold in my smile, reminding myself that I need to be professional. “Moving on. This table is where we eat on our breaks. The fridge is over there. I hope I don’t have to say it, bachelor. Don’t leave your gross stuff in there. It smells bad enough. Okay, so moving out of the room. This wall is a mess. I have tried to organize it, but you know, I’m not the only one who works here. This is where all the supplies go when they’re ordered. As you can see, it’s all over the place.”
“How do you get anything on the top shelf?” he asks, reaching his hand up. He can comfortably reach it. “You’re like yay tall.”
“There’s a step stool, asshole.”
He laughs, turning his tongue in his mouth. Why is he doing that? I don’t know. Please stop.
“You won’t be needing it now that I’m here,” he says with pride in his tone.
“Yeah, that and other things. Like maybe they won’t need me anymore. You’re like two of me.”
His lips pull to one side. “I am. Maybe you should run out now.”
Is that what he’s doing? I glare at him. No…no, he’s enjoying this way too much. “Sometimes someone orders too many supplies and this shelf is where it ends up, so please always check here first. Now for the fun stuff. The food.”
I run briefly through general knowledge of expiration dates and what to do with expired food. He nods, observing where everything is.
