“How’s the new girl?” Janet, another waitress, asked as we got the dining room ready to open. “Krissy and Whitney both seemed impressed when I texted them yesterday.”

“Honestly, she was pretty great this weekend,” I responded, “I can’t even begin to explain what a relief it is to finally have some help. Those damn weekend shifts were bound to kill me.”

We finished getting the chairs down and tables ready, then I went to my office to work on some paperwork and get ready for my meeting with the owner. The owner, Carson Davis, is the best boss I could ask for. He is incredibly charming and allows me to do my job without breathing down my back. He is also some serious eye candy. Dark hair, piercing green eyes and a half smile that just makes my insides melt. If only he was a couple decades older. The employees all seem to have a crush on him too, well at least the ones attracted to men. While he is very charming and friendly to everyone, he is always professional and never tries to get with anyone here. Despite the many, many times people have thrown themselves at him. Honestly, now that I think about it, I don’t remember ever seeing him with anyone at all. I couldn’t even tell you what his sexuality is.

The alarm on my phone went off, pulling me away from my thoughts. Time to get this shift started. I cleaned up my desk and headed to the break room for our daily meeting. I checked the schedule for the day to make sure everyone that was supposed to be here was present. Just as I realized we were one short, Gretchen comes running in the breakroom holding her shirt and makeup. This girl was even later than Janet, and that says a lot.

“Super sorry Helen,” Gretchen huffed as she put her stuff down and sat, “traffic is awful.”

“Alright Gretch, just don’t make it a habit,” I replied as I heard a few chuckles. “Anyways, time to get this week started.”

“For anyone that didn’t work over the weekend, this is Cori, our new waitress,” I continued, “She’s done an amazing job so far so do not scare her away. Carson is also coming in for our weekly meeting today so let’s be on our best behavior.”

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I noticed Gretchen and a few others started to smile and make sure their hair was perfect.I had to mentally roll my eyes. I finished the meeting with the typical housekeeping things and sent my team out to get started.

Luckily, it’s Tuesday which means we’ll be slow enough that I can spend most of the night in my office. I walked back into my office to prepare for the meeting and get the next schedule ready. A few minutes later there was a knock on my office door and Gretchen walked in.

“What’s up, Gretch?” I asked without looking up from the papers on my desk. It was always something with her so I am not at all surprised to have her in my office.

“So when Carson, uh I mean Mr. Davis, gets here whose section should I sit him in?” she asked.

“Sit him at a table in Whitney’s section and then let me know he’s here,” I replied. Whitney wouldn’t drool over Carson and will actually leave us alone for the meeting.

“Ok thanks!” Gretchen skipped out of the office and hopefully got to work.

I spent the next hour working, getting interrupted constantly by little things like people needing to be reminded of the specials, needing to ask for certain days off, asking what day they are getting paid. I love my employees and I enjoy being a mother figure to them but damn would it be nice to work without being interrupted. I guess I finally know how real mothers feel.

Just as I’m starting on payroll, Gretchen is back at my door.

“He’s here,” she said in a singsong voice. And I swear I can see fresh make-up on her face. I smile, grab my folder and head out to the dining room.

I saw Carson sitting at a table by himself with his usual whiskey in front of him. He nodded at me as I made my way over to him. His expression then changed ever so slightly when he saw something behind me. Curious, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Cori taking a tray of food to a table. I looked back at Carson and noticed that his eyes were in fact following Cori. Is our young boss interested in the new girl? I caught Janet’s eye and she gave me a look telling me she was seeing the same thing.

“Hey boss,” I greeted Carson as I sat down. He looked surprised, startled even when I spoke.

“Good afternoon, Helen,” replied the man coolly. He regained his composure quickly, which wasn’t surprising. As much as I wanted to ask him about that look, I knew he didn’t open up or talk about personal things so I just got right to business. But I knew I had to talk to the other girls about this later.