Page 45 of Wildcard's Wager

“But we have to keep him humble,” Mal finishes.

“That’s what Puma says,” Corrine assures Brigit. “I’d never badmouth him. He’s a great dad to Mal and Elina.”

“I’ve seen him with the kids. He’s been great with Colt. My son. Our son.”

“That’s where I’ve seen you. You were here at the hotel a few nights ago with a little boy that looked just like Wildcard. Trouble will be happy to know he was right.”

“We just saw him. Sorry for dragging you guys back here. I didn’t know the old man would get the short straw.”

Corrine waves me off. “I had to come here, anyway. I’m meeting Alisa to talk about the charity event we’re working on. Plus, she’s taking Mal back to the Demon Dawgs clubhouse. Mal splits his time between the two clubhouses.” She says the last to Brigit.

“What charity are you guys working on now?”

“For the homeless. Called Homeward Bound. We’re purchasing a small hotel and fitting it out into apartments. Those who want the opportunity are required to foster a pet while living there. They’re responsible for training and caring for the animals and helping to get them adopted.”

“That’s an interesting take,” Brigit says. “Gives them companionship and motivation.”

“That’s the idea,” Corrine beams. “Oh, there’s Alisa. It was nice meeting you. I’m certain we’ll see each other often.”

Mal races off to hug Alisa while Corinne follows. I turn to Brigit. “How about dinner? I’ll show you what I think is the best perk for our employees.”

I lead Brigit down the hall to our employee cafeteria. Like the daycare center, we find several employees in the cafeteria.

“We have your typical casino buffet with everything we serve to the public. But you can also order meals from each restaurant. Employees eat free.”

“You spend a lot of money on your employees,” Brigit comments as she scopes out the offerings on the buffet.

“Our employees make us a lot of money. It’s why we don’t understand why so many are leaving us. The pay is better than other places, and we offer several perks. We listen to our employees and implement new programs all the time. Angelica is implementing our most recent one. We’re expanding the childcare facility to include tutoring. Angelica has her teaching credentials, and she’s excited about using them. We’ve never had a problem with employee turnover until recently. I can’t imagine that Chill is the only reason people are leaving.”

“We’ll need to talk to the employees who turned in their notice. That’s the best place to start. I can do that. If you could get me an office or a conference room. I can stay out of sight and talk to them before their last day. For those who quit and left, I could call them. See if they’ll talk to me.” Brigit loads her plate with spare ribs, mashed potatoes, corn, and pasta salad while I go for the Thai food.

“Really? That would be a great help. You can use the office near mine. It was Liz’s, the former HR Manager.”

We finish eating, and I take her to the office she can use. The look of awe on her face tells me she likes the space. Good. She moves to the window and stares at the view that is like mine.

“I love this office.”

“Good. It’s yours.” I grin.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: BRIGIT

I shake my head at Wildcard, but smile back.

“Since I’m here, I can pay back all that you and your club are doing for me,” I tell him. “Why don’t I talk to the workers who have turned in their notice? If they’re still here at work.”

Wildcard frowns. “You don’t have to do that, but I won’t say no. You’re certain?”

I nod. “It will get my feet wet and after that tour, I’m curious why anyone would want to quit.”

Wildcard huffs. “Yeah, we don’t get it either. I’ll get you a computer, but in the meantime, let me grab the personnel folders from Trouble.”

I search the desk until I find a pad of paper and a few pens I can use to take notes. As I wait for Wildcard to return, I jot down a few general questions. I also make a list of potential areas of concern based on past experience. Most of the time, money is the great motivator to leave one job for another. That could be the case here. Even though 1% has the perks, if they aren’t offering great pay and benefits, another casino probably could. I made a note to find out the hourly rate and salaries for each position. Also, it would help to know what benefits other casinos in the area offer their employees. By the time Wildcard returns, Ihave several pages filled with actionable items and another with potential questions for the employees.

“Here are the files for all the employees who have quit in the past week,” Wildcard says, as he drops them on my desk. Trouble is right behind him.

“I sent Reggie to locate Bianca Lake. I know she’s working tonight as a cocktail server. Someone can cover her station while she visits with you. We’ll reimburse her for lost tips.” Trouble says. “Thanks for doing this. I hate losing people.”

I glance through the folders to find Bianca’s folder. As I search through them, I notice a pattern until I reach the last folder. “Most of them are women. Just one man.”

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