Page 60 of Unbelonging
I rolled my eyes. "Oh please. Like I'd fall for that reverse psychology crap."
"Look," he said, gripping my elbow to hustle me off to the side, "here's the deal. They asked for your section. I couldn't exactly tell 'em no, especially after what happened the other night. So I'll make you a deal. You make 'em happy, and we'll forget about you paying for their meal vouchers."
Nowthatgot my attention. "What about the other stuff?" I asked.
"What other stuff?"
Oh for crying out loud. Did I have to spell out everything? "I'm talking about the dress," I said. "And their dinner, all that stuff from the other night."
"I already agreed to wipe off the vouchers," he said. "Isn't that enough?"
"Hardly," I said. "Of everything on that stupid list, that was the smallest."
Okay, maybe Iwasbeing a teeny bit unreasonable. But the guy had been giving me crap since day one. And he'd flat-out lied to get me in here tonight. Besides, he was going to fire me the minute the flu bug passed, if not sooner. Money aside, this was my one chance to make him squirm. No way I'd be letting this opportunity pass.
At the nearby hostess station, customers were lined up waiting. The woman at the front of the line cleared her throat far too loudly to be genuine. Keith turned to call over to her. "Be right with you, ma'am."
He turned back to me. "Fine," he muttered. "I'll cover the meal, but the dress is on you. I wasn't the one who ruined the damn thing."
"She still inflated its value," I said.
"Tell someone who cares," he said. "It's my final offer. Take it or leave it."
Biting my lip, I looked toward Brittney's table. She and Amber were leaning forward, their eyes bright, their expressions eager. Whatever they had in mind, they were obviously looking forward to it.
I wasn't.
But there was an awful lot of money on the line. Mentally, I added up the cost of the vouchers, along with the dinner from the other night. The amount was scarily big.
"I'll take it," I said. "But I want it in writing."
Keith stared at me. "What?"
"I want it in writing," I repeated. "Spell it out. Everything. That I'm not responsible for the vouchers or that stupid dinner from before."
The way I saw it, Keith would be firing me anyway, but it wouldn’t be tonight. As busy and short-staffed as we were, he couldn’t afford to. But tomorrow? Or next week? He'd be giving me the boot for sure. And I sure as hell didn't want to leave with a giant bill hanging over my head.
"Fine," he muttered. As I watched, he grabbed a notebook from the nearby register and scribbled out a quick note.
"Don’t forget to sign it," I told him in a cheery tone that made him bare his teeth at me.
When he finished, I snatched it out of his hand and looked it over. All the points were there, just like I'd asked. And at the bottom, I saw his signature, all nice and official.
Our entire exchange had taken less than five minutes, but as hectic as tonight was, it was more time than either of us could spare. Still, I felt myself smile. In five minutes, I'd managed to wipe out a big chunk of the disputed amount. About the dress, well, I guess there wasn't a whole lot I could do about that.
As I folded up the note and tucked it into my apron, I felt my smile fade as I recalled the other half of the bargain. My half. Waiting on Brittney and Amber, and making sure they were happy.
This definitely wasn't going to be easy.
Chapter 34
As I made my way out to their table, I took a deep breath and steeled myself for what was sure to be an unpleasant experience.
Whether by accident or design, they'd been seated at a center table. Brittney wore a sleek black cocktail dress and matching stiletto shoes. Amber was dressed in much the same way, except her dress was a deep shimmery green and cut slightly lower in the front.
As much as I hated to admit it, they looked great, like two cover girls out on the town. It was obvious they'd put quite a lot of time and thought into their appearance.
I suddenly felt beyond ridiculous in my too-tight, low-cut blouse and stupid bobby socks. And then there was the rest of it. Where their hair fell in soft waves over their bare shoulders, my hair was an over-teased, over-sprayed mess.
