Page 4 of Daddy's Little Foreigner

Jaxson had told all of their employees they could cover other people's shifts. He did let them know that he didn't necessarily want them to work overtime. Everyone deserved a break and shouldn’t be working themselves too hard. He also understood everyone’s life was different and encouraged those who needed the extra money to pick up other shifts.

He wondered if Sofia was in that situation. Did she need money? He didn't want to ask and make her uncomfortable orembarrassed if she did. At the same time, he wanted to make sure she was taken care of, if she needed some help.

There had been several times Jaxson told her she didn't need to work so hard, but it always seemed to fall on deaf ears. She said she understood, but did she really? From the way she acted, it didn't seem like she did.

A knock sounded on his office door. “Come in,” he said.

Sofia's small frame walked into his office. He took her in as she walked over to the chair in front of his desk.

She was a little pale, and he didn't know why. What could have happened in between her grabbing a snack and walking to his office? Was somebody bullying her?

Neither Jaxson nor any of the owners tolerated bullying at all. It was something all of them talked about with everybody who walked in through the doors.

It was never okay to bully somebody.

“Are you okay?” he asked, as she sat down.

He watched her closely to see if she would give off any indications that she was lying to him. He didn't know if she was going to tell the truth or not, and it wouldn't surprise him if she didn’t. A lot of employees were scared to tell their bosses things, out of fear of getting in trouble, but Jaxson didn't want that. He wanted all of his employees to know that he was there for them and would listen to all of their concerns, look into things, and find the truth.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked in a shaky voice.

His eyes went wide as he stared at her. She thought she did something wrong.

“You didn't do anything wrong, that I’m aware of,” he said. “Why would you think that?”

She looked down at her hands where she held her snack and drink.

“You said you had something to discuss with me,” she quietly said.

He didn't think telling her that would have made her scared. If he had known, he would have told her it was nothing bad.

“Are you going to fire me?” she asked.

“No!” he raised his voice. “Nobody's getting fired today or tomorrow. You're not getting fired.”

He watched as her body relaxed.

“I just wanted to talk to you about taking breaks and making sure that you're looking after yourself,” he said.

Sofia looked at him with a confused face, her head tilting to the right side.

“Do you need me to open that packet for you?” he asked, pointing to the packet of goldfish in her lap.

She looked down at the goldfish and shook her head. All he wanted to do was help her open it. He watched as she struggled with it for thirty seconds before she finally opened it.

“What exactly did you want to talk about that?” she asked.

He loved hearing the slight accent she had every time she spoke. It wasn't prominent like he thought it would be. Who had taught her English? Did they speak English in Chile?

“I just need you to know that you don't have to work every waking second that you can. We don't want to make you sick. I don't want you to be sick,” he said. “That also means taking care of yourself and not taking your breaks could harm you in the end.”

“How?” she asked, taking a mouthful of goldfish.

“You can exhaust yourself in a shift when you don't take your breaks. You are standing for your entire shift. You need your break to sit and relax. It gives you time to collect yourself if things get busy,” he explained. “But it also allows you to have time to eat and drink. It's important to nourish your body and going too long without food can hinder you.”

Jaxson knew it was important. When Michael gave everyone a rundown on the body and how it can actually affect them, Jaxson cracked down on the employees making sure they were taking their breaks. He even implemented that it was a paid break so people would. He didn’t want the employees to work through their break because they needed the money.

Sofia nodded her head, and he was hoping he was getting through to her. She wasn't the first person he had this conversation with. There had been several people who worked here and didn't take their breaks or stayed an hour after they were supposed to leave.

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