Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Thaeros considered that for a while before saying, “He’s not too bad.
I think. Takes an hourly rate most people can only dream of, even those with Shamhat.
Which is more or less what I know about him.
” He indicated the rest of the diner. “Do you work too? Generally speaking, as a manager. Or do you just randomly make milkshakes?”
“Of course I work. Oh, you mean if waiting tables is in the job description?”
“Basically.”
“In that case, yes.”
Thaeros sighed. “Such a shame. I’ll adjust my nail polish accordingly.”
And that, finally, triggered my manager responsibilities. “Have you ever waited tables before?”
He put his finger to his bottom lip again. “Hmm. Yes. But manager sounded so glamorous that I thought perhaps I’d simply supervise, maybe give a few orders here and there.”
“Sorry, but no. Didn’t Soyer tell you anything about this job?”
That had me slightly worried. I didn’t think Soyer would intentionally recruit someone who maybe wasn’t going to work out—after all, Rae was the best—but so far, Thaeros was a lot different than Rae had been.
“He’s not a man of many words, that one. Are you worried? You look very worried. How about I promise not to burn this place down?”
He definitely wasn’t anything like Rae, even if he added a friendly wink to the last bit. I was going to have to ask Soyer what their deal was.
“You’re going to…make the schedule, I guess.
It’s pretty easy though. Actually, it’s just when someone asks for an adjustment.
Mostly we stick to regular shifts. Then there’s placing orders for everything we need in the kitchen, although…
I could probably do that during my shifts.
I haven’t had a chance to ask Dwayne about that.
” And, in my position as the manager with seniority, I also wasn’t going to let Thaeros order straight away, not before talking that over with Dwayne, Soyer, or both.
“You also make sure we have napkins out front, and anything else we need, and make sure everything runs smoothly. And I should tell you, there’s this secret chat, and they’re always planning something on there. ”
He looked as surprised as he had when we’d greeted him. “Who’s planning what? Excuse me, this is a normal diner, yeah? Just food and boredom on a plate?”
I really wished Soyer were here. “I don’t really think we’re boring, but yes. We serve food and we take care of our patrons.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you. I recognized the cook. He used to work elsewhere.”
“Kasey? He’s a sous chef, actually.” I remembered how Kasey had asked me something along those same lines and relaxed minutely. “No, we’re just a diner. Just food.” No…murder.
“But no cocktails?”
“We’re a family diner.”
“Some families enjoy cocktails. I don’t judge.”
“No cocktails.”
“Hmm.” He looked at me, blinking lashes so long that I wondered whether they were real. “You’re different from how I thought you’d be.”
“Excuse me?”
“I mean that as a compliment. Most people like me. You don’t.
You don’t need to worry though. Speaking strictly, in the metaphorical sense, I’m not going to burn this place to the ground.
” He shrugged. “Even if you insist on the uniform. I can show you, if you want, take over this shift for you. If you’re okay with me not wearing a uniform, that is. ”
I had no illusions about being the best at reading other people, but after working at the Moonlight for as long as I had, I liked to think I was at least decent in most situations.
Yet Thaeros stumped me. I had no idea if he hated me, if he hated being here, or if he was trying to be nice.
I wished Jenny or Rosa were here. I wanted to get Dwayne, but I was the manager, and he had told me to show Thaeros everything they needed to know.
“You’ll have to memorize the menu first.”
“The one on your home page? I did that.” They leaned back against the bench, looking bored. “Just show me how your billing system works.”
“Billing—we use a notepad and the register. The card reader is in Dwayne’s office.”
“A notepad? Like, paper?”
I pulled mine out of my apron. “Yup. Old school.”
“Oh, fuck me. Fine. Pen and paper. Fine.” He turned his attention to the saltshaker, tapping it with his pretty nail. It needed to be refilled, and it bugged me that he seemed to have noticed before I had.
They didn’t look the least bit thrilled about the prospect of getting to work though. I wouldn’t have minded a slight upgrade in the payment area as well, but it was what it was. He was also the new guy, and it wasn’t like anyone was forcing him to work here.
I smiled at him like Rosa had taught me to do with difficult customers. “I understand if this isn’t what you expected. If you’d rather not take the job, I’m sure we can find someone else.”
“Can you fire me? Oh, that would be nice.” He sighed. “Amory, I don’t think you can fire me.”
I had no idea what his deal was, and I didn’t want to judge him, I really didn’t.
I would be the first person to admit that the way a person acted wasn’t always how they were.
I didn’t know what Thaeros had going on at home, in his life, but he was going to be responsible for the diner, Dwayne’s diner, and the people working here, our regulars.
I kept up the difficult customer smile. “You haven’t even started yet. Really, I don’t think anyone would want to force you, Thaeros.”
He leaned forward, going into intense eye contact all over again.
“Could you get me a pen and a notepad? Maybe an apron? Please? Give me a chance, at least.”
A chance. Dwayne had given me a chance too. More than that, in fact. I owed it to him to pay it forward, maybe owed it to myself too.
“Okay, fine. But you’ll have to check with Ant and Levi about their tables.”
He nodded. “Sure. Works for me.”
He stood and fluffed his hair, running both hands through it before making his way behind the counter.
It wasn’t confidence-inspiring at all, but at least I was here, and if this really didn’t work out, I’d tell Soyer when he came in later. Thaeros could have his chance until then.
I headed through to the back and knocked on Dwayne’s door.
“Yeah?”
I stuck my head in. “I just need an apron. For the new manager, Thaeros. You still have half an hour.”
Dwayne indicated the box on the shelf that held the extras. “Right. Grab what you need. She any good?”
“Well, we’ll see. He goes by any pronoun.” I pulled the box off the shelf to get to the aprons.
Dwayne grunt-nodded. “You don’t like them.”
I froze for a second before grabbing one of our new aprons. It was pristine, much like the Moonlight had been after the fire. It really didn’t need another, metaphorical or otherwise.
“I don’t…not like them.”
“Hmm. Soyer said he was going to get someone competent. That was the word he used: competent. You just let me know if they’re a disaster. Either way, you’re not getting out of the days off, kid.”
“I wasn’t trying to.” I closed the lid on the box and made my way toward the door, but stopped before leaving. “Whose idea was it anyway? To, you know, ground me.”
Dwayne looked up from his work and huffed. “Ground you? Kid, you do good work, there’s no denying that, but you do too much of it. You gotta live too. Spend some time with your handsome fella.”
My mouth fell open in surprise. “You think Soyer is handsome?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You just did, actually. You said he was a handsome fella.”
“You probably misheard, but if he were, you’d want to spend more time with him, wouldn’t you? Seize the day. It’s what you’re supposed to do, Amory.”
“I do, I just don’t want you to get stuck with the extra work. Or for chaos to erupt.”
“Live a little, that’s what they say. Stop trying to avoid that.”
I sighed, clutching the apron to my chest. “Okay. Thanks.”
I left Dwayne’s office, pausing on the other side of the door. Dwayne had just given me life advice in a conversation that was on the lengthy side for him, and it had come after the thing about the knitting. I headed toward the back where we kept the extra notepads and pens.
I grabbed a pen and pad and prepared to hand everything out with a smile.
It was like things were changing around the Moonlight in the blink of an eye.
I was afraid I’d miss it if I stopped looking, so I wasn’t going to.
I also wasn’t going to let the changes outpace me. If anything, I’d hurry to keep up.