Chapter 15
Jackson
Haley walked straight behind the bar.
“So that’s Lauren.”
“Yeah. Kevin brought her in. Her ankle’s still rough.”
Haley folded the rag in half. “Kevin’s doing pickups now?”
Haley used her customer voice, clean and flat. She only got that careful when she was irritated enough to hide it. Haley didn’t have to say the rest. I heard it.
Kevin was handling her ride, her ankle, all of it. He’d gotten there first.
“He’s helping her. That’s all.”
I kept my voice even and reached for the register tape before Haley could turn it into more.
“Must be nice, getting dropped at the door by Dr. Thorpe on day one.”
Kevin just dropped her off, and there she was in my bar with her hair still a little mussed and that bad ankle making her move carefully. Lauren stayed by the door a second too long, one hand on her bag strap, testing the ankle and watching the room before the room started watching her.
“Come here,” I said. “I’ll show you the system.”
Lauren came over. “Where do I start?”
“Right here.” I pulled out a stool for her. “Point of sale system. Touch screen. Pretty easy.”
When I bent over the screen, she leaned in close. I had her sit on the stool at the terminal, stood beside her, and pointed across the screen while Haley worked the far end of the bar, close enough to hear everything.
“Lunch crowd wants speed,” I said. “Beer tabs stay open unless they tell you otherwise. Burgers go under sandwiches, wings go under apps, and if Tommy asks for ranch after the ticket is in, charge him for the extra.”
I showed her the buttons for splitting checks, modifiers, and open tabs.
“Do not run food yet. Stay on bar orders and the front tables until that ankle quits arguing with you.”
She leaned over the screen to punch in a burger mod, and her shoulder brushed my arm. I shifted half an inch and kept going.
“Split checks here. Mods here. If somebody wants dressing on the side, hit this before you send it or the kitchen’ll yell at you.”
Every time I leaned in to show her something, I could feel Haley tallying it up from the other end of the bar.
“Make sense?” I asked.
She looked up at me and nodded, mouth pressed together, eyes a little too bright. “Yeah. I think so.”
“Section three turns fast,” Haley said, coming over with a stack of menus. “If you get behind, clear glasses first and stop chatting at tables.”
Lauren took the menus. “Okay.”
“I’ll keep the patio and bar rail,” Haley said. “You stay inside until you know where everything is.”
“Good. Lunch starts in ten. Haley’s got sections.”
Haley smiled at Lauren, but her attention cut past her to me for a second, then toward the parking lot. She’d already clocked who brought Lauren in and how close I was standing now.
“Sure,” Haley said.
Haley turned and handed Lauren the thin section by the front windows without asking me anything. Lauren took the server book from her and looked down at the section map a second too long. Haley already moved on.