Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
M andy was surprised when she went into the restaurant the next morning and Zach wasn’t there yet.
She checked the schedule, and he wasn’t off this week until Friday and Saturday.
Paul was going to do a double on Friday and had the two other guys who alternated the weekends in addition to their regular evening shifts behind the line.
By eleven thirty with no sign of Zach, Mandy was getting nervous. She called Paul to give him a heads-up, and he sounded concerned.
“If he doesn’t show in the next ten minutes, text me, and I’ll be on my way.” Mandy hoped she wouldn’t need to do that as she knew Paul was working a double the next day.
She waited ten minutes, then went into the kitchen again and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Zach behind the line.
He looked like death warmed over, but he was there.
He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and his hair was matted in the back.
It looked like he had rolled out of bed without washing or brushing it.
He had deep circles under his eyes, and she noticed that one of his hands was a little shaky as he reached for his chef’s knife and started chopping celery.
She guessed that he was extremely hungover.
And she suspected that might not bode well for the day’s service.
But still, she didn’t want to bother Paul unnecessarily.
She just nodded at Zach and headed back to the front desk.
She texted Paul that Zach was there, and he immediately responded. Great, keep me posted if there are any issues. I can pop in early if needed.
She hoped that wouldn’t be necessary.
And the day proceeded relatively calmly. The day’s specials were simple—a Cajun grilled cod sandwich and a turkey club with steak fries. Easy lunch specials that were well received.
Mandy was relieved that everything seemed to be going smoothly. There were no fires that needed putting out, no customer complaints. Everyone seemed happy.
Until two thirty, when one of the servers made a mistake and ordered the wrong item. Mandy saw her go into the kitchen and a moment later heard a loud crash and screaming. She rushed into the kitchen to see Zach yelling at the poor server, who’d simply made a mistake.
“You’re all a bunch of idiots!” He hollered and slammed his hand against the counter.
The server stared at him in shock. A single tear ran down her face, and Mandy felt her own fury grow.
“Betty, head out to the dining room. I’ll handle this,” Mandy said calmly.
Betty scurried off, and Mandy looked at Zach, who was scowling.
He lifted his water bottle and took a big sip.
Mandy came around the line and looked at the floor by Zach’s feet.
The platter with the returned food lay shattered with food scattered everywhere.
Mandy met Zach’s gaze, and he looked away.
“Zach, what’s going on?” she asked softly.
He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I lost my cool. I’m having a bad day. It won’t happen again.”
“Okay. What did Betty want?”
“She ordered the wrong special. She wanted the turkey club, not the fish sandwich.”
She sensed that Zach’s anger wasn’t about the wrong order. It was just the straw that made him snap. “How about you make a turkey club real quick, and I’ll bring it out. And then I’ll send Betty in so you can apologize? Can you do that?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
She waited while Zach made the sandwich, then delivered it to the customer and sent Betty into the kitchen.
She went in nervously but quickly returned smiling.
Mandy felt better about that, but she was still concerned about Zach.
He was like a tea kettle ready to explode at any moment.
A little while later, when the rush had completely died down and about a half hour before she was due to leave, she ventured back into the kitchen.
Zach was outside, sitting on the back steps and having a cigarette.
He didn’t turn when she entered the kitchen, and she didn’t think he was aware that she was there.
No one else was in the kitchen. Zach’s water bottle was sitting on the line, and Mandy was curious.
She walked over and quickly unscrewed the top. The smell of Tanqueray instantly wafted up, and there was about a half inch of liquid at the bottom of the bottle. She screwed the lid back on, picked up the water bottle, brought it back to the front desk, and texted Paul.
I’ll be right there.
She knew Emma was on her way in too since she was working the evening shift.
They both arrived at the same time, and Mandy filled them in with more detail.
“You really think he’s drinking on the job?” Emma sounded surprised and disappointed.
Mandy nodded. “Jill told us she suspected it last night. He clearly has an issue with alcohol if he’s day drinking too.”
A few minutes later, Zach came out of the kitchen and walked toward the front desk. He looked surprised to see Paul there so early.
“Have you seen my water bottle? I must have set it down somewhere.”
Mandy reached under the front desk and held it up. “This one?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Thanks.” He reached for it, but Paul grabbed it instead and unscrewed the top and sniffed the inside. They could all smell the gin.
“Zach, are you drinking on the job?” Paul asked quietly.
Zach looked away, then back at Paul. “I had a rough night last night. It was just a little hair of the dog. No big deal.”
Paul nodded. “Jill said you were drinking last night too. You left your water bottle behind on the bar, and she smelled the Tanqueray.”
Zach said nothing. He looked away and braced for what they all knew was coming.
“I’m sorry, Zach, but I think this has to be your last day. I can’t have anyone drinking while working or being rude to staff. Or having temper tantrums in my kitchen. You’re a talented cook, but you need to get help. Is there anyone you can go to for help?”
Zach sighed. “Yeah. I’ve been in rehab before. I know who to call if it gets bad.”
How much worse did it need to get? “Zach. Please get help now. Before it gets really bad,” Mandy urged him.
He was quiet for a long, awkward moment before finally nodding. “I’ll think about it.”
“Why don’t you head out, Zach. I’ll take over now,” Paul said.
Zach nodded again and shuffled into the kitchen.
Mandy looked at Paul and Emma.
“Do you guys feel as terrible about this as I do?” she asked.
Emma nodded, and Paul sighed. “We didn’t have a choice. It’s too much of a liability to keep him if he’s drinking like that and so volatile with staff. It’s not fair to them or to him, really. I hope he gets the help that he needs. It sounds like this has happened before.”
“That could explain why his track record is so jumpy at other restaurants,” Emma said.
“It can be a stressful job. Not ideal for someone who has addiction issues. Unfortunately, it’s also common.” Paul smiled. “So I guess you’ll be seeing more of me for the next few weeks. There’s no point in hiring someone now, and I doubt we could even find anyone.”
“Actually, Jill met someone at the bar who you might want to call. She got his number.” Mandy fished around in the front desk drawer and pulled out the paper napkin with Jared Hawthorne’s phone number scrawled on it. She handed it to Paul and repeated what Jill had told her.
“He works at the Blinds, huh? And he would be interested in working here?”
“That’s what he told Jill. Give him a call.”
Paul smiled. “I’ll call him right now. He’ll want to give two weeks’ notice, I’m sure, but we can get by for two weeks.”