Instantly his mood softened when he saw her being comforted by her coworker, Taylor.
Forgetting all about the cinnamon (and the latte) he rose from his chair and went to her.
"Dear God, I am terribly sorry! I'm afraid I've had a rather stressful day, but that's no excuse for my behavior! Won't you let me make it up to you?"
He reached into his wallet and handed her a twenty dollar bill.
"I-I can't take your money, Dr. Crane." Elizabeth said tearfully.
"I insist and I won't take no for an answer!" Niles replied, patting her shoulder.
"Thank you, Dr. Crane. You're so kind." Elizabeth replied. "Maybe I should take this money. I'm going to need it when I'm..." Her voice broke on the last word... "Unemployed!"
She began to sob and fell into Taylor's arms, holding on to her coworker as though she might sink into the ground.
Niles was appalled.
"Dear God! How dare they fire you for mixing up a drink order! That's outrageous! I demand to speak to the manager right this instant! I won't stand for this cruel punishment of employees in such a fine establishment!"
Taylor and Elizabeth looked at Niles and then turned to Eric and Robert who wore the same miserable expressions.
"That's very kind of you, Dr. Crane but she's not getting fired." Taylor said.
"Absolutely not!" Niles said. "I'll speak to the manager and demand an explanation... and a raise for all of you!"
"I'm afraid that won't work, Dr. Crane. But we really appreciate it." Robert said.
"Of course it will work! I'm Dr. Niles Crane! Surely Mrs. Nervosa knows what prestige my name carries in Seattle!"
"Um... that's not what I meant." Taylor said.
"She's not going to give us raises and there's no way she'll let Elizabeth stay or any of us for that matter." Eric said.
Taylor walked over to Niles and put her hand on his forearm. "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just say it.
"We're all losing our jobs, Dr. Crane."
Niles' eyes widened.
"I don't understand. How could you all be losing your jobs? That's just impossible! I mean, who would run the café? You've got patrons who depend on you... patrons like me who come here day after day!"
Elizabeth swallowed hard and began to cry once more.
"Oh, Dr. Crane... Café Nervosa is closing!"