Derek sauntered into Smelly Nelly's with his usual swag and a whistle on his lips,
welcoming another busy Saturday that would put loads of tip money deep into his
pockets. He sometimes felt shameful for continuing to flirt with the customers, but
on average, a ten dollar tip was not unheard of if he smirked and winked often
enough.
What Casey didn't know won't hurt her.
James, a shift manager that Derek had hired two months ago, had already
unlocked the door and began putting the chairs down from each table.
"Hey D."
"Sup J. Is Randy here yet?"
"Nope," he said, giving Derek a look that indicated his lack of approval for their store
manager.
Smelly Nelly's didn't have many employees.
There was Randy, Derek, James, Thelma, Tyler, and Steve; in that order of hierarchy.
Weekends could be a bitch and usually Derek worked all day Saturday but on
weekdays they were lucky to have three people on the schedule. The work was
relatively easy, everyone got along, and it seemed like smooth sailing.
Randy was the only one who had a lazy bone in his body when it came to waiting on
customers and taking care of the restaurant in general; still better than Andy when
Derek had first started along with Casey. Andy had been an all around prick, treating
her like she was nothing. It was the first time Derek had ever done anything drastic
for Casey and quit a job that he was extremely good at for her. A job that had
money rolling in faster than he knew what to do with.
Luckily Andy got fired and Derek was called back to work with a promotion and pay
raise. In the end, he still came out ahead like always.
It was 10:30.
Derek jogged to the door and unlocked it with the brass key, turning the Closed sign
to Open. It would be a good hour before they saw any customers so he jumped onto
the high counter and scanned his whereabouts to make sure everything was in place.
"Looks good in here!" he yelled to James who had retreated to the kitchen for
preparation.
"Thelma and Steve did a good job of closing last night," he yelled back. "When I came
in, everything was already filled and ready to go."
Even if James couldn't see him, Derek just nodded his head and dusted off an
imaginary peice of lint off his brown work shirt. Running his fingers throughout his
hair; hair that was in sore need of a haircut, he jumped off of the counter and began
putting in the safe code.
*48367#
The light turned green and Derek opened it up to retrieve the cash drawer that was
ready for transaction. He began counted the bills to double check that there would
be enough to make change throughout the day.
The bell above the door jingled. Derek was puzzled that they had a customer so
quickly and doubted that James was quite ready in the kitchen, yet the guest had to
be served.
Still bent behind the counter and placing the fives into the trey, Derek greeted
whoever it was.
"Welcome to Smelly Nelly's. I'll be with you in just one moment."
Closing the safe and making sure it was secure, he got off his knees and came face to
face with a beautiful blond girl with a genuine smile.
Derek was dumbfounded at how beautiful she was. Only one other girl had ever had
the same effect on him at first sight.
"Hi, I'm Sally...Randy told me to start work today."