Chapter 1
You're gonna have to wait a few chapter for it to get spicy, it's kind of a slow burn. Sorry, but let me know what ya'll think.
Chapter 1:
I had trusted myself to keep my head. That had been my first mistake. My second mistake had been coming to work in the first place, but with $82.50 in my bank account, I wasn't drowning with options. My third, and final mistake, had been assuming that the woman on the other side of the counter had any morals whatsoever.
I sat on the floor of the break room now, iced coffee sliding down my face. There were napkins that I could have used to wipe it off, but it was helping to cool me down quite literally. I could still hear the shouting of the woman from the other side of the wall, her voice quite shrill. That was probably due to the large quantity of ice that had slid down her ample bosom after I had dumped a cup of it there in response to her tantrum. My manager, Cindy, could barely be heard over the din of the customer, but I knew she would be assuring her of my termination and probably some unlimited free coffee. The voices began to quiet, and by the time the woman left the shop, my rage had burned away only to be replaced with fear. I was about to lose my job, and at this rate, I would never be hired again.
"What the fuck Elsa?"
I pushed myself up from the floor and propped myself against the wall. Cindy stood in the door of the break room, staring at me. I shrugged, and she closed the door behind her. Crossing the room, she picked up a handful of napkins from a dispenser and shoved them at me rather unceremoniously. I accepted them and began to dab at the coffee. It had stained my uniform, although I doubted that it would make any difference within five minutes.
"I walked out on a limb hiring you," Cindy said, lowering her slim figure onto a chair, "You're twenty-three years old and you've been through about eight jobs since you were seventeen. That's not counting the jobs I'm pretty sure you omitted from your resume."
"I'm sorry," I said.
"I understand what a difficult situation that is for you. Having a customer shout at you is never fun, and yes she shouldn't have dumped her coffee on you. But telling her go fuck herself sideways with a toaster before dumping ice on her is not an appropriate response."
"I see that now," I muttered.
"You should have seen in then. Elsa, you have got to get these anger issues under control."
"They aren't anger issues, I just have...strong emotions," I protested.
"Well you keep losing jobs due to your 'strong emotions'. You've fought with supervisors when you're put in isolated jobs, and you fight with customers in retail. I don't know where you're supposed to work."
I didn't say anything. She had a point. I'd lost almost every job I'd worked due to some sort of disagreement or scuffle. I always promised myself I would keep calm no matter what happened when I walked into work, but without fail, something would cause me to snap. It occured to me that once I could get insurance I should talk to a therapist. Until then my only option appeared to be disappearing into the desert to become a goat herder.
"You're not going to become a goat herder," Cindy said the moment I informed her of my plan, "Because I'm not firing you. Blackstone Coffee has three locations. Here, the other side of the town, and that little shop close to the mountains. The mountain location gets the least amount of customers out of the three, and it's the quietest. Now lucky for you, one barista there just quit."
"I see where you're going with this Cindy, but you've been the best manager I've worked under and I don't want you to lose business because of me."
"Shut up and stop being a martyr. I'm transferring you to the mountain location on a trial period. If something similar happens there, I won't be able to stop Harry, the manager there, from firing you. This is your last shot Elsa, get your emotions under control. I suggest you look for a better field that you would do better in while you still have a job, and transfer as soon as possible."
"Your seriously not firing me?" I asked, the realization hitting me that I wouldn't have to be homeless just yet.
"Not yet. As long as that psycho bitch doesn't see you in here again, she'll be happy. You can head home today and go into the other Blackstone on Monday at eight."
"I should say thank you."
"You should."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"No seriously, thank you. I may even love you."
"Too far Elsa, go home."
