The Green Ticket (10 page)

“Do you like working for Kevin and Dani? I mean, how are they as bosses?”

Allie paused, the washcloth hovering over my cheeks for just a moment before she resumed wiping the goop away. “They’re great! Dani is the biggest sweetheart around. I just love her. A big heart, a great mom, and she’s so focused all the time. And Kevin, he’s not around as much as Dani, but we all still really like him. He’s good to the employees, he’s generous, and I think he’s a pretty good boss. Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering. I’ve never worked at a place where I’m so close to the owners, working side by side with them almost daily. It will be a new experience, that’s for sure. So I just wanted to get some scoop, that’s all,” I lied. I wanted to see if Allie would offer up any details to back up Frank’s allegations against Kevin.

“I think you’ll like it. Dani seemed to take a liking to you right away. Kevin can be a bit overbearing at times, but you just need to stand up to him.”

“What do you mean?” Like sexual harassment? Asking me to steal money from the cash drawer so he can pay strippers?

“Sometimes he thinks of his employees like personal assistants. When I first started, he was asking me to fetch his coffee, run to the store to pick up his orders, things like that. I finally put my foot down and said I am an esthetician, not his slave, and he stopped asking.”

“Okay.” I grew quiet as she slathered the second mask on my face, thinking about what she said. She didn’t make Kevin out to be a bad guy at all. Maybe Frank had a different view on him because of some business deals gone wrong between the two of them. I started to relax, relieved that my worry was for nothing. And because Allie had started to massage my feet.

“Yeah, Kevin really isn’t one to worry about. I think he’s a great boss. Like I said–– I think Dani is a big sweetheart. Most of the time. Sometimes she can be just as overbearing as Kevin though.”

“Really? Like how?” I was surprised. I thought Dani was very real and down to earth. Kevin definitely gave me the overbearing vibes; Dani not so much.

“I shouldn’t even say anything. It’s our boss, you know? I don’t want to seem catty right out of the gate.”

“You can tell me, Allie. It’s not like I’m going to run to her and start blabbing. I’m just curious about who I’m working for is all.” I really did want to know Allie’s opinion, even though she did come off just a bit snarky with her Kamille comments and now clearly wanting to dish on Dani. But this was a salon. Isn’t that what always happened?

“I’d just say to watch out for her. She’s someone who doesn’t mind putting a knife in your back if it means she can get ahead. She puts herself on the top pedestal, and no one can come close to her.”

I got quiet, thinking that over. Why would Dani stab someone in the back to get ahead? How much farther ahead could she possibly want to get? Was Allie serious that Dani would do something to one of her employees to make her look better? From what I knew of Dani so far, that just didn’t fit. I stayed silent the rest of the facial, trying to make sense of what I had just learned. Could it be true?

I was feeling a little defeated, wondering if this position was really right for me. I didn’t want to be around overbearing bosses who would take advantage of me or stab me in the back for their own selfish reasons.

“I’m sure you’ll be just fine, Alex. I’ll help take care of you, and the other girls are great too. Dani can be a sweetheart, and Kevin isn’t around too much. Sometimes in a small salon the personal stuff can just get a little too personal, but you have to try to push it aside and focus on your responsibilities instead. Now, let me get this mask off you, and you’ll almost be done. How was your first facial?”

“Um, it was great. I really enjoyed it. Thanks, Allie.” Though I enjoyed the gossip more. Finding out why Kamille wasn’t uber-friendly to me and the dish on Kevin made for a successful fifty-minute facial. I just wasn’t sure how I felt about Dani now. Allie spritzed some toner around my face and declared me complete.

“I’ll let you get changed and meet you up at the salon to retouch your make-up. I’m glad to have you on board, Alex. I think you’ll make a great manager.”

I put my clothes back on with a smile on my face. I knew my friends were supporting me, my sister was thrilled with my new position, and I had a friendship forming with Allie. If I had any troubles with Kevin, I knew I could go to her for advice. Now, I just needed to find a way to get Kamille off my case for losing out on the job, figure out how to sound smart and manager-like in the upcoming conference call, and get my homework done for Monday. And while I was making my to-do list, I thought of another one I could add:
stop thinking about Henry.

$$$

After Allie reapplied my make-up (making me look better than the original make-up application I gave myself that morning) I headed into the office to study the menu and play around with the back office options on the computer. Dani had set me up with my own codes so I could get into the system, where I could pull up detailed tracking reports, find the order forms for products we needed, and even check out the numbers of competing Blissful salons.

I became engrossed in my work, jotting down notes for myself and marking down questions that I needed answered in my notebook. I kept flipping from the back office to the regular salon schedule, keeping an eye on how the appointments were moving and if my help was needed at all. Tuesdays were a slower day and I was pretty sure Tiffany, the front desk worker that night, could handle things. She was in her twenties, just a few years older than me, and liked to stay busy up front. Whenever there weren’t customers, she could be found cleaning the area. She had admitted to me before that she was a little OCD about cleaning. I didn’t have any problem with that.

I stayed in the back almost the entire night, but kept a close on the schedule. At busier times, right around six and then again at seven, I came out to help Tiffany at the front desk. Other than that I stayed in the office, fiddling with the back office controls, studying the menu that I almost knew by heart now, and re-reading parts of my employee handbook. At about 7:30 the office door opened, and I was surprised to see Dani enter.

“Hi!” I said, sitting up straighter in my chair and smoothing my hair back.

“Hi, honey,” she said. “I just thought I would pop in and see how things are going tonight.”

“Really well. It’s not been super busy, but the stylists have been good with sales tonight. Everyone on the floor sold at least one product. Allie’s sold three.”

“Wonderful. Tuesdays are probably the slowest appointment day, so the more product we can sell, the better.”

I made a note of that in my notebook. Maybe we should start a special, something that occurred only on Tuesdays during the week. Twenty percent off maybe? Help move the products off the shelf. I would have to think about it.

“Tiffany’s been doing good out front, and I’ve been back here getting some studying in. I logged into the back office like you showed me and I’ve been playing around with the different features. It’s pretty awesome what all you can see.”

“It is. And that’s something you can log on from home, too. You don’t need to be on a Blissful computer for it. So that’s nice for me and Kevin, we can easily pull up the schedule or numbers at home without having to call or stop in all the time.”

“Oh, that’s awesome! I’ll definitely be checking things out at home.” It would be nice to stay up to date on how the salon was running on my days off.

“Terrific. Hey, have you eaten dinner yet? I was going to see if you and Allie wanted to grab a bite after we closed up. Maybe just head down the street to Boomer’s?”

I thought of all the homework that was waiting for me at home: studying for a test, finishing an accounting spreadsheet, and trying to decipher the difference between two songs that were written about fifty years ago. I knew I should have declined Dani’s offer, but I really wanted to go out with her. I had felt us bonding over the past couple weeks and I really liked her. She was down to earth, fun to be around, and super nice. I hadn’t gotten any of the vibes that Allie had warned me about. And Dani always seemed so nice around Allie and seemed to enjoy her company. I couldn’t figure out Allie quite yet, but I hoped maybe she was just having an off-day when she gave me my facial. “Sure!” I heard myself say. “It shouldn’t take too long to get everything cleaned up, so we should get out right around eight.”

“And with Tiffany up front, you won’t have to worry about cleaning the desk area,” Dani said, making us both laugh. True enough, Tiffany had the front office area sparkling when I walked up there. Only Allie and one other stylist, Katie, were still working, and I let Katie go after her area was cleaned. I also let Tiffany head home, and quickly counted the money drawer and filed all the receipts. After double-checking that everything was set to run in the morning, we locked up and the three of us headed outside.

“Do you girls want to drive yourselves or pile in with me?” Dani asked, stopping beside Kevin’s BMW.

“I’ll just drive myself. I can’t stay out too late, I have a bunch of homework still to get to tonight,” I said, pulling my keys from my purse.

“Okay. Meet you down there then!” Dani gave a wave and piled into the tiny car. Allie and I walked together across the parking lot to the back spaces, where we parked to try to keep the closer spots open for the customers.

Luckily Boomer’s wasn’t busy, and we got a table in the dining area and put our orders in right away. I was grateful that Dani also ordered an appetizer of mozzarella sticks, because I was famished. I had to start remembering to bring more sufficient lunches than just a bologna sandwich or salad. I was even more grateful when they were delivered the sticks to our table within minutes.

“So, Alex, how do you like your new job so far? It’s been about what, two weeks? How are things going?” Dani opened up the conversation with the focus on me.

“I think it’s going really well! It actually doesn’t feel like a job to me. I’m having fun with everything, I’m learning a lot, and I think I understand everything that is expected of me. I was telling my roommate just the other day how excited I was to come in to work. I think she thought I was crazy.”

Dani and Allie laughed, and Dani said, “That’s terrific. That’s just what I want to hear from my manager. If you find something you really love doing, it won’t feel like work because you enjoy it. I can see you thriving at Blissful, I really can. You’ve picked up quickly on everything. You’ve even surprised Kevin! He couldn’t believe how fast you took to the system. It usually takes a new employee a lot longer to get it all down.”

“I practice a lot in the office. I think that has really helped,” I said. I grabbed my second hot mozzarella stick and blew on it. “Though I am a bit worried about payroll.”

“I’ll help you with that. Seriously, with the notes I have, it will be a breeze. It’s just time-consuming, that’s all,” Allie said, giving my shoulder a reassuring pat. “Kind of like the schedules. It’s easy, just a big ole puzzle that you have to figure out.”

We continued to talk about Blissful until our food arrived. It got silent as we all dug in, me enjoying my loaded cheeseburger with abandon.

“Well, let’s quit talking business!” Dani exclaimed at one point. “Alex, how is your school going? Are you able to balance your workload and school okay?”

Um, no. “Yes! It hasn’t been too bad, really. I try to get most of my work done on Mondays for the week if I can.” I should really start trying to do that. “And then at nights I can usually finish everything.”

“Glad to hear. Do you have a boyfriend?”

“Oh, no.” Thoughts of Henry Landon swished in my head. “Totally single right now.”

“Nothing wrong with that. Men are trouble. Right, Allie?” Dani laughed and looked at Allie, who gave a chuckle and bit into her chicken sandwich, nodding her head.

I gave a laugh as well, though I was unsure what to say. Yeah, men do suck?

“My husband can be such a handful sometimes,” Dani continued, ignoring her tuna salad sandwich. “Last Friday, he didn’t come home until almost four in the morning! A friend of his just opened up a new bar, Sipps, and Kevin’s been helping out there.”

“I’ve heard of that place. My friend’s are planning to check it out sometime. I won’t turn twenty-one until January, though, so I have a while to wait.”

“Oh, if your friends are ever going to stop by, just let Kevin know. He’ll make sure you get in, and he can get your girls free bottle service, too,” Dani said with a flick of the wrist.

My eyes widened. The girls would be seriously impressed if I could get us free bottle service at the newest bar in town. “Really? I don’t want to inconvenience him or anything....”

“Oh, he’ll love it. Trust me. He enjoys doing that kind of thing for friends. He’s very giving.”

“Could I get another water, please?” Allie flagged down our passing waiter, who nodded his head and scurried towards the kitchen.

“Well, that is very generous of him. I’ll be sure to let my friends know so we can plan that sometime. Thanks.”  I knew I would never ask Kevin to do any such thing for me. Asking my boss for bottle service just wasn’t something I was comfortable with.

Dani smiled at me, then picked up her sandwich and took a bite. I concentrated once again on my own food, not surprised when I finished the entire burger. The three of us chatted for a bit more about Blissful, Allie’s wedding plans, and how Dani was hiring a new landscaper for her lawn. I was shocked when I looked at my watch and saw that it was already a quarter to ten. My homework!

“Well, I think I should probably get going. Still have some studying to do,” I said, pulling my wallet out of my purse.

“Oh, dinner’s on me,” Dani said, reaching into her purse as well. “You get going then, Alex. I’ll take care of the bill and we’ll just see you tomorrow. Are you in at two?”

“I am. But I can’t let you take care of my bill. Please, let me,” I protested.

“I won’t hear of it. I’m happy to do it. Thank you for your company tonight. Both of you.” She smiled at Allie, who was also getting up from the booth. “You girls get home. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”