She lowered her voice again. “I’m sorry. Are you okay with this?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
Samantha ran-walked as fast as she could in her sky-high pumps through the bustling kitchen, pushing the door to the breakroom open to find Kimberly bent over at the waist in front of the sink, vomiting.
“Oh,Kimberly,” she uttered, darting to the sink to hold her hair back, only to be assaulted by the heady smell of alcohol. She turned to the small group of waiters lingering around, talking among themselves.
“What are you guys doing?”
“Sorry, Samantha, she was really sick and upset,” one of them answered.
“I’ve got her,” she assured them. “Please go to the hostess stand and back up Cedric.”
They did as they were told and Samantha turned back to Kimberly.
“Kimberly, are youdrunk?”
“I’m so sorry, Samantha.”
Samantha’s eyes grew huge. “Did you drive here like this?”
Just then, two hands pulled her arms backward away from Kimberly.
“Grab that chair,” Nick said briskly.
Samantha pushed the chair across the room while Nick held Kimberly’s shoulders, urging her to sit down while he brushed her hair away from her face and wiped her mouth with a damp towel.
She gaped at him. “I’m so sorry, Nick.Please don’t fire me. I can’t lose—”
“Kimberly,” he cut her off gently, kneeling down in front of her. “What happened?”
Suddenly, Kimberly’s face crumpled up and she burst into tears. “Steven broke up with me.”
She dropped her head below her shoulders as she sobbed, and Nick immediately leaned forward and pulled her into a hug.
“Oh no,” he sympathized. “Why?”
She shook her head and shrugged. “He said … he said he thinks it’s better this way since he already graduated and I still have another semester. He wants to move to Houston, and he doesn’t want to wait for me. But it’s not true. I know he just wants his freedom back.”
She sobbed harder as Nick rubbed her back and shushed her soothingly, then glanced at Samantha.
“Call a cab,” he whispered.
Samantha nodded, then picked up the phone.
“You know what?” he said to Kimberly. “You’re a smart, talented, beautiful young lady, and if Steven can’t see that, then he’s a dumbass who doesn’t deserve you.”
“Really?” Kimberly sniffled.
He leaned back, holding her shoulders, and grinned at her. “Hell yeah.”
“You mean I’m not fired?”
Nick scoffed. “Are you kidding me? You’ve been busting your ass to help me these past few months. If anything, you’re way overdue for a promotion.”
She smiled, wiping her eyes. “Really?”
