“Of course,” he reassured her. “This place would’ve fallen apart without you. In fact, I think you deserve the night off.”
She sniffled again. “You promise I’m not fired?”
He shook his head. “I’d be as big a dumbass as Steven to let you go.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck while he hugged her back.
“Thanks, Nick.”
“No worries. Samantha’s going to wait with you. You go home and take it easy tonight. I’ll see you Monday.”
Kimberly smiled again and began wiping her face with the cloth.
Samantha couldn’t help being moved by his compassion in the midst of the situation so much that she reached for his hand, squeezing it firmly before he left. He squeezed back, shooting her a discreet wink before disappearing through the doors.
Samantha stepped over to stand next to Kimberly, giving her shoulder a friendly rub.
“How’s your tummy? Need me to swipe some bread from the kitchen or something?”
“I’m fine. I’m so sorry, Samantha. I know I let you down tonight.”
Samantha shook her head. “You didn’t. We’ve got this. It’s okay to have a night to be human every once in a while.”
Kimberly sniffled and wiped her nose with a tissue. “Nick is so nice. He’s like the best boss ever.”
Samantha chuckled. “He’s definitely nicer than my last boss.”
Kimberly looked up at her through eyes glazed with intoxication. “You guys should get back together.”
Samantha laughed again. “We were never together, sweetie.”
“Oh yeah,” Kimberly slurred. “Well, maybe you should get together. I think he likes you. Like a lot.”
Samantha smirked. “Well, nice as he is, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Well, because, he … he uh … he’s my boss, Kimberly. It’s not appropriate.”
She couldn’t decide if that was a convenient excuse to tell Kimberly, or if it was actually the only reason anymore.
“Oh yeah,” Kimberly muttered. “That’s true. It’s in the handbook.”
“Yup. And we can’t go breaking the rules right?”
“Right. Because when you break the rules, you end up puking in front of your mega cute, super nice boss.”
Samantha had to laugh, and Kimberly giggled.
“Exactly,” Samantha agreed.
If only it was all that simple.
* * *
At eleven forty-five, the party was in full swing and in total maintenance mode so Samantha slipped into the edge of the dining room to enjoy the band and watch the patrons spin each other around on the dance floor.
The lights were low and the music was sultry old jazz standards played in big band style. Her cheeks grew warm as she soaked up the atmosphere, recalling Kimberly’s words from her first day working here. The restaurant was quite magical all dressed up for the holidays.
