Bliss could always ask Claudia, if she cared enough. For now she’d adopt Angie’s attitude and just call it good luck.
“The only downside,” Angie was saying, “is that we don’t get breaks. There are labor laws on the books that say employees who work more than six hours must have a meal break. Personally, I’d rather go home than go on a useless break.”
“I won’t be working full time.”
“Really?” Angie tipped her head. “Huh. Claudia doesn’t usually hire part-timers and let them live here. And even though all of us are technically working part-time at six hours a day, five days a week, she doesn’t insult us by calling us part-timers. Oh! Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I didn’t mean…”
“No offense taken.” Bliss figured Claudia was doing her a favor, but the others didn’t need to know that. It might be a good idea to keep her friendship with the boss on the down-low, unless Claudia hadn’t already mentioned it. “So does Claudia do all the hiring?”
“Yeah, as far as I know. Anthony seems to trust her completely. I’ve never seen him show up during the day, and that’s when Claudia is in charge. Most interviews happen during the afternoon. She’s the only one who works eight hours at a stretch, as far as I know. She spends a lot of time in the office, so maybe she considers that her meal break. Must be nice, having a two- or three-hour meal break every day.”
Nope. Looks like Claudia didn’t mention we’re friends. That might be handy in case her friend needed to know what went on behind the scenes. Nah. Stay out of bar politics, Bliss. You have more important things to focus on. She probably wouldn’t be working there long enough to care.
As long as she could redo most of her designs before the producers and camera crew showed up to film the segment where they checked in on all the finalists, she’d be okay. She did not want that happening at her parents’ house. Other shows did that, and she’d always seen happy families who were supportive of their son’s or daughter’s ambitions. The last thing she needed was her mother calling the competition foolish.
Chapter 5
Claudia had taken Bliss into the office and given her a uniform. Black skirt, black apron, and white blouse. Bliss changed behind a folding screen. The uniform fit well enough, although she would have liked it tapered a bit to show a more feminine hourglass figure. Maybe she could find a tailor. Then she remembered she needed her money to rebuild her real job. If she didn’t win the competition and the fifty-thousand dollars that came with it, she’d be screwed.
When she strolled around the partition, she asked, “Aren’t uniforms sort of old school?”
Claudia smiled indulgently. “Wait until you meet Anthony. Talk about old school…”
“The owner? Why? Is he like a million years old?”
Claudia laughed and tied Bliss’s apron tighter. “Not at all. He’s young and ridiculously good looking, but he has this old-world charm. Very formal manners, a slight European accent, but he won’t tell you exactly where he comes from, so don’t bother asking.”
“Okay…” Bliss glanced in the mirror and realized that when Claudia cinched the apron tighter, she gave her a nice nipped-in waist. Problem solved.
“Look, I’m just mentioning it because he can be a bit intimidating to new staff members. Don’t worry about it, though. He’s a sweetheart when you get to know him.” She sighed.
“Do I detect a crush on the boss?”
Claudia’s expression suddenly turned serious, and she shoved an order pad toward Bliss. “Maybe. But don’t say anything or even hint at that. He doesn’t date his employees, and he has a psycho girlfriend who you don’t want to piss off.”
Bliss took the order pad and continued to study her friend’s face. “I’ve never seen you like this, Claudia. Is there something else going on?”
“No, just… just keep whatever I tell you confidential, okay? I’m giving you more information than I’d give an employee I didn’t know. Anthony’s a good guy, but Ruxandra—his girlfriend—is a piece of work. Steer clear of her. And stay as far away from Anthony as you can when she’s around. If she gets the wrong idea…” Claudia shivered.
“Seriously? She’s so jealous that you’re afraid of her?”
“Not… not really. Anthony keeps her in check.”
“Sounds like a wonderful relationship,” Bliss said, rolling her eyes.
“Regardless, it’s none of our business. I just wanted you to be aware of the dynamics.”
Bliss scanned the order pad, which didn’t look too complicated. “Okay. Fine. Consider me fully aware. So, I guess I’d better get out there and start my first shift.”
“Yeah. I’ll introduce you to the other employees, and the regulars will probably introduce themselves. How are you at handling sexual harassment?”
Bliss laughed. “You’re kidding, right? You’ve seen my cards, haven’t you?”
“Whoa. I’d rather you not insult the customers if you can help it.”
“Don’t worry. I can deflect, distract, or disconcert. I won’t insult anyone, at least not directly.” She gave her friend a teasing grin. “Kidding. What do you think is the best approach?”
“Go with your gut, unless that involves punching someone out. If a customer gets fresh and won’t stop, find me or Anthony. We’ll take care of it.”
Bliss waved away the very idea that she couldn’t handle any situation herself. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay then. Let’s go.”
Claudia grasped her shoulders and turned her toward the door. Bliss marched forward stiffly, wondering why she was suddenly nervous. Waitressing was no big deal, right? She was probably just experiencing a little fear of the unknown. Don’t be ridiculous, Bliss. This isn’t rocket science.
Claudia opened the door and let Bliss pass through it first.
A guy sitting at the bar turned and whistled the minute he saw her, then announced to anyone within earshot, “Look, guys, fresh meat. A pretty one too.”
Bliss muttered, “Fabulous. They don’t waste any time, do they?”
Claudia strode directly over to the guy with the buzz cut, who grinned at her even when she slapped him up the backside of his head! “Kurt, behave yourself. Just because we have a new staff member doesn’t mean you have to test her. I’m going to introduce her to the employees first. Then you can introduce yourself, if you can be civil.”
“I’m always civil. After all, I was a marine.”
Claudia groaned. “That’s no guarantee you’ll behave in a bar.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I won’t tease her… much.”
His buddy Tory piped up. “I’ll probably be nicer to her. I focus all my teasing on Angie.”
Bliss planted her hand on her hip. “Give it all you’ve got, guys. I can take it, but be warned, I can dish it out too.”
Kurt laughed. “I like her already. Good hire, Claudia.”
Claudia rolled her eyes, then glanced at Bliss. “Kurt thinks he works here or owns the place or something, but he orders drinks so there’s not much we can do about him.” She winked at Kurt, so Bliss figured the comment was just good-natured ribbing. “Let’s go meet the real staff.” Claudia stepped in front of her and strode over to where the two bartenders were working.
“Bliss, this is Malcolm, and you know Angie, of course.”
Malcolm extended his hand and Bliss shook it.
“Bliss, is it? That’s a cool name.”
“Thanks. My mother would be delighted to hear that, but I won’t tell her. She doesn’t need to be encouraged.”
Malcolm grinned. “Well, if I ever see her, I won’t mention it. Welcome to Boston Uncommon.”