Brandy was running late, and this would not be a good day for tardiness. A new manager had been hired, and the owner of the Emperor's Kitchen restaurant chain was going to be at the staff briefing to introduce him. Though Brandy and her husband Rick had recently moved much closer to her work, she always seemed to cut it close. She was never late when she was driving in from La Mesa, but now that she was only 25 to 30 minutes away it seemed she always cut it close. She turned left onto Garnet Avenue, cursing the slow drivers in front of her. Fortunately, most of the late afternoon traffic was traveling east, so she was able to speed. If there were no traffic cops running radar, she thought she just might make it.
Brandy turned sharply into the restaurant parking lot with about a minute to spare, but she still had to change. She hurried through the kitchen, where the chefs were preparing the seafood, chicken and steak they would be cooking on the teppan yaki grills, and quickly changed in the ladies locker room. She was scheduled for cocktails on this shift which meant she would be wearing a short floral print aloha dress. This was good because she could put the dress on in two minutes. If she was waiting on tables the kimono worn by food servers would take a lot longer.
The owner, Kenji, was just beginning to speak when a breathless Brandy joined the group. She immediately noticed a middle aged black man was seated next to him. He was a good looking guy, nicely dressed in an expensive navy blue suit, and he shot pleasant smile Brandy's way as she took a seat at the bar. Brandy had worked at Emperor's for 9 years, and they had always had Japanese managers. She wondered to herself how this was going to work out.
After a some talk about plans for the upcoming Christmas party, and good news about how well the restaurants were doing, especially the Pacific Beach location, Kenji introduced Steve and invited him to say a few words.
Steve began by assuring everyone he was very happy to have the opportunity to work with everyone in Kenji's world class restaurant operation. He had an interesting background which included being born and raised in San Diego and twenty years as an Army Ranger. After the Army, he spent some time in Paris learning French cuisine and pastry at the Ferrandi School. He had worked as a chef and managed two restaurants in Manhattan, but longed to return to California. After a chance meeting with Kenji at the New York Athletic Club, he was able to make that happen. He told everyone that over the next few days, he would set aside some time to talk to each of them.
Steve made a favorable impression on Brandy. He seemed like the kind of person who knew how to run a business, and, with his Army experience, he would probably know how to deal with some of her co-workers who were troublemakers.
Steve spent the first week observing the operation and asking a lot of questions. He complimented Brandy when he watched her calm down an angry toddler, and jokingly asked her if she had ever taught pre-school. All and all, he made a favorable impression on just about everyone.
Steve's second week started off with some excitement. One evening when Brandy was walking in from the parking lot, the back door burst open and a visibly upset bartender stumbled out. On her way to the to the locker room she passed the bookkeeper's office and ducked in.
"Barbara, what's up with Bill? He just left here all pissed off."
Barbara shook her head, "Steve discovered Bill was stealing from the till. Apparently he marked a fifty dollar bill and put it in the cash register and audited the cash. When Bill closed out his register last night, the register was short over $100, and the marked fifty was missing. Steve also saw him selling drinks and putting the cash in his pocket. Apparently Bill had his own bottles of whiskey behind the bar and when customers were paying for their drinks in cash, he would mix the drink or pour the shot out of one of his bottles and just pocket the cash. Steve called him in early and confronted him, and Bill went off on Steve...took a swing at him. That's when our new manager threw Bill out the back door by the scruff of his neck. One of the chefs saw everything...said it was pretty funny."
Brandy laughed, "Good. I always thought Bill was an asshole. This doesn't surprise me one bit."
During her shift, Steve finally got around to meeting with Brandy in his office and began by asking her to tell him a little bit about herself.
"Well, I'm originally from the Philippines. I married an American whom I met over there and came to the States when I was 19. The marriage didn't work out, and we were divorced after just a few months. I started working as a waitress in coffee shops near San Diego State, and I when I turned 21 I started dancing downtown at the Carousel Bar on weekends. That's where I met my current husband. One morning the manager from Emperor's Kitchen was in the coffee shop for breakfast with Kenji, and they asked me if I'd be interested in working here. He said I would do a lot better at a dinner place. That was nine years ago, and I'm still here. I've been married for four years, and my husband works for the county as a probation officer. I go to school part time at San Diego State. I would like to become a city planner and work for the city some day."
Steve listened attentively and nodded approvingly when Brandy mentioned her school and professional goal.
When she finished he said, "Well Brandy, that's a worthy ambition. Be sure to let us know about your class schedules as they change, so we can accommodate you. I want you to know Kenji thinks very highly of you, and I enjoy watching you interact with our customers. You really give them a good dining experience, and we really appreciate your efforts. Kenji authorized me to give you a $1.10 per hour raise, and that will be reflected on your next check. Please don't mention this to anyone else. Only a few of our top performers are getting these raises, and we don't want to cause any morale problems."
Brandy wanted to wrap her arms around him and give him a big kiss, but she stayed cool and business like.
"Oh thank you, and please thank Kenji for me. I feel so appreciated.
Steve stood, indicating their meeting was over, and replied, "Yes, of course I will pass that on to Kenji. You keep up the good work Brandy. By the way are you still working as a dancer? I don't have a problem with you doing that on your days off."
"No...think that's in my past. I did like it though, and the money was great. But I gotta jealous husband. He'd never approve."
Steve nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I can understand that."
When Brandy got home at the end of her shift, Rick was still up, and she told him all about her new manager and the pay raise. Rick was happy for her and seemed pleased the new manager was taking control of the business. He did have one concern though.
"Brandy, how's a black guy gonna fit in running a Japanese restaurant? I would think people going there for dinner would expect to see Japanese running the place."
Brandy had to laugh at that, "I wondered about that too...I don't think this guy will have any problems at all. He's real good with the customers, and he has already gotten rid of that goofy bartender, Bill, I've told you about him. Past managers were letting him get away with murder. Steve ran him off today. And besides, do you know we only have two Japanese food servers? All the rest of us either Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, or Filipino, and we have a new girl coming to work who's from Mexico. These California people don't know the difference...just wanna eat."
The next few months flew by. Brandy joined a health club with some of her co-workers, courtesy of a group discount arranged by Steve, and got into a regular crossfit routine. She finished her finals, and with only one class during the summer session, she was able to take on some extra shifts. She enjoyed working for the new manager and often stayed late to hang out with him and some of her other friends.
On the Sunday after the Fourth of July, Brandy, Steve, and some of the others were sharing a pitcher of beer after a very successful holiday weekend. It was close to midnight when Barbara left, leaving Brandy and Steve alone at the piano bar. Brandy thought she would call Rick to let him know she was still at the restaurant and would be home soon. She entered Rick's number into her cell phone, when she became aware that Steve was looking at her. She knew he was interested in her because she had been getting these looks from him from time to time. Ever the professional though, he never hit on her directly.
Brandy decided the call to Rick could wait and set her phone down. In doing so, she inadvertently swiped the screen, initiating a call to her husband.
Rick was watching a late night movie when his phone rang, and he saw the call was from Brandy when he answered. There was silence at the other end, but he could hear what sounded like background conversation. Then he heard Brandy's voice...it was definitely her, and she clearly asked someone,"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Rick muted the TV and could hear a man's voice, but he could not make out what he was saying. Then he heard Brandy again, "Yeah, but I don't know if we should."
There was more silence on the line, and then Rick heard more giggling, and she said, "Oh, you're so bad." This was followed with giggling, and he heard her say, "Okay, but are you sure no one will come in?"
The man's voice said something that sounded like, "Up on the piano bar," and there was the piano sound of several keys being hit at once. Rick heard Brandy say, "I wanna strip for you," and he didn't need to hear more. He grabbed his cell phone, got in his car, and headed for the Emperor's Kitchen as Creedence Clearwater's "Suzy Q," began to come through his Blue Tooth.