It was 3:15. She was late. Again. How many times would he have to tell her? 'You need to be on time, other people are waiting on you.' he told himself. He shook his head and continued to count the drawer.
The small pizzeria did well for itself. He had taken over running the place from his mother when she passed away. He had a pretty good crew working for him, and he only came in the afternoon to cover one of his long time employees who had to leave to pick up her kids at 3:00 each day. The dinner crew would be there by 4. He had hired a new girl as a part time to fill the slow time between lunch and dinner. It was a one-man show for that part of the day. Mostly cleaning and restocking. Simple. All you had to do was show up.
It was a single story red brick building, with large glass windows surrounding the front. 'It lets the people walking by see what we're doing...' his mother used to say.
Here she comes.
A young girl walked briskly, nearly running, towards the door. 3:18. He sighed. She walked in quietly, avoiding his gaze, and made her way to the back to begin her short shift. He finished counting the drawer and closed it, before walking into the back.
"I'm sorry...", she said.
He shook his head. "How many times should we go through this before I replace you?"
"It won't happen again..."
He put his hand up, "Just get to work, the sink's full of dishes. I'll watch the front while you get them done."
She hurried to the sink, grateful to get lost in work and put it behind her. He sighed again to himself, and walked to the front.
What could he do to get his point across to her? He didn't want to fire the girl.
She was a few years younger than him and seemed to come from a relatively good family. They were putting her through college. She needed the job for a little extra spending money, nothing more. He could fire her, and not lose any sleep at night. But he wouldn't. He caught himself starring at her as she washed dishes. His eyes roamed over her body. A wicked smile creeped across his face. 'I won't fire her,' he thought, 'but I will punish her...'
He walked towards her, not trying to hide his approach, but over the sound of running water and clattering dishes, it was easy for her to not notice him. He looked her up and down once more.
"Tiffany."
She jumped a little, obviously startled.
"Y... Yeah? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you wal..."
He interrupted her, "Listen, in the walk-in fridge there's some product I need you to rearrange. We had a truck come today and didn't have time to do it. Just go sort things by date, pulling the oldest forward. The dishes can wait till closing."
She nodded, dropping the dish she had been washing into the sink with a 'clang!'.
"Okay, I can do that." She stepped around him, and went into the fridge.
Her heart was pounding. How long had he been standing there? She was thankful to work away from him today, he seemed angry. She shivered as the cold air rushed past her and stepped in, letting the door close behind her.
'I hope he's not mad. I really meant to be on time...' she thought to herself. She began sorting the boxes, moving the new product to the back, and bringing the older stuff forward.
The door to the fridge opened, and he stepped in. She had been moving a box to the front of the fridge as he entered, so he was standing only inches from her.
"You can't be late anymore, or I'm going to have to fire you." he said.
She nodded, trying hard not to burst into tears.
"I promise, today was the last time. I just had to stop for gas on the way here, and traffic was terrible, and..."
He reached out and grabbed her by her ponytail, dragging her to her knees. She let out a sharp cry of pain.
"I don't need excuses. It won't happen again. Say it."