Hungry
North turned his attention back to his desk, and the pile of invoices. He wished he could put THEM in the desk drawer and forget about them, if only for a shift.
“Oh, thank God.”
He looked up, surprised to see Tru still in the middle of the office, her head buried in her phone. She noticed him staring at her, and he raised one eyebrow at her in silent question.
“The fires near Sydney have been downgraded, they finally got some rain, and my Grandparents are safe. See Ya!”
Tru all but skipped out of the office, and he heard her saying goodbye to the patrons in the bar. She had seemed distracted the last week or so, and he hoped that she wasn’t about to give her notice. He liked having her around, and the fact that she showed up on time, and left on time was a nice change from his usual backpacker bartenders. It allowed him time to concentrate on the paperwork, without having to man the bar all the time. And the paperwork showed him the difference that she was making. Sales were up, and there were new faces in the bar on the weekends.
He still had his bar duties, though, and the face-to-face contact with the patrons was why he loved his job. The late nights, and bulky deliveries (and the paperwork) were wearing him down. Five years ago it was a different story. He was young, hungry for his next adventure and living on his best friend’s couch. He had recently discharged from the Army, and had a bit of money saved up from his deployment. The opportunity to buy the licence of this place had come up, and he had jumped at the chance. It had taken almost 6 months to do the place up, bit by bit, and to grow his customer base to a point that he was able to afford to put on an employee. He moved in with his cousin - although that was getting old now - and both he and the business were in a pretty good place. He just needed a …
The sound of broken glass and raised voices had him up and out of his chair before he could finish that thought. Although, if he was being honest with himself, a specific woman had already captured his attention.
“Oh, thank God.”
He looked up, surprised to see Tru still in the middle of the office, her head buried in her phone. She noticed him staring at her, and he raised one eyebrow at her in silent question.
“The fires near Sydney have been downgraded, they finally got some rain, and my Grandparents are safe. See Ya!”
Tru all but skipped out of the office, and he heard her saying goodbye to the patrons in the bar. She had seemed distracted the last week or so, and he hoped that she wasn’t about to give her notice. He liked having her around, and the fact that she showed up on time, and left on time was a nice change from his usual backpacker bartenders. It allowed him time to concentrate on the paperwork, without having to man the bar all the time. And the paperwork showed him the difference that she was making. Sales were up, and there were new faces in the bar on the weekends.
He still had his bar duties, though, and the face-to-face contact with the patrons was why he loved his job. The late nights, and bulky deliveries (and the paperwork) were wearing him down. Five years ago it was a different story. He was young, hungry for his next adventure and living on his best friend’s couch. He had recently discharged from the Army, and had a bit of money saved up from his deployment. The opportunity to buy the licence of this place had come up, and he had jumped at the chance. It had taken almost 6 months to do the place up, bit by bit, and to grow his customer base to a point that he was able to afford to put on an employee. He moved in with his cousin - although that was getting old now - and both he and the business were in a pretty good place. He just needed a …
The sound of broken glass and raised voices had him up and out of his chair before he could finish that thought. Although, if he was being honest with himself, a specific woman had already captured his attention.