Read Online Where My Heart Breaks by Ivy Sinclair - Free Book Online
Authors: Ivy Sinclair
Ads: Link
fell outside my comfort zone. Of course, my mother and Dr. Kreger slapped me with the label of “self-absorbed”. I just thought that most people didn’t really care if they spoke to me or not and often the feeling was mutual.
What other kind of coffee is there?
I’ll catch up with you later. Gotta go .
Then he was gone. I wasn’t sure what to make of his abrupt exit to the conversation. It was possible that Reed was worse at friendships than I was, which was an interesting thought. If he and I were equally hopeless, then this was going to be the most intriguing friendship in history.
I was still thinking about Reed when Patrice strode by twenty minutes later.
“Patrice?” I thought hard how to appropriately phrase my question in a way that didn’t appear that I was trying to get out of working. Which, of course, I was. “We haven’t really talked about my work schedule.”
My aunt peered at me over the counter, and I dropped my shoulders in an attempt to appear as subservient to her will as possible. Patrice had the ability to make or break my pathetic excuse for summer in the palms of her hands.
“Schedule?”
“I thought that I’d do a little touring of the county and visit some of the other locations around Bleckerville that are in Where My Heart Breaks ,” I said on the fly. “I know that was one thing I read in the manuals, the more you know about the grounds and the surrounding vicinity, the better resource you can be for the guests. I haven’t even had a chance to finish reading the book since I’ve been so busy.”
Patrice looked surprised. I was equally surprised at my reasonable and logical request. It made it sound as if I was actually interested in learning more about my summer prison. Just when I was sure that she smelled the bullshit, she said, “You can pick a day to take off during the week if you want it. Weekends are busy around here with small catering events, so I’ll need you around.”
That meant that I was working six days a week. I realized that I could have found better hours at my local Starbucks. “How about one weekday and alternating weekend nights?”
Patrice raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that she hadn’t expected me to negotiate. “I get to pick the weekend night as I see fit.”
“Done,” I said with a smile. “In that case, I’d like to take off tonight. Since it’s short notice, I’ll count today as a full day off even though I’ll work until dinnertime.”
“I can’t let you off tonight,” Patrice said.
I intended to ask Reed out for coffee that night before I chickened out. I had to find a way to get out of working, and there was no way in hell I was about to tell Patrice the real reason I was insisting on the time off. “I’ll clear the online reservation queue and finish reading the catering section, so I’m all geared up for this weekend before I go.”
She wanted to say no, but I think my burst of engaged interaction threw her off. “As long as you check in and make sure that Sam doesn’t need any help tonight, I guess that’s fine.”
Ugh. I had already taken note of Patrice’s overt attempts to get me interested in Sam and they were wearing thin. “Thanks, Patrice.”
Already deep in her own thoughts, she walked away without answering. I had won the battle but not the war. Sighing, I pulled out the manual on food preparation and catering. I had a lot of reading to do before dinnertime.
CHAPTER SEVEN
You would think that since I was well on my way to a college degree, the idea of figuring out food costs and ordering sufficient supplies of varying varieties of food for different themed events would have been a breeze. I must have missed that class in school though because even with taking notes, I had a hard time wrapping my brain around Patrice’s convoluted formulas. I didn’t think I’d done this much math since high school, and it was making my brain hurt.
Notebook paper scattered all over the registration
What other kind of coffee is there?
I’ll catch up with you later. Gotta go .
Then he was gone. I wasn’t sure what to make of his abrupt exit to the conversation. It was possible that Reed was worse at friendships than I was, which was an interesting thought. If he and I were equally hopeless, then this was going to be the most intriguing friendship in history.
I was still thinking about Reed when Patrice strode by twenty minutes later.
“Patrice?” I thought hard how to appropriately phrase my question in a way that didn’t appear that I was trying to get out of working. Which, of course, I was. “We haven’t really talked about my work schedule.”
My aunt peered at me over the counter, and I dropped my shoulders in an attempt to appear as subservient to her will as possible. Patrice had the ability to make or break my pathetic excuse for summer in the palms of her hands.
“Schedule?”
“I thought that I’d do a little touring of the county and visit some of the other locations around Bleckerville that are in Where My Heart Breaks ,” I said on the fly. “I know that was one thing I read in the manuals, the more you know about the grounds and the surrounding vicinity, the better resource you can be for the guests. I haven’t even had a chance to finish reading the book since I’ve been so busy.”
Patrice looked surprised. I was equally surprised at my reasonable and logical request. It made it sound as if I was actually interested in learning more about my summer prison. Just when I was sure that she smelled the bullshit, she said, “You can pick a day to take off during the week if you want it. Weekends are busy around here with small catering events, so I’ll need you around.”
That meant that I was working six days a week. I realized that I could have found better hours at my local Starbucks. “How about one weekday and alternating weekend nights?”
Patrice raised an eyebrow. It was obvious that she hadn’t expected me to negotiate. “I get to pick the weekend night as I see fit.”
“Done,” I said with a smile. “In that case, I’d like to take off tonight. Since it’s short notice, I’ll count today as a full day off even though I’ll work until dinnertime.”
“I can’t let you off tonight,” Patrice said.
I intended to ask Reed out for coffee that night before I chickened out. I had to find a way to get out of working, and there was no way in hell I was about to tell Patrice the real reason I was insisting on the time off. “I’ll clear the online reservation queue and finish reading the catering section, so I’m all geared up for this weekend before I go.”
She wanted to say no, but I think my burst of engaged interaction threw her off. “As long as you check in and make sure that Sam doesn’t need any help tonight, I guess that’s fine.”
Ugh. I had already taken note of Patrice’s overt attempts to get me interested in Sam and they were wearing thin. “Thanks, Patrice.”
Already deep in her own thoughts, she walked away without answering. I had won the battle but not the war. Sighing, I pulled out the manual on food preparation and catering. I had a lot of reading to do before dinnertime.
CHAPTER SEVEN
You would think that since I was well on my way to a college degree, the idea of figuring out food costs and ordering sufficient supplies of varying varieties of food for different themed events would have been a breeze. I must have missed that class in school though because even with taking notes, I had a hard time wrapping my brain around Patrice’s convoluted formulas. I didn’t think I’d done this much math since high school, and it was making my brain hurt.
Notebook paper scattered all over the registration
Similar Books
