I decide I’m being paranoid. The whole Matt thing has got me looking for problems where there aren’t any now. I go to the cleaning cupboard and get out the glass spray and a cloth. It’s a little too quiet for all of the wait staff to be kept busy, so I might as well do something useful. I move to the front of the dining room and begin polishing up the large windows that make up the front of the restaurant.
I’m halfway through the first one when Stewart appears beside me. I hope he’s not one of those managers who thinks we can’t do any sort of cleaning when there are diners in, and then expects us to stay for ages after our shifts end to clean up.
“You don’t have to do that on my account.” He smiles.
I laugh a little, relaxing. It doesn’t sound like he’s here to tell me not to do the cleaning around the diners. “I’d rather be busy. And when it quiets down like this, the shift supervisor is always the one to drop back from waiting on customers as we get paid a little more than the others, so it seems only fair that they’re first in line to get the tips.”
“Fair enough.” He nods. “Makes sense.” He walks away from me and walks around the floor for a while, chatting to the staff and some of the customers.
I finish the first of the windows and move on to the second one.
Sasha approaches me as I’m finishing it. “It’s really dying down now. Do you mind if I go for my break?”
I cast a quick look around the dining room. She’s right. There are only three full tables in the whole place. “No that’s fine,” I say. “Hang on a second and I’ll come with you.” I’m sure I see her roll her eyes, but I’m not quite sure enough to ask her about it. I go over to Harriet and tell her Sasha and I are going on our break and to give me a yell if they start getting busier.
She nods, but doesn’t say anything.
I let it go, turning back to nod at Sasha that I’m ready, but she’s already gone.
I know now I’m not imagining any of this. All of the wait staff are being off with me. Even the chef who I usually get on with really well has been kind of distant with me. In fact, the only person who’s been remotely nice to me today is Stewart. I head out to the back and down to the break room. I’m going to quiz Sasha and find out what the hell is going on, and why I’m suddenly public enemy number one. Surely, this isn’t because of yesterday? I mean none of the staff liked Marco anyway.
I go to the break room, ready to find out what’s going on. Sasha barely glances at me as I walk in and I can’t help but notice that she’s made herself a coffee and not made one for me.
I make myself a drink and then I sit down. “What’s going on?” I ask.
Sasha shrugs.
“Oh, come on Sash, don’t give me that shit. I know everyone’s pissed with me, I just need to know what I’m supposed to have done.”
“It would be easier if you stopped pretending like you don’t know what happened,” she says.
I frown. So this is about yesterday. “Is this about Marco? I have no idea what happened there.”
“It’s not so much Marco. He deserved to go. It’s more the fact we were all under suspicion and you didn’t say a thing.”
“Sasha I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say.
Sasha reaches into her apron pocket and pulls out her phone. She looks at the screen and presses it a few times.
I start to think our conversation is done and this is her way of ignoring me.
She throws her phone down on the table in front of me. “Everyone knows. You can stop pretending now.”
I frown, but I pick up the phone. I glance over the headline. Something about a family run business empire that’s donated a load of money to some charity. What the hell does this have to do with me? I reread the headline, and that’s when the name jumps out at me. Hunter. But it can’t be anything to do with Matt. I mean he’s a waiter, not a business empire owner.
I scroll down, and a photograph of three smiling young men appears. There, smack bang in the middle is Matt. He’s a little younger in the picture, but there’s no mistaking it’s him.
I push the phone back to Sasha, my mind reeling.
She doesn’t seem to notice my complete amazement. Instead, she starts to explain, “When I came to work this morning on the opening shift, Stewart was here. He brought us all in here and explained it all. Matt’s no fucking waiter. His family owns the restaurant chain. And half of the businesses in the city by the looks of it. He’s old money, a billionaire. But you knew that didn’t you? Did you know him before he even came here?”
“I — no,” I stutter, still trying to process what she’s telling me.
“His whole thing here was a ruse. He pretended to be a waiter so he could infiltrate the business. There was money going missing and he wanted to find out who it was. I guess it was Marco.”
“So let me get this straight. Marco steals off the business, and everyone is somehow pissed at me that he gets fired for it, even though you all hate him?”
“No Callie, everyone is pissed at you because you went along with it and didn’t say a word to anyone. We’re meant to be your friends and we were all under suspicion at one point. And you didn’t say a fucking thing. I’m not surprised you got promoted. Fucking the boss is a good way up the ladder isn’t it?”
“I didn’t know Sash,”
