The Art of the Hustle (Complete)

Chapter Thirty

For my next shift at Ray's, I decided it was time to prove to Kim why I deserved to be a server. I figured if I could be a server, then all my financial problems would be over. I would make enough to pay my rent, all my bills, and Darrell's debt. If I did not get promoted to be a server, my plan B was to try to get as many hours as possible until I could find another job. It seemed like everywhere I went, I was being kicked around. It was frustrating and disheartening. This was definitely not how I envisioned my life turning out.  

"Good morning, Kim," I said with a big smile. 

"Someone is in a good mood today." 

"I'm always in a good mood when I come here. The warm smell of our in-house chicken soup at lunch, the chopped onions, carrots, and celery, mixed with chicken stock, and a pinch of basil. Or maybe it's the smoked salmon with peach-salsa and gruyere cheese with three ounce..." 

"Okay okay, I get it. I'm impressed. When did you learn all that?" 

"I have memorized every single ingredient for every item on the menu." 

"What about the drinks?" 

"Oh, I memorized those as well. You want a blue lagoon? You'll need one ounce vodka, one ounce Blue Curacao liqueur, lemonade..."  

"I see you've done your homework." 

"Yes, I have. Any chance I can start my server training?" 

"I'll tell you what, finish your lunch shift then I'll train you on how to use the computer system." 

"Are you being serious?" 

"Of course, you deserve it, don't you?" 

"Thank you so much, Kim." 

*** 

After the lunch rush, the restaurant died down completely. It was strange how it could go from a metropolis to a ghost town in less than an hour. There were a few people still dining, but I had completed all of my duties and there was nothing left for me to do. 

"So, Kim, how about that training?" 

"Have you cleared and set all the tables... wait, I shouldn't have to ask you that, I already know the answer. Come on, let's get you trained on the Squirrel." 

"The layout of the restaurant is programmed into the computer. So just click on your table and select how many in your party. Typically, you're going to order the drinks first, so click the 'Drinks' tab and all of our drinks come up. Over here is where you can customize your orders or add notes for the bartenders, like 'easy ice', 'double shot of something', and so on. You can do the same for the entrées as well." 

After about thirty minutes on the basic computer system, I felt I had a good grasp of how it worked. Everything was very logical and straightforward.  

"Wow, you learn fast," Kim said. 

"I guess you could say I'm really motivated." 

"Good, how about I start you off with a few tables tonight?"  

"Okay, sounds good. I'll see you tonight." 

After my training, I decided to meet Ashley at her work. I walked passed Mike's and glanced inside. I saw Jay standing around with Jon and Marcy. Nobody was doing anything. He was not a leader; he had no business being in that role. He should have taken my advice and gotten rid of those people, but instead, he got rid of me. Maybe my leadership threatened him. I was a leader being led by a follower. What a sad realization. 

"Hey, babe," I said. 

"Hey, hon. What are you doing here?" 

"Just wanted to see you."