"I need a redo on this sandwich, she didn't say no pickle, and now she's claiming she's allergic," Ashton droned to the men in the kitchen, setting the red basket on the counter so they could dispose of it properly.
Usually if someone just "didn't ask for something" on their order, they would just remove it in the back and pretend they remade it. With allergies (or in this case "allergies" as Ashton assumed, since she hadn't said anything earlier in the evening) they had to remake everything so as "not to harm the customer".
It was Saturday evening, and the bar was chaotically busy. Ashton had a total of 9 tables, all full with groups of 4+ people. His largest party was 12, and he had been with them for such a long time because they couldn't figure out what they wanted to order. It was a birthday celebration for an older gentleman, and Ashton thought he was adorable. He was one of those cute older people who made funny jokes and didn't get upset over small things. The mans son had apologized for the people he was with and even promised Ashton a huge tip later in the evening, so those two factors urged Ashton to take extra special care of them, even when the toddler kept spilling her drink all over the table and floor. He was there quickly with a towel and a new cup.
Ashton was a little bummed that Calum was off that night. He claimed he had a "family thing" to attend; who cared that his goddaughter had a dance recital? Ashton needed him there so they could tag team and make things easier for each other. He didn't exactly want to be Calum's friend because that could get messy and screw things up, but he would be friendly with him while they were working.
"Ash, how's it going?"
Another reason Ashton wanted Calum there was because he needed the man to be a buffer between him and their manager. It's not that no one liked the manager—he was a fine enough person. He did well by his employees, he joked around, he fit in with their vibes. There was just something about him that made Ashton feel funny. Nothing had happened, but sometimes you just meet someone and they don't sit well with you. That was this man to Ashton.
He had never mentioned his feelings to anybody, because they all seemed to have no issues with the man, but Ashton felt a bit of anxiety in his stomach whenever the man was present at the restaurant.
"It's going just fine, Carter," Ashton smiled at him before picking up his newly fixed order and going to deliver it.
He spent a few minutes out on the floor, checking in on his tables, making sure they had everything they needed. Ketchup for 12, napkins for the baby at 15, two sprites and a water for 16. He ran back into the kitchen to grab those things, and Carter was still standing in the same place Ashton left him 5 minutes ago. He busied himself with the cups, getting ice and filling them with the soda gun, acutely aware of the fact that Carter was staring him down with a smile.
"But for real, outside of this place, how are you?" the boss moved closer so he was within normal talking distance. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Kevin and the kitchen boys back behind the counter, doing something inappropriate with a tortilla, all of them laughing hysterically while Kevin blushed and pretended he wasn't paying attention. Carly and Megan were at the other end of the kitchen restocking some things in the cooler. There were people around (not that it would come to that) but just in case. He felt uneasy.
"I'm good, nothing crazy. How are you?"
Carter hummed, picking up an empty cup and tossing it between his hands. He was leaning against the counter, facing Ashton.
"I'm really good," he smiled, his green eyes lighting up. Maybe Ashton didn't like the fact that it seemed Carter had a little crush on him. His extreme desire to not mix work and pleasure turned him off to any of the people at his job, and maybe that's what made him feel uneasy.
Carter was buff. It was odd to think that the manager of this place was probably a gym rat, but there was no doubt this man didn't spend much of his time working out. His arms were like tree trunks, thick and strong, straining against his signature red button up polo that had 'Neighborhood Bar and Grille' embroidered on the top right corner in fancy script. He was a little shorter than Ashton, maybe the same height, but definitely was much tougher. Ashton was by no means scrawny, but Carter made him look like a twink in comparison.
He wouldn't have been a guy Ashton would go after if he saw him at a bar, but if he'd been approached, he probably wouldn't have said no provided his personality was right. Ashton was a bit of a slut when it came to who he went home with, he was open to pretty much any guy who wasn't a creep.
"I was at the gym last week and I got to 320 on the squat rack, so I'm pretty happy with my progress," Carter told him.
"That's great man, you should be proud." he nodded, grabbing a tray and setting the drinks on them. He walked over to where the condiments were kept, underneath the chrome counter where they prepped things, and set that on the tray as well. He was about to grab his napkins and leave when Carter put his hand on Ashton's bicep.
"Don't leave too quickly tonight, I just wanna talk to you at the end of your shift,"
Ashton nodded, swallowing thickly at those words. There was nothing wrong with what he said. If anybody else had done that, it wouldn't have raised a red flag at all, it was completely normal.
So then why for the rest of the night was Ashton on edge and unable to relax? He felt his heart pounding in his chest and everything sounded muffled until his tables were empty, he had done his closing and side work, and somehow found himself standing in front of Carter's office. The door was cracked open a few inches, light spilling out into the hall and onto the opposing wall. Ashton took a deep breath, knowing he was making things worse in his head and smiled as he knocked and walked inside.
"Hey Carter, I'm ready to get out of here. Can we cash out?" he asked, voice steady. He impressed himself with how calm he was. Nothing was wrong, that's why he could be so calm.
"Yeah, of course. Who else is left?"
"Jessica and Carly are doing a little prep and they're going to do a final clean down. I think Kevin is still back there, too, you know how he is," Ashton rolled his eyes fondly. Kevin was always the last one there, making sure the younger kitchen boys didn't mess anything up. He liked to make sure the kitchen was perfect for the next morning.
Carter chuckled, taking the receipts Ashton handed him while the waiter counted his cash. Carter added it up, asking Ashton for his total.
"I only have 35.62 here, I didn't get a lot of cash orders," he explained.
Carter hummed.
"Then in that case, you owe the bar 25, and I owe you $512.67."
"No way, that's not right," It had been a busy night, he'd had over 20 tables throughout the couple hours, but still. Ashton grabbed the receipts, seeing that the table with the cute old man and the baby did indeed come through with an over $200 tip. "Well damn. Great!" he grinned, happily accepting the money Carter counted out for him. That was a good night for him, usually he did okay as he knew how to cater to people, but this was very good, even for him.
They separated the money, and then Ashton started to get up when Carter stopped him.
"So I have something to ask you," he said, leaning back in his office chair and swaying slightly back and forth as he glanced at the brunette man sitting in front of him.
"What is it?"
Carter looked Ashton up and down, then bit his lip.
"I wanted to see if you wanted to go out next weekend," he offered.
Ashton wanted to say he was surprised, but this put all his ill feelings at ease. Carter was just interested in him, that's probably why Ashton felt strange with all the extra attention. He literally let out a sigh of relief and felt a huge weight lifted off his chest.
"Carter, I'm really sorry. I don't like to mix work and personal life. I even have a hard time going out with everyone after a shift, because it just feels like too much for me sometimes. I really prefer to keep those two parts of my life separate," he explained, trying to hide his smile, because even though he felt like jumping for joy, he was turning someone down. That would be highly inappropriate.
"Are you sure you can't make an exception? Just one drink?"
He shook his head.
"No, I can't. If I make one exception now, then what's going to stop me from doing so in the future, again? I just know myself, and I don't want anything to be weird here. Plus, you're my boss. What would people think about that? It just...it isn't right."
Carter took a deep breath and nodded, smiling small.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you for being honest."
Ashton shrugged.
"I'm sorry, man. I'll uh, see you around?"
"Yep, I'll see you next time."
Ashton walked out of the office grinning. At least now he didn't have to feel terrible when his boss was around. He'd get over Ashton, stop paying attention to him, and they could be what they were supposed to be—employee and boss.
With a skip in his step, Ashton hung up his apron and pulled out his phone, sending a quick text to Luke.
Ash: I'm on my way, decided I want to come by tonight if that's ok?
Luke: Harry's already waiting outside for you. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist :-)
Ashton laughed, pocketing his phone and going out to the car that was indeed, waiting outside for him. It was a good day.
***
Once again I'd like to thank aashy16 for motivating me to update. Nursing school is kicking my butt, but I'm here !! Doin my best :) hope ya enjoyed this, it's gonna start picking up (and getting dark 🥹😬)
~ashtonfortherwin