Coming from your boss, most of the time this wouldn’t be the best thing to hear on your first day back to work after taking a much-needed week off. But luckily, Leo was pretty easy going, and from the giant smile on his over-tanned face, I knew he was probably just glad to have me back.
I had been his most reliable employee since starting at the resort right after finishing up my business degree, and up until now hadn’t missed a day of work. Probably one of the reasons Kara had left me. I wasn’t like her. I didn’t skip from job to job and miss days because I was out partying the night before. That just wasn’t me. That wasn’t to say that I was some boring asshole like she thought I was, but still.
In fact, Kara probably wouldn’t have even recognized me in the last week, and really, I didn’t even recognize myself. For the first time in a while, I felt this weight lifted off my chest that I hadn’t known was even holding me down, and just let go.
Danny was overjoyed.
To have his best friend be his drinking buddy for the past week would do that, I guess. Clearly, I wasn’t over Kara, no matter how quick she had forgotten me, but eventually I would get there. Just like Danny said, I couldn’t be a pussy about it. I think that was about all of the advice I was going to take from him now, though. If I had listened to him anymore, I would’ve already slept with a dozen girls who he had tried to literally push onto my lap, and I would still be hung over from all of the shots he had bought last night when he knew today was my first day back to work.
I was looking to have fun, but I still wanted to keep my job. And girls would happen eventually, I was a guy and all, but I really wasn’t looking to jump into anything right away. And I wasn’t looking for a bunch of random hookups like Danny said I needed.
“Yeah, sorry about that, Leo. I just needed some time, but I’m good now and ready to get back to work.”
“Good,” he replied quickly, handing me a thick stack of papers as he walked past me in the small corner office that we shared that was tucked right behind the reservations’ desk. “Because we had two housekeepers quit while you were gone, and I had to fire Caroline.”
My eyebrows shot up right away at the mention of Caroline, one of our best employees. She had been loved by the guests at the front desk for her bubbly personality and that extra step that she always took to make sure their stay at the resort was the best. But if Leo had chosen to fire her, I really had no room to question it. He was the only person above me at the resort, and was in the process of training me to take over so he could retire sometime soon. Running a place like The Reef Plaza was a dream that I had for as long as I could even remember.
“Alright, well I’ll go through these resumes and start setting up some interviews. I’ll have some good help hired in no time. Anything else need my attention right away?”
“No, kid, I think we’re good. Glad to have you back.” He closed the door, leaving me to what looked like an endless stack of papers.
I lost myself quickly, narrowing down possible prospects, and began making phone calls for interviews. By the time I was finished, I glanced at my watch and saw that my shift was about over. Danny had been bothering me to meet him at Clammy’s, thinking that I wouldn’t want to hang out with him once I got back to work, but a beer sounded really good right now, and I really didn’t want to sit in an empty apartment. The place seemed empty even though I still had Gunther there.
My mom had already tried to get me to move back in with her and my dad, but that was probably the last thing I needed to do right now. She was a little disappointed, but I knew she was at least happy that Kara and I were over, even though she would never say anything. Kara always had a bit of an attitude with her, pretty much about everything, even though my mom was one of the easiest people in the world to get along with. It got on Kara’s last nerve that I actually liked to go over to my parents’ house for family dinners every once in a while. I think she was just a little jealous that she hadn’t had that same type of atmosphere with her own family while she was growing up.
I shut my laptop and flicked off the lights, heading to the employee parking lot, sending Danny a message that I would be there soon. He answered quickly, probably not expecting that I was going to meet up with them tonight. I checked my phone one more time before tucking it back into my pocket. I felt like a dumbass, still thinking that Kara might come to her senses and come back. I was a guy. I was supposed to be the one who didn’t care, got over it, and moved on with my life. How in the hell did she do it so easily? I really wish I knew.
Ally