Working Manager

A gentle knocking at his door interrupted Cyrus' game. Considering the staff present, only one person knocked that softly. He minimized the game then switched the display to feature the security camera footage. Cyrus opened the door to find that his guess was correct. Anita was about to knock again.

"What," he snapped.

"Cyrus, we need to talk," said Anita in her sternest voice possible, which didn't sound very strict at all.

"OK? About what?"

"The employees here don't respect you as the manager."

Cyrus raised his eyebrows as he leaned back in his seat, remaining silent for her to continue.

"Because you stay in the office all day. The other workers see you as… lazy."

He wouldn't call himself lazy. More like, he finished his work efficiently, which left the rest of the day for other activities.

"Do you see me as lazy?" he asked.

Anita immediately turned pink in embarrassment.

"Of course not! I know you work hard making the schedules, organizing payroll, and watching the video feed. Other people don't recognize that."

Right, he did those things. He made up new schedules, usually Sunday night. Payroll took two days out of the month to work on and distribute. He checked the video feed once every couple of hours or so when he either needed to use the bathroom or get a refill.

"Then, if you don't see me as lazy, we are all good. Thanks for your concern," offered Cyrus as he tried to shut the door, only to learn that Anita was in the way.

"I think you should try working in the restaurant. To inspire employee morale."

"I think everyone will handle things just fine without me." He tried shutting the door, but Anita remained firm in her position.

"Please, Cyrus, for today. The restaurant is calm now so you won't be working much. Just enough to show the others that you are not a lazy manager."

Cyrus looked at her big blue eyes pleading for him to help. She probably learned it when asking for soulmate hands. Linda also used this sometimes, and he didn't like it. He was thankful Ramona never tried this because her eyes always looked sad.

"Fine. Only for today."

"Only for today," echoed Anita in agreement, jumping a little as Cyrus stood up and followed her out to the restaurant’s dining area.

People were sitting in the booths, Cyrus immediately panicking as he realized that she was going to have him work in the dining area.

"To keep things easy, you can work at the bar."

Anita pushed Cyrus over to the bar. A couple of older men sat drinking coffee or tea and reading their newspapers.

"Oh, you finally got the lazy manager to show up," teased Sierra as she stood at the window. Cyrus bent over so he could see into the kitchen and closer to Sierra's height.

"So this is what the world looks like from your point of view, huh?"

Sierra pursed her lips into a pout before setting a finished plate on the window sill.

"Order up."

"Perfect, that order is for the gentlemen down at the end. Why don't you go give it to him?" offered Anita.

OK, giving an order, Cyrus could do that. Minimal talking involved. Cyrus took the plate and walked over to the man, setting the food down in front of him.

"Here you go, sir," he said with a pained smiled. But the customer didn't seem to notice as he looked at the food before folding his newspaper.

"Ah, thank you. Do you have any mayo?"

Mayo? Where did they keep the mayo? Cyrus looked to Anita, who was busy welcoming new customers. He looked out to see Oliver still taking orders from some people.

"Just a moment, sir," he squeaked.

"Sierra, where's the mayo?" he gasped as he approached the window.

"Try getting closer to my height and you'll find it," she taunted before returning to work. Cyrus waved her off before looking around the bar area for the mayo, which wasn't anywhere in sight. What did mayo look like anyway?

Maybe what Sierra said was a hint. Cyrus got on all fours and searched the area for the mayo. He scanned the shelves, even the small fridge where they kept cream for parfaits, but he couldn't find it.

"Cyrus?"

He turned to see Anita looking at him curiously; Oliver was behind her with his order and holding a bottle of mayo.

Cyrus got off the floor and took the bottle from Oliver.

"Thank you." He returned to the man and handed it over.

"Cyrus."

Cyrus spun to see Anita holding another bottle of mayo.

"We keep the mayo here." She set the mayo down along a whole row of other mayo’s next to bottles of ketchup and other condiments.

"Put a sign here, or something. People will get confused," he chided.

"Maybe starting you on the floor wasn't a good idea. Why don't you try working in the kitchen?"

"No," said three persons in chorus. Anita was taken aback by the negativity.

"He is physically incapable of cooking for more than one person at a time," clarified Shasta.

"But you used to cook well when you were a chef. At least that's what Linda said."

"He only cooked one meal per group. They use to have three chefs in here whenever he cooked."

Anita's mouth formed a small "o" in surprise before it turned into a smile.

"Well, you tried your best."

She patted him on the arm before greeting a new customer.

Cyrus stood there, waiting for the next instructions, but none came.

"So, do I still have to work now?" he asked the other present staff members.

"No," they answered in unison.

Cyrus wandered off to the back, to his little office. He shut the door and waited for a few moments. When he was certain Anita would not bother him again, he checked the video monitors, then opened his game and resumed playing.