I can’t hold back the smile as Irunía rolls her eyes and jabs her hand into her hips.
“And means it,” Soren adds.
“Irunía?” Steven says.
“I’m not apologizing,” Irunía says.
“Then pack up your shit and get out of here.”
I’m so happy I want to cry. I look at Sam back at the bar who’s smiling as big as I am. Irunía has been nothing but impossible to work with since day one, bossing us around because we’re younger, “we don’t know nothing” as she says, and that “kids these days ain’t worth shit.” Well, what do you know now?
She storms off, into the back room, grabs her stuff, and marches toward the front door, grabbing a mug off someone’s table and slamming it into the wall, glass shattering everywhere.
Sam rushes to get a mop bucket and I go to help him.
“Thought that day would never come,” he says. “Thank God.”
“Me either.”
“What did that guy with your dad say to Steven? I’ve never seen him move that fast or show that he has a set of balls before.”
“Apparently he knows him.”
“Seems like everyone knows that guy. Everyone but me. Who is he?”
“Soren Stevens,” I announce proudly.
“That’s Soren Stevens? The guy who’s served multiple tours in Afghanistan?”
I nod.
“The guy who took down one of the Al-Qaeda leaders?”
I nod again.
“Think you can…introduce me?”
“Yeah, sure.”
We get the mess cleaned up and I walk with Sam over to Soren’s side.
“Who’s this?” Soren asks, turning his body to square up to us as we arrive.
“The bartender. He wants to meet you.”
Soren shakes his hand with narrowed eyes as Sam gushes over his man crush.
“You two aren’t…?” he asks, pointing at me and then Sam.
“No, no, no,” I correct quickly, taking a step back and bringing my palms up to face Soren.
He exhales hard, the stress leaving his shoulder and his face as his mood instantly changes on a dime.
He’s suddenly friendly with Sam and even offers to buy him a drink, which makes Sam’s day.
I love how Soren has such a positive effect on other people, well except Irunía, but getting rid of her has an enormously positive effect on the restaurant, and its bottom line. Customers have been complaining about her incessantly since the first day I started here.
Not to mention she barely works, or at least rarely takes tables anymore unless it’s someone she knows or apparently someone who’s too good, too experienced, for me.