“No apology necessary. You still made it on time. You’re on dish duty this morning, as our usual washer is out sick. Mike can show you what you need to do.”
“Dishes?” Her nose crinkled before she thought better of it. “Yuck.”
Chef raised an eyebrow at her. “Don’t forget, this is meant to be a punishment, little girl. And unless you’d like a round with one of my spoons after all, you’ll do the job I’ve assigned you with minimal whining.”
Several people were sneaking peeks at the scene unfolding in the middle of the kitchen and for a moment she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”
“Good girl. Go on. I’ll come check on you in a bit.”
Mike looked more than happy to pass off the job of rinsing the dishes so they could be stacked in the industrial sized dishwasher. It always amazed her how there could be so many dishes already when nobody was even eating yet!
An hour into her shift, her feet and her back were aching, and she just wanted a few minutes to sit down. But the dishes never seemed to stop coming, especially now that people were beginning to trickle into the various restaurants for breakfast.
“Looks like Chef found something you could do without causing any trouble.”
Rolling her neck to the side, Hayleigh glanced up at Julia. Determined not to let the other woman get her in any more trouble, she forced a smile.
“Hi, Julia,” she said with a cheerfulness she didn’t remotely feel.
Instead of replying, Julia moved past her to the stack of clean dishes that had recently been unloaded. Picking up a plate, she held it up and frowned. “This is still dirty.”
Hayleigh felt her stomach drop. “No, it isn’t! I’ve been super careful!”
“As a matter of fact, these are all dirty.” Julia carried the pile of dishes back to the sink and dumped them back in. “Do it again.”
“Of course they’re dirty now! You dumped them back in the dish water!”
“Maybe I should go get Chef and see if he can’t help you be more cooperative?”
That was the absolute last thing she wanted or needed. Her bottom still ached from the paddle and a small part of her worried Chef would call off their date if she caused too much trouble. “No,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’ll rewash the dishes.”
“Good. Make sure they get clean this time, or I will have to tell Chef you’re slacking off over here.”
Luckily, Julia ended up being too busy to bother her the rest of the shift. By the time it was finished, Hayleigh was exhausted and sore and all she wanted to do was return to her room and lie down. But when she said as much to Chef, the expression on his face told her it wasn’t going to happen before he even said a word.
“You are not skipping class, Hayleigh Anne. And if I find out you were anything less than the perfect student today, you’ll be eating dinner sitting on a very sore bottom. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” she mumbled.
“Good girl. Get yourself some breakfast and then get to class. I’ll see you tonight, jellybean.”
Butterflies danced in her tummy. “Jellybean?”
“Yeah.” His grin was adorably uncertain. “You remind me of a jellybean; you’re sweet and bright, and I’m never quite sure what I might get with you.”
It was a silly nickname. And she loved it. “What time should I come over tonight?”
“I’ll come get you around six. I know you’re not supposed to leave the Littles’ wing on your own.”
Her “Yes, sir” was significantly happier this time, and he sent her off with a kiss to the forehead and a swat that reminded her sitting on the hard classroom chairs all day wasn’t going to be a picnic. But even the prospect of a long, uncomfortable day of classes couldn’t wipe the grin off her face.
Chapter 4
With breakfast wrapped up,Connor sent his team off to enjoy their break before the lunch shift started. Hoping to get the menu for the upcoming Halloween party finalized, he closed himself off in his office. But his gaze kept drifting up to the paddle hanging on the wall, and his memory conjured images of Hayleigh, bent over his desk, her perfect round bottom turning redder and redder with each swat of the heavy wood.
A knock on the door jolted him out of his daydreams. “Come in,” he called.
“Got a minute?” Derek asked, poking his head around the door.