Rushing to catch up with her, I hurried my short legs along. “Avery, this is a really nice place. I am sure you have to call and schedule an appointment with a manager or something,” I offered.
I had been turned away from enough places to know that managers didn’t like surprises when they were busy.
“What can it hurt?” Avery asked as she shrugged her shoulders. Man, I wish I had her confidence and faith in people. “We are already here. The worst they can do is tell us no,” she finished.
I guess she was right. What could it hurt?
I followed Avery’s lead as she marched up to the front desk and requested to speak to a manager. “Hi, I would like to speak to a manager,” Avery beamed, as she held her head high.
The same lady who had checked us in the night before continued to stare down at her computer. “Managers are busy. Call and make an appointment,” she said, in a monotone voice.
“No. I am here now and I demand to speak to a manager. If one is not available I can either wait here or come back with local authorities to take care of my complaint,” Avery stated, in a matter-of-fact tone.
I just stood and watched her with wide eyes as she lied to this woman. I wasn’t sure if her plan was going to work, but I was impressed with her acting skills. I had to give it to her, Avery was smart and beautiful and wonderfully conniving.
Finally looking up, the woman looked a little startled and pissed off. “Hold on,” she snapped, as she picked up a black telephone and began dialing. When someone finally answered, she told them about our ‘situation’ and then hung up. “Someone will be with you in one moment,” she finished, before returning to ignore us again.
We waited a few more minutes before a short, balding, and chubby man waddled up to us. He wore a black suit and a large gold necklace. He appeared to be someone out of a cheesy mob movie, but as he reached us, I saw a manager name tag on his heavy chest.
“Can I help you?” he asked in a gruff.
“Yes, we would like to give you our resumes. We are experienced at waiting tables and would love an opportunity to work in a fine establishment like your casino,” Avery said, in her finest professional voice.
Turning to the woman at the desk, the man gave a huff. “You called me down here for this?” he growled, as he narrowed his eyes on her.
Opening her mouth, the woman went to speak but thought better of it. The man glowered his eyes at us for a moment and seemed to be sizing us up. “Normally, I wouldn't give either one of you a chance without scheduling an appointment. I am a very busy man. However, I had one waitress not show up today and another I had to fire because she got herself knocked up and looked awful in the uniform,” he said, as he stared a little too long at my breasts.
I looked over at Avery and gave her my, let’s get the hell out of here look, but she was totally ignoring me. This guy was a complete pig, but I didn’t want to say anything just yet since he seemed to be really considering us.
“When can you start?” he asked, glancing at our resumes.
“Today,” I stepped up and said. Even I was surprised with how quickly I seemed to find my voice.
Smiling at me, Avery nudged my shoulder and contained a squeal.
“Be here tomorrow morning at ten. If you are even one minute late I won’t give you all a chance. Be prepared to wear short shorts and a tight shirt. If you are opposed to that, don’t bother showing up. You will train with one of our experienced staff members for two days then you will be on your own. You are paid through the tips you earn so smile, stick out your perky tits, and flirt with the old men. Do either of you have a problem with that?” he asked.
Shaking our heads no, Avery and I just stood there. We should have told this guy he was a complete jackass. We should have called someone about how he was running this casino. Instead, we accepted the job and kept our mouths shut.
Extending his chubby little hand, the man offered his first smile. “Call me Jim,” he said.
Shaking his hand, I smiled. “I am Lizzie and this is Avery.”
“Great, tomorrow bring your license and I will have you complete the paperwork before you begin,” he said before walking away.
As Avery began to jump up and down, celebrating our victory over achieving a job, I began to panic. Most of the small diners we had worked in never bothered to have us file paperwork. We just worked for tips. I wasn’t ready to fill out legal documents with my name and social security number. In the eyes of the law, I was dead. Gone.
Turning to Avery, she saw the frightened look on my face. “Calm down, Lizzie. I am sure we can work around the paperwork. Just be happy for today,” she said, as she pulled me into her and forced me to jump up and down with her. Not able to hold back my laughter, I smiled and joined in the moment.
After we had made complete fools of ourselves, we stopped bouncing. “Let’s celebrate with a drink,” Avery suggested, and I gladly accepted.
As we turned to walk toward the casino bar, my eyes were drawn to the same man in black from yesterday. Staring at me with the same intense gaze, he was watching me like he was angry. Deciding to be the bigger person, I smiled and offered a slight wave.
Glowering his eyes at me, I watched as the sexy guy ran up to Jim and started having a very heated conversation. I couldn’t help but wonder what they could be arguing about. Especially since their argument began after a hot and sexy guy saw me. I couldn’t help but feel a little paranoid that it might have something to do with me. Whatever it was about, this guy was not happy about the final outcome.
Throwing his hands up in the air, hot and sexy guy stomped away and went through a door marked for employees only. I guess I was hard core staring because the next thing I knew both Avery and Jim were by my side giving me strange looks.
“Ladies, I forgot to mention something. Employees get fifty percent off rooms at the casino. If you want to stay here tonight, I can give you a great rate,” he offered, handing us two cards.