The Hero's Sweetheart

Olivia didn’t have the energy to correct Patrice about the nickname she hated. “Feeling a little light-headed and wheezy.”

Patrice reached for Olivia’s asthma inhaler and popped the cap off. She rarely had a stress-induced attack, but this felt like one of those times. Desperately short of breath now, Olivia placed the oval in her mouth and pumped the prime twice, inhaling deeply each time. Once she could breathe unobstructedly and speak again, instead of clawing her collar away from her neck in air-hunger panic, she thanked Patrice, who asked what triggered her attack.

“Change. I don’t like the sound of it. Not at all.” Never had. And for good reason. In Olivia’s experience, change equaled something awful. It always meant moving from a bad situation to a worse one.

* * *

“Miss Abbott, you’re late.” Jack watched Olivia’s cheeks flush as she rushed around the table to the empty seat at the diner employee meeting the next morning.

Her face awash in a strong emotion he couldn’t decipher, he stared her down. Her scowl loosened and she promptly sat. “My apologies.”

“No explanation?”

She swallowed. Bit her tongue. Then she said, “None that you’d understand.” Her scowl tried its best to return but she fought it.

Wait. What did she mean he wouldn’t understand?

“That means?”

Now her scowl did return. She peered at the clock. “Please, if you don’t mind, we all have other places to be.”

He guessed she was right. And to credit her defense, he hadn’t given them much notice. He relented on ripping on her for being fifteen minutes late to what he’d hoped would only be a half hour meeting. He moved to stand at the head of the table in the staff break room and studied the group of a dozen or so employees. He met each gaze, finding himself irritated when Olivia intentionally looked away. As angry and flustered as she appeared, he half expected her to get up and walk out. Then he noticed something else. Dark, sunken eyes and drawn features. As if she hadn’t slept well, or maybe not at all.

He tore his gaze, and his compassion, away from her and faced the group. After all, if he got soft, they’d continue to run all over his dad...if he was ever able to take over again.

Until then, Jack would handle it. “Some things are going to change around here, now that I’m in charge.”

Jack watched Olivia stiffen at his mention of change. A pallor flushed the scorch out of her cheeks from when she’d sprinted in, windblown and breathless.

He knew the feeling. This was a big turning point for him, too—choosing to stay for an extended period of time in the town he’d avoided for so long.

“First order of business is—”

“Like, what kind of changes?” Perry, the dishwasher, interrupted Jack for the third time since he’d started the meeting.

Tired of the disrespect, Jack placed his palms flat on the table and leaned in, face-to-face with the young man. “For starters, you get fired if you pull a no-show again without calling in.”

Perry’s mouth dropped open. “Dude, that’s harsh.”

“Asking that you call if you’re not planning on showing up is not an unreasonable request. Furthermore, if you’re late more than three times in a pay period, you’re fired.” Jack didn’t give Perry a chance to launch another argument before pulling out the schedule.

Olivia visibly tensed. He peered at her, making sure she didn’t have something to say before he continued. “Miss Abbott? Did you have something to add?”

Her eyes scanned the schedule, then lowered. “No, sir.”

“Yet your body language states that you do.”

Hands formerly folded in her lap flew up past her shoulders. “Fine, I just know how Sully would want things done. He doesn’t believe in fixing something that isn’t broken and with the exception of a few glitches, the schedule works fine the way it is.”

Jack shook his head. “That may be the case, but we have lost too much revenue.”

She looked as though she didn’t know what that had to do with the schedule, but she’d find out soon enough.

Jack actually admired her pluck. Unlike Perry, she didn’t present as rude. Just strong in her conviction to stand up to him to defend what she thought his dad would want. A measure of admiration rose up in him but he quelled it in order to keep the meeting on track and be able to get them out of here. Their time was as valuable as his.

Several exchanges later, it became apparent to Jack that Olivia was not one to back down easily from something she believed in. Change was apparently not something she believed in.

However, she did apparently believe in trying his grace and patience to the max.

Tension bundled in the back of his neck and spread to his shoulders.

As though sensing his thoughts, she lifted her chin. “I’m only trying to help.”

Jack wasn’t so sure. She seemed bent on opposing him at every turn. Regardless, in light of the time crunch, he found himself increasingly irritated that she wasn’t simply taking orders. At least Perry had simmered down to a quiet sulk.

Hopefully Olivia’s spunkiness wouldn’t turn her into a troublemaker or drag things out here. Especially considering a fourth of them were working the morning shift today. Soon.

Choosing, for time’s sake, not to engage Olivia’s stubbornness, Jack spread the schedule out and clicked its identical image on his video presentation. “First order of business is cost control. Starting today, I want syrup and sugar shakers only half filled on tables. Ketchup and mustard will only be placed on tables when customers ask. We’ll also use—”

Olivia’s hand shot up.

Jack paused. “Yes, Miss Abbott?”

“I’m wondering how that will cut costs.”

“I was getting to that,” he said with more edge than he’d intended. “If the containers are full, customers will inadvertently use more.” It had worked in the service. He hoped customers would catch on. “We’ll also use cloth napkins instead of paper.”

Olivia raised her hand again. Jack fought irritation at the intrusion. “Yes?”

“Cloth napkins will need to be washed and dried. That will use electricity. Electricity costs money. Plus the water needed to wash the towels. And detergent. That costs money, too.”

“I’m well aware of the costs, Miss Abbott. I’m installing new efficient washers and dryers. If I’ve estimated correctly, cloth is far more cost effective. Especially since Eagle Point customers love to smuggle handfuls of our paper napkins out in their pockets and purses.”

She nibbled her lip but didn’t argue. Yet the expression on her face clearly said and you don’t think they’ll smuggle cloth napkins out, too? Cloth would be less of a temptation. Most customers would feel bad taking them home. Hopefully.

And just because he was irritated, Jack added, “Only fill the salt and pepper shakers halfway, as well. I’m also going to crack down on tardiness and missing food items. That means you will fill out inventory sheets each time you use something up. No more taking boxes of meat home,” he directed to Perry, whom he knew had taken a box for a barbecue and beer bash at his house and hadn’t paid for it. “Or any other food and supplies, for that matter. Taking something that’s not rightfully yours is considered theft and is grounds for termination. Do I make myself clear?”

“Can we buy cases of stuff if you have enough?” Naem asked.

“If we have plenty of it in stock and you note the transaction on inventory sheets, yes.”

Naem nodded. Perry sank lower into a slouch, bad attitude wafting off him like steam.

“Next item on the agenda is hours of operation. I have no idea why Dad did this but it’s not prudent to delay opening a restaurant until nine in the morning. That’s a lot of lost revenue from potential early eater breakfast patrons.”

His voice seemed to have obliterated all the air in the room because Olivia’s face paled. Naem, Darin and Patrice slid Olivia glances that told him there was definitely a story behind why his dad had decided to open the diner later and close it earlier. That story had to do with Olivia.

Other employees, waitstaff plus another assistant cook from the opposite shift, began to notice the shift in the atmosphere because they darted glances between Olivia and her day-shift crewmates. No matter. He couldn’t be derailed or they’d lose the diner. And, in turn, everyone sitting here would be unemployed. He couldn’t let that happen.