Regardless, fifty cents more an hour would definitely push me over that threshold and I’d lose the grant. There was no way I’d be able to pay for Trent’s school without it. “Please don’t,” I blurted out.
Flint’s face scrunched up like he’d eaten something sour. “What?” he asked.
“Please don’t give me a raise. I appreciate it, I really do, but the wonderful thing you’re trying to do to show your appreciation will royally screw me over. I’ll lose the grant I get for my son’s schooling. This fifty-cent raise will end up costing me over four hundred dollars a month.”
“Oh.” He frowned. “Well, shit. What can I do for you then?”
I had no idea. My financial situation was somewhere between a joke and a tragedy. I shrugged, once again feeling the hopelessness of it all.
“Wait, I’ve got an idea.” He opened his top desk drawer, pulled something out, and slid it over to me.
A hundred-dollar visa bucks card!
Unable to believe my eyes, I blinked. Then blinked again. It was still there, staring up at me from the top of Flint’s desk, like some glowing beacon chasing away the gloom and doom of my day. A hundred dollars wouldn’t solve all my problems, but it would help me pay Trent’s tuition this month. “This is for me?” I asked, hesitant to get my hopes up until I knew for sure.
Flint nodded. “I know it’s not much, but—”
“Not much? It’s amazing! You have no idea how much I need this right now. Ohmigod, thank you!” I scooped up the card and slid it into my pocket before he changed his mind and took it back. Between the card and what I made in tips tonight, I should have money to spare. I briefly considered hugging Flint but wasn’t sure if that crossed any employee/employer boundaries and I still needed my job. Instead, I thanked him once or twice more, bowing to his laughter as I left his office. Then I hurried out to the front to get to work.
I was about halfway through my shift when Wasp sat at the bar and ordered a beer. “Hey stranger. It’s good to see you, but shouldn’t you be on lunch?” he asked.
Glancing at the clock, I realized he was right.
“Go,” Flint said, sidling up to me so he could step into my spot. “Dana and I have it covered.”
Wasp picked up his beer, stood, and met me on the other side of the bar before escorting me to the break room. Hurrying forward, he swung open the door for me, and stepped aside so I could precede him. About a dozen white cartons covered the table, and the smell of cooked meats and veggies made my stomach growl.
“I hope you like Chinese,” Wasp said, gesturing for me to come in. He pulled out a chair in front of one of the two plates he’d set.
He’d brought me dinner. My chest squeezed and my eyes burned at the sight. It was such a sweet, unexpected gesture that I had to swallow back my emotions before I could answer. “I love Chinese food,” I said, taking the seat he offered. Between the gift card and the free dinner, my day was beginning to look up. He pushed me in, and I checked out the spread, feeling completely overwhelmed. “Thank you, Wasp. This is… Wow. I don’t even know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything; just eat. You’re always too busy to go out, so I figured we could eat in. I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a little of everything.” He started opening containers and calling out their contents as he placed them around me. By the time he finished, I had a giant fan of delicious-smelling containers circling my plate.
Wasp sat across the table from me and scooped fried rice onto his plate. I followed suit, trying not to drool as I piled on my favorites, which was pretty much everything.
“My first job back home was at a Chinese restaurant,” I said, scooping out a patty of egg foo young before smothering it in gravy.
“Where’s home?” Wasp asked.
I almost let it slip but caught myself just in time. “Just a small town in the middle of nowhere.”
“Fine, you don’t have to tell me. We can talk about something else.” He sounded mildly disappointed, but not surprised. “How was your day?”
“Rough start, but it’s getting better.”
“Rough because of the helicoptering incident?”
I groaned. “That was just the beginning.”
Wasp listened as I told him about the grocery store parking lot, and as I spoke he got angry. “Bastard shouldn’t have spoken to you and Trent like that. What the fuck is wrong with people? Why didn’t you call me?”
Confused, I shrugged. Wasp and I had been talking every day and hanging out on the weekends, but this wasn’t his problem. “Why would I call you?”
“Because you shouldn’t have to deal with assholes like that. I could have handled the situation and even offered to have one of my guys fix it for him.”
I was so used to doing everything on my own that calling Wasp hadn’t even crossed my mind. Touched that he would come and help me, I didn’t know how to respond. So, I popped a pot sticker in my mouth.
“I mean it. I want you to call me when shit like that happens. You never know when someone’s gonna fly off the handle and turn violent.”
