Clayton ushered Izzie into an office about the size of a walk-in closet. “This is where you’ll sit.”
Izzie looked around the windowless, austere, sterile room. “Thank you.” Izzie wasn’t sure if she was supposed to sit or continue to stand. Clayton gave her the nod.
“The system is password-protected. You will only have access to files pertaining to food and beverages. You are to process all invoices and properly charge the residents. Each of them sign for their meals and then pay at the end of each month.”
Izzie nodded. “How many residents are there?”
“As of today, we have three hundred fifty-seven. We have three restaurants, including a café. Each resident has a key card that is read after they finish their meal. We tally everything here each day, and then send them a bill at the end of the month.”
“What about tips?”
“They will show up on the itemized bill. One of your responsibilities will be to separate them and then allocate the money to the waitstaff.”
Izzie nodded. It seemed rather easy, but she wasn’t going to mention it. With the number of architectural projects Izzie worked on at any given time, she was more than capable of maintaining a few spreadsheets.
“I see you have been living in Pennsylvania. What brings you to Florida?” Clayton was beginning to act like a human.
“My parents recently moved to Dresden, and I was tired of the winters.”
“Huh. Another snowbird.” Clayton was back to being a battle-axe. “I don’t recall asking upper management for a new hire, but they are planning on breaking ground for a new development in New Mexico. I am sure we will be overseeing the construction accounts. I should know more in a few months.”
Izzie was certain Clayton was not thrilled with the new employee, nor was she thrilled at the prospect of taking on additional work. Izzie guessed Clayton wouldn’t be thrilled by much of anything.
“Okay, so shall I get started?” Izzie asked.
“Yes. Once you log in, you will find the folders for each restaurant. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the records. I’ll be back in an hour to answer your questions.” Clayton didn’t wait for a response.
Izzie let out a whoosh of air. First things first. She looked around the room for cameras. Sure enough, there was one right above her desk. Big Brother was watching. This was going to be tricky, but she was confident Charles and Fergus would figure out a way to circumvent its prying eyes.
Turning to the computer, Izzie noticed she was in “Read Only” mode, which meant she could only view what was in the file. Crabby Clayton hadn’t given her a password yet. Izzie combed through the restaurant folders. Each had a spreadsheet with time and date stamps. The first column was the date, then time, then resident’s name, and then the charges. A drop-down menu listed exactly what each person ate and drank. It was getting creepier by the minute.
A half hour later, Izzie had the program down pat but couldn’t begin to log anything until Ms. Cranky Pants returned. She stood and stretched when there was a soft knock on her door. Izzie got up and answered it.
An attractive woman was smiling at her. Izzie guessed the woman was in her early twenties. “Hi!”
“Hi. I’m Regina. Welcome to Sunnydale.”
“I’m Izzie.” She stepped aside to allow Regina to enter her tight quarters.
Regina made a subtle eye movement toward the camera. Izzie tilted her head in acknowledgment. “We get an hour break for lunch. I usually eat in one of the restaurants. The food is delicious. We have a per diem of twenty-five dollars a day.”
“Mrs. Clayton hasn’t gone over any details with me yet.”
“Oh, okay. Well, let’s have lunch today, unless you have other plans,” Regina offered.
“That would be nice. Thanks. I’d appreciate you showing me around.”
“No prob. See you at twelve-thirty.”
At that point, Mrs. Clayton reappeared. “I see you are already influencing the new person?”
Neither Izzie nor Regina was sure if she was being sarcastic. Izzie’s money was on sarcasm.
“Oh, Mrs. Clayton. I just wanted to make Izzie feel comfortable. Being new and all.”
“Fine. Now, don’t you have something to do?” Edith barked at her.
“Yes, ma’am.” She backed out of the way and moved to her own sterile box across the hall.
