I had a client in twenty minutes, so my tour was a quick one, and I passed Leo off to Vanna to finish the training. Two hours later, I walked my client out the door, and headed back to the front desk. Leo was tryin’ hard to flirt with Vanna who was havin’ none of it.
“Leo. My office,” I ordered.
I didn’t wait to see if he followed, stepping inside with Leo close on my heels.
“Close the door.”
He did so, and I waved to one of the chairs. He planted his ass and I leaned against my desk.
“Am I in trouble?” he asked.
“Why would you think you’re in trouble?”
He shrugged, staring at his feet.
“Bud, first lesson about bein’ a man is you need to look people in the eye when you’re talkin’ to them.”
He looked at me. “Are you gonna fire me?”
I studied the kid and shook my head. “Why would you think I’d fire you, Leo?”
He shrugged again.
“You clean the bathrooms?”
“Yeah. Vanna said they look good.”
“You took out the trash?” I asked.
“Yeah. And I swept the floor and wiped everything down with the disinfectant wipes.”
I nodded. “So, then, why would I fire you?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Everyone fires me.”
“Well, first, you’re not actually hired, so, no, I’m not gonna fire you,” I said. “Today.”
Leo’s whole face relaxed and he sat up a little straighter.
“But we gotta have a chat about how you treat Vanna,” I said. “And this will also apply to the other women workin’ here.”
Leo dropped his head again.
“Not gonna tell you again.”
He immediately looked at me again.
“You are fifteen. They are not. They are off-limits.”
“But—”
“No. You are underage. But more importantly, you need to stop creepin’ on Vanna. She’s got a man. Someone who could lay your ass out with a single punch, but even if she didn’t, she has the right to come to work and not have her space invaded.” I crossed my arms. “If you wanna work here after you make amends, then you’re gonna learn to show women the respect they’re due.”
“You’ll let me work here after I make amends?” he asked, hopefully.
“If you continue to do a good job. Keep your mouth shut and your ears open, andleave the women alone, I’ll consider it.”
“Seriously?”
