Sal’s irritation hit another level, as he stood glued to the spot. As soon as her eyes met his, the smile disappeared. Finally, he took a few steps toward the bar. Alex smirked when he saw him.
“Can I see you in the office?” Sal said, as he walked by them.
Graciela seemed ready to address him when he glanced at her, but Sal turned his attention back to Alex without so much as a nod. The last thing he wanted was for her to notice that her presence alone had somehow affected him. The worst part was it had nothing to do with her lying on her application. Seeing the way she’d carried on with Alex, then her obvious distaste when she saw him, annoyed him in a way he couldn’t even begin to understand.
As soon as Alex walked in the back office, Sal closed the door. “Do you wanna explain that?” He pointed in the direction of the bar.
“Relax.” Alex sat down on the chair in front of the desk. “Yeah, she lied about her age but only because she wanted a chance to prove herself before we dismissed her based on her age alone. “Which,” Alex raised an eyebrow. “you have to admit, you did.”
Sal couldn’t believe this. Alex had always been too damn nonchalant when it came to this stuff. “Alex, what kind of experience can she have if she just turned twenty-one?”
Alex raised his palm up in an attempt to calm Sal. “She lived in Texas. You only have to be eighteen over there.”
Unbelievable. “And you confirmed this with…?”
“I did better. I had her make me some drinks and she made one of the best Mojitos I’ve ever had. She’s a natural, Sal. And she’s fast.”
“Alex you can’t hire someone just like that. We gotta do a background check, a drug screen—”
“Dude.” Alex chuckled. “Can you chill for a second? I can almost guarantee you that little girl has no criminal record; she’s a sweetheart. We can still get all that stuff done later. But I needed someone tonight and Gracie was nice enough to start right away.”
Sal felt every hair on his body stand at once. “Gracie?”
“Yeah.” Alex stood up. “Listen, now that you’re here, and with Gracie on duty I think I’m gonna head out. Valerie wasn’t feeling too hot this morning when I left. I wanna make sure she’s okay.”
For a second Sal stopped thinking about Graciela and was immediately concerned. Alex and his wife were expecting twins. She was in her eighth month. The doctors had warned that as petite as she was the babies could come early. They’d already had one scare a few weeks ago. “Something wrong?”
“I don’t know. She was just feeling extra tired in the morning. I made her stay in bed but you know how she is.” Alex frowned. “Her dad and step-mom are over at the house now. I’d just feel better if I was there with her.”
“Go ahead. I can handle things for the rest of the night. Take care of her and those babies.”
After Alex left, Sal kept himself busy in the office for a while. A half hour later, he forced himself to do the inevitable: go out into the restaurant and face Graciela.
He walked out just in time to catch Oscar laughing it up with her. She finished a drink and set it on the tray Oscar held. “I’m serious!” Oscar said, as Graciela shook her head. He glanced at Sal. “Uh oh, here’s the boss. Back to work.”
Graciela turned to Sal and again, just like earlier, the smile dissolved. She wiped her hand on her apron. “Mr. Moreno.” She nodded.
“Look,” he said more annoyed than ever. “If you’re gonna work here I’m gonna have to insist that you call me Sal. Is that alright?”
She nodded again then looked away. “Okay.”
“Okay what?” He felt like a jerk acting so bossy but damnit he wanted to hear her say it.
She glanced at him and lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Okay… Sal.”
Julie was already at the bar. Graciela turned her attention to her and listened for the next order. Sal stood there for a moment and watched her work. She was fast. And she certainly knew what she was doing. While Melanie, one of the other bartenders on duty seemed to take a little more time measuring her drinks and making sure of accuracy, Graciela flipped bottles over without hesitation and put drinks together like a pro. It reminded him of some of the older cooks they had who never used any measurements or read any of the recipes Sal printed up for them. They just put everything together by memory and it was always perfect.
When she was done with that round of drinks, she glanced at Sal. Her eyes were bigger than he remembered, and that dress she’d worn the day of the interview had done the curves she now revealed absolutely no justice.
“I’ll need a few minutes with you when you get a chance,” he said.
“Alex gave me the paperwork I need to fill out. I can fill it out for you on my lunch.”
“When is that?” Sal needed to get a few things straight with Ms. Zendejas now.
She shrugged. “Alex said I could take a half hour whenever I felt like it. I’m not really hungry yet.”
Sal took a deep breath. Alex and his managerial leniency would be the end of him. He glanced over at Melanie and Luis the other bartender. “You two think you can handle it out here for a few minutes while I have a word with Graciela?”
They both nodded and continued working. He turned to Graciela. “Follow me.”
He didn’t wait for a response. He simply turned and headed for the office. She may’ve impressed Alex with her drinks and that damn smile, but the fact remained she lied on her application. They hadn’t had very many incidents with employees getting out of line, or being irresponsible, but from experience he knew the younger ones usually were more trouble than not. She had been late to the interview and at twenty-one, Graciela was now their youngest employee. He highly doubted Alex had explained any of the rules to her. As usual, he probably welcomed her on like family, just like he treated the rest of the staff.