I haven’t gotten to know Desiree well. Our shifts usually didn’t overlap before. She’s worked here for a while though and Pat never had any complaints about her work ethic, so that was good enough for me. I’ve been busy sorting through paperwork and doing behind the scenes things like inventory and cleaning out the apartment in the back so I could live on the property. I haven’t made the effort with her I need to make.
For now, as long as she’s running up the tabs with no complaints from the customers, she can keep doing whatever she’s doing. The rest will come later.
“Good,” I say with a nod and yet another glance around the room. “Please make sure to stay ahead of our stock and let me know if we’re even getting remotely close to running out of anything. This isn’t going to be like our regular nights. They’ll be drinking faster and a lot more than normal. I don’t want to leave anyone in waiting.”
“Relax, boss. I got it.” She flips her blonde hair over her shoulder (that she brags is in the realm of “the bigger the hair the closer to God”), as she heads to the other side of the bar, leaving me to blow out a breath.
She’s right. I do need to relax. I’ve never been this nervous about an event before. I’ve also never been the one totally and completely accountable for its success before. Sure, the catering company and wedding planner will bear some of the responsibility should things go south, but realistically it’s on me. It feels like my entire future as a business owner is on the line.
“Tammy!” I yell to the waitress who is doing one last quick wipe down of the tables. She’s a couple of decades older than me and still loves working here. She’s also quick on her feet so I love her being here. “We good?”
She flings her bright red hair over her shoulder and gives me a thumbs up. “Ready to go,” she calls back and not a second too soon. The door swings open and people begin pouring in dressed in their wedding finest.
The wedding planner, whose name escapes me, hustles to the door and begins greeting people. I stand back, just watching and keeping a close eye for wedding crashers. I don’t anticipate any, but Jaxon and Annika are no strangers to the press. They had quite the public love story and none of us would put it past some of the so-called “journalists” out there to sneak in for some exclusive pics. That’s one of the reasons this place was a great option for them. Unless you know the address, you can’t just search up Frui Vita and find it. I changed the name a few weeks ago and Google maps hasn’t figured it out yet. That’ll definitely be a problem later on, but today it works to our benefit.
Everyone must have caravanned from the wedding site because soon enough there’s close to a hundred people hanging out. The drinks are flowing, the tables are being claimed, and everyone seems to be having a good time. So far, so good.
“Mr. Franklin.” I turn at the sound of my name and come face to face with a mammoth of a man. His dark blond hair isn’t spiky like all the pictures from back in the day. It’s longer, despite a more receding hairline. Even with the crows’ feet creasing his eyes, his size leaves no doubt he’s still a force to be reckoned with.
“Mr. Hart,” I say and put my hand out for him to shake. Jason takes it, his fingers literally engulfing mine. His grip is strong, probably from years of using the muscles in his fingers throwing a football. I’m not a small man. I cross the six-foot threshold and played ball back in my day as well. But standing next to the legend, Jason Hart, I look like a teenager. “Is everything to your liking so far? I made sure to stock up on the top-shelf liquor you requested and should have more than enough champagne for the toast with lots of extra for celebrating.”
“First, please call me Jason. I realize I’m older than seventy-five percent of the people in this room, but I like to pretend I’m still young, and addressing me by my last name ruins the effect.”
I chuckle in appreciation. I may only be thirty-five, but the years seem to be going faster these days. “Understood. Then please call me Paul. With as long as I’ve known Jaxon, I feel like we should all be on a first-name basis.”
“Agreed.” He reaches into the inner pocket of his suit and pulls out a couple of envelopes. “I know this party is only beginning but I wanted to make sure to take care of tipping everyone before the drinks really start flowing. I’d feel horrible if I forgot and being the father of the groom, well, no telling how many shots I’ll have. Just don’t tell the missus.” He smiles conspiratorially at me and I have a feeling this has been a topic of conversation in their household leading up to the wedding. “How many of the employees here are yours?”
“The catering company brought all their people. I’m just responsible for the other bartender Desiree and Tammy over there.” I point to the redhead as she places some specialty drinks down on the table in front of her. The guests look pleased as they take their first sips which is exactly what I was hoping to see. “She’ll be mostly bussing tonight and some waitressing. Whatever you guys need just let one of the three of us know. We’ve got it covered.”
“Will do. And do you mind giving these to your employees before they leave tonight?”
He hands me the envelopes and I take a quick peek inside so I know what to prepare for. There are several hundred-dollar bills in each of them. Stunned, I quickly close them not wanting to accidentally flash this amount of cash around. “I don’t understand. They have the tip jars already set up.”
“This is my son’s wedding and you guys are going to be busting your tails when this group gets going. You’ll just have to take my word for that.” He smiles again and I have no doubt tonight is going to end with a lot of fun stories and at least one puker. I should probably get the mop ready just in case. “I want to make sure the effort is worth it for the people working.”
“That’s really nice of you.” I think about Tammy who I know lives paycheck-to-paycheck and how much this will mean to her. This, on top of the tip jar people will be sure to fill up tonight, is going to make a big difference. “I’ll make sure they get it after everyone heads out for the night. But I only have two employees, so I don’t need this one.”
I try to hand back the extra envelope, but Jason holds up his hand. “You’re working just as hard as they are. If you don’t want to keep it for yourself, just consider it payment for the extra booze you had to order. I know you’re just starting out and I know how important you are to my kids. Man,” he wipes his hand down his face. “I have another kid. I have a daughter-in-law now. How weird is that?”
Even with as long as he’s had to prepare, he looks shellshocked by his own news. “She’s a really nice woman. I’m glad they found each other.”
“Me, too.” He knocks on the bar twice and nods. “Thanks again, Paul.”
Turning to walk back to his guests, Jason throws his massive arms out wide as he makes a joke about his own wedding day. I don’t stick around to hear the punchline. Instead, I head for the back to put this cash in the safe. By the end of the night, there will be more in the register, but I still don’t want Desiree and Tammy to see yet.
Quickly and mostly out of curiosity, I count out each envelope.