The woman’s English was laced with a strong Hispanic accent, yet her words were easily understood. Though Marie was smiling, Rose’s old insecurities instantly began to rise. Her mind raced with questions as she tried to figure out what she’d done wrong…
Had she forgotten to close out her last ticket of the night? Did a customer complain about the service she’d provided?
Rather than drive herself crazy with an endless list of possible infractions, she decided to just bite the bullet and ask. “Is something wrong, Ms. Delgado?”
Please don’t let me have screwed up this job, too.
But even as the words rolled through her anxious thoughts, Rose knew deep down she’d done everything exactly as she’d been trained. And she’d done it with a smile.
“No, no, no.” The other woman rushed to put her mind at ease. “It’s nothing like that. Actually, it’s quite good. At least, I hope you’ll think it’s good.”
The tension in her shoulders and neck eased with the woman’s reassuring words. “Oh. Um…okay…” Rose let the word linger, anxious to hear what this so-called good news was.
“I wanted to talk with you about an opportunit—” Marie cut herself off and looked around. Despite their being alone, the pretty woman’s big brown eyes glittered with a hint of mischief when she lowered her voice to a more hushed tone. “Actually, would you mind stepping outside with me for just a moment? This is a discussion I’d prefer to keep between us.”
It was an odd request, no doubt, but one Rose was happy to oblige.
“Sure.” She smiled back at her boss. “I was heading out that way, anyway.”
“Great.”
Waiting for the other woman to take the lead, Rose slid to the side so Marie could pass before following her out the breakroom’s back door. The cool evening air blew past with a bustling breeze as the two women stepped outside and onto the paved employee parking lot.
Among the employees’ vehicles parked there, a big, black SUV with severely tinted windows sat idle a few feet away. Before she could ask again what this super-secret, impromptu meeting was about, Marie stopped and turned to face her.
“Don’t be nervous, Rose.” Her boss flashed a friendly smile. “I only brought you out here because I didn’t want the others to overhear.”
“Overhear what?”
“The job offer I’m about to give you.”
Job offer?
“But I…already have a job.”
“Yes, but an opportunity arose that I think will be much more suitable for you.”
Crap. Maybe she did screw up.
“Marie, I love my job. So if there’s something I’ve done wrong or need to do better?—”
“Dear, Rose.” Marie placed a gentle hold on Rose’s shoulders. “You must quit second-guessing yourself. Like I said, this is good news.Verygood, in my opinion.” Those brown eyes sparkled from the parking lot’s nearby light poles as she took a moment to pause. “Would you like to hear more?”
Rose nodded, doing her best to do what Marie said, and to quit automatically assuming the worst. “Okay.”
“Excellent. Now, the offer is essentially a promotion.”
“Promotion?”
“Yes, but since you are one of the newest members of our staff, I felt it in bad taste to make the offer publicly known. I don’t want to cause waves within the troops, you understand.”
“No, of course not.” Rose gave a nervous lick of her lips. “But if you’re promoting me, won’t the others find out anyway?”
“The position is not here, at La Cocina.”
She frowned. “It’s not?”
But I really like it here.