It's obviously a prank (SPOILER WARNING: It's not)

John didn’t know if this was real or not and if it was, if there was more paperwork to come or this vague statement was all he’d get. In the end he settled on it probably being a hoax, like some prince of Zamunda offering him a fortune if only he would pay the transition fee. He stored the letter in his desk and made his way into town. While he was still a regular worker, he never understood how adults had the time to be bustling through town all day. But now he had nothing better to do himself and got on his way to waste some time.

There was a restaurant downtown, that John always wanted to eat at. Sure there was the fancy food and the great view over the city, but his interest was mainly in Cathrin. Oh, Cathrin… She was a real looker. A slim and sporty build, a cute face and a 1000 watt smile. In school he had a little crush on her and after hearing she got a job being a waitress there, he always planned on going there. Time for some fine dining. Maybe eating some exquisite food and looking at an exquisite ass would make him forget all about the stupid Anands, their stupid store and that stupid job.

“Le petit cul”, some french place, served the finest dishes in town and apparently also some high-class cocktails. The patio of the restaurant was filled with middle-aged women laughing and sipping on said cocktails, John didn’t know day-drinking was such a normal thing in higher circles. The good weather that had drawn all the presumed trophy-wives and heiresses outdoors, had left the inside abandoned. A prime spot for a workless nobody to spend his last bucks on some undersized, but overpriced, lunch.

The day hadn’t started good for John, but that changed instantly when he saw Cathrins tush swinging in the distance. On her hand she carried a plate of mimosas and was visibly sweating. She probably walked that round a thousand times today and the screams of “Another round, pronto!”, “Make it a cold one, I’m dying out here!” and “Uhg, seeervice!” made it clear she had no appreciation to cool herself off with. After she delivered her precious cargo outside, their eyes met on her way back.

“John?!”, her face relaxed. Her professional smile was replaced by an honest one and she hurried over.

“I haven’t seen you in forever! How have you been? How are your parents? Are you still helping in that mom and pop shop? Thinking of it… What are you doing here of all places?”, she chuckled, “In all my time here I have never met anyone from *real life* here. Well, Joshs dad was here with his buddies once, but you know they always reeked of money.”

John couldn’t remember her ever being this chatty, but if all you are allowed to say all day is “How may I help you?” and “Yes Ma’am” then that’s understandable.

“Nice to see you too, Cathrin. My parents are probably fine. I, on the other hand, not so much. I was fired today.”

*dramatic pause*

“Oh really? Man, that’s a real downer. It feels like you’ve been working there forever. You were always so cheerful whenever we came in and needed something. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to fire you”, she put on a sympathetic frown and John really felt a little better knowing she was feeling with him.

“Yeah, now with 18 they couldn’t exploit me as much as before, so they rather fired me than treat me right.”

“Oh, here is service I could tell you something about exploitation”, her eyes flew conspiratorially through the room, “but I probably shouldn’t. Wait. A. Minute. You recently turned 18?! I always forget you were the youngster in our class. When was your birthday? Did you at least get to celebrate and have a good time?”

Her hopeful tone was almost infectious, but his birthday was today. And his parents didn’t do anything nice for him, his employer fired him and the only thing he could think of to treat himself was wasted his last bucks on some snobby food. That and starring at the ass of the chirpy woman in front of him, but he’d better not tell her that part.

“Well… actually my birthday is today”, John shrugged his shoulders.

“Really?”

“Yep. No party, no presents, no- Ok, that’s not completely right. I got a present, from a stranger no less”, she looked at him expectantly, ”Oh yes, you stand in front of the proud new owner of “Doe Inc.”.”

John nodded fake-triumphantly and her eyes turned wide as saucers.

“You do?”, she asks him incredulously. He hadn’t expected her to play that joke, that it was an actual birthday present, so far. But turns out, Cathrin is pretty good actress. So why not have a little fun with it?

“Mhm, you heard me right. JohnDoe, owner, CEO and sole-shareholder of Doe Inc.. Currently I’m also the CFO, the CTO and about a hundred other positions, but we are a rapidly expanding company and are, in the same vain, growing our workforce.”

Cathrins eyes flew open and she mouthed a silent “Wow”. John had missed some light-hearted banter recently and this really lightened his mood.

“I know, I know. You’re probably a little shy now talking with a member of the upper crust, but don’t be. I’m still very grounded, even though I am probably the most powerful man around. If you ever need a job, I’m sure I could put you in a lot of positions.”, John was laying it on *really* thick now. To make sure she didn’t blame him for his textbook impression of sleezy businessman, he even winked at her and gave her the finger-pistol.

“Wow, John, I had no idea, I really, really-“, she obviously trying to put another layer on their inside-joke when an irritable voice interrupted them from afar.

“Miss Murpleby, I am certain your shift is not over! And you already took your break when you spend 20 minutes in the bathroom earlier”, a stern woman with a dark brown bun and a grey pantsuit scolded the young waitress.

“Mrs. Tradeuo, I already told you one of the guests spilled her drink on me. I had to wash that out, otherwise-“

“And I already told *you*, young girl, the only one to blame for the state of your uniform are you yourself. So you don’t go around blaming our esteemed guests, and take some responsibility! And this isn’t the first time either”, the matron shook her head and drew out a disapproving sigh.

“Miss Murpleby, I am afraid-“

“I quit! I quit! And, you guessed it, I quit!”, Cathrin dropped the restaurants custom apron she had to wear as part of her uniform and stomped on it.

“I hate your snobby, rich-bitch customers, I hate the women judging me and the guys touching me, I hate our all-show and no substance food and frankly? I hate our management!”, she stared at her boss. This must have really been brewing for a while now, John had never seen her this angry, scratch that, seen her angry at all. Usually Cathrin was happiness itself, she was full of energy and had nice words for everyone. They must have really mistreated her to get her to vent like this.

“I have a new job and a new boss. So if I never see you again, that would be too early still.”

This was getting really uncomfortable for John now. Didn’t he just want some food and some perving? So far he got no food and only a very short look at some booty. But as a recently fired guy himself, he understood Cathrins frustration. And opposed to him, Cathrin already had a new job, great on her! John really admired that. He had set everything on one card and got nothing in return, but Cathrin already had a better job on the backburner before she quiet her old one. Very Admirable.

To support her, John moved beside her and joined the stare at her ungrateful boss lady. Strange enough that doesn’t calm the situation down, but the opposite. It’s gets Mrs. Tradeuo more defensive. Or offensive, one of the two.

“Oh, is that so? You and a new job? I don’t think so. I’ll make one phone call and you’ll never find work in the service industry again”, she tried her best to sound intimidating, which works on John, but apparently not on Cathrin.

“Do that, call your little mafia friends. There’s no way you could ever coerce my new boss. He’s not some smalltime criminal, my boss runs the show. He answers to no one and you would be wise to stay on his good side”

Wow, I didn’t know Cathrin had friends in high places, John thought to himself. The lady in front of them didn’t move a muscle, she was either really sure of herself or thought Cathrin was just bluffing. Which was a real possibility, she was making really big claims there after all.

“Alright Missy, so tell me. Who are you going to work for that’s so high and mighty?”, the boss lady mirrored Johns thoughts.

With a smug look Cathrin responded:

“Doe Inc.”

Cathrins former manager turned pale and lost for words. As did John.