Ugh, Jeremy

Just when you thought this day couldn't get any worse, you turn around to see your manager walk through the front door. "Well looky here! RC actually showed up for work! Can you believe that, Lacey?" When he doesn't get a response, his scraggly eyebrows furrow beneath his acne-scarred forehead. "Lacey? Where are you?"

He walks through the small dining area and past the counter into the prep area. When he reappears a moment later he gives you an accusing look. "Where the hell's Lacey? Her shift goes til 5. And why is the back such a fuckin' mess?"

You shift uneasily as you stand by the register. Being around Jeremy always makes you feel vaguely gross, and his mood seems to be worse than usual. You hope he's just here to do some quick manager stuff and leave. The last thing you need is to deal with him on top of everything else. "She, um, she had to leave early. Something about her kid, I think."

Jeremy runs a hand through his unwashed dirty-blond mullet and lets out a groan. "And you let her?" Before you can respond, he shoves you aside and taps at the touchscreen on the register. "This is why I don't like hiring moms. So fuckin' unreliable. At least she clocked out... hey! Why haven't you clocked in yet?" He glares at you like you just tried to steal his wallet.

"Sorry, sorry, I just—" you bite your tongue, barely catching yourself before admitting you'd just gotten here. "I just forgot, is all. Spaced it."

Jeremy rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, big fuckin' surprise." He taps at the touchscreen some more. "There, I clocked you in, since you obviously forgot how. But don't expect to get paid for that time you didn't clock in for! Fuckin' hell, you know how bad it looks when nobody is clocked in during business hours?" He stares at you with his dull green eyes, obviously expecting a response.

"Um, pretty bad?" C'mon, Jeremy, can you gimme a break? I have so much shit to do.

"Real fuckin' bad, dummy! I have to explain that shit to the owner." His glare suddenly morphs into a grin. "Oh by the way, did you hear? We got a new one."

The fuck is he talking about? "Uh, a new what?"

"A new owner, dummy! New guy bought the place. That's why I'm here, gotta grab some paperwork for him from the back office."

What? "Wait, you mean Mr. Lee doesn't own the shop anymore?" Not that you ever really cared about who you worked for, but Mr. Lee had always been super chill, for a boss. His lax attitude was the reason you were still employed after skipping work so many times.

"Jesus RC are you deaf or just stupid? I just told you a new guy bought the place, so obviously Mr. Lee doesn't own it anymore." He shakes his head like he can't believe what he's dealing with. "You know what that means, don't you?"

You don't, but based on the tone of his voice you're sure you won't like it. "It means... we all get the day off to celebrate?"

Jeremy guffaws loud enough to hurt your ears, and you flinch as a few flecks of spittle hit your face. "No way, dummy! It means your days of slacking off and misrespecting me are over!"

Don't you mean disrespecting you? "...oh?"

"Oh, yeah, RC." His smile reveals crooked teeth under the patchy fuzz that he calls a mustache. "The new owner is a very serious guy about his money. He's been advertising the shop at his other businesses all week, and he told me I have total authority to make sure nothing fucks up his new investment."

You're one-hundred percent certain Jeremy is quoting the new boss directly with that last line. That's the most words with more than one syllable you've ever heard him use in a single sentence. Something other than your manager's vocabulary tugs at your mind, though. Other businesses? What kind of other businesses? Something about that thought makes you incredibly uneasy, but that might just be your proximity to Jeremy. "Well, I guess I better get back to work then, huh? Don't want to, um, slack off when it comes to the new boss's investment." You don't actually give a shit about the new boss, but you're **** to end this conversation and get away from your manager.

Before you can turn away, Jeremy puts his hand on your shoulder and squeezes almost hard enough to hurt. "Oh, don't you worry, RC. I'll make sure you're not slacking off." His grin somehow gets wider. "I've decided I'm gonna stick around to, y'know, help out with your closing shift since Lacey left you in the lurch. Just remember, you gotta be extra nice to me now, or the new boss is gonna hear about it."

You shudder in revulsion, both at his touch and at the thought of spending the next six hours being "extra nice" to him. Before you can respond, the doorbell chimes and you both turn your heads toward the entrance. Your eyes go wide as you see a group of men in leather vests and grease-stained trousers step in the door. You're used to a working-class clientele at your shop, but something about the look of these guys makes your heart start to beat a little faster.

Jeremy chuckles in your ear and gives your shoulder another painful squeeze. "Looks like the new boss's advertising is paying off. C'mon, RC, why don't you show our new customers just how nice you can be?"

Your breath gets shallow as the men approach the counter. How much worse can this day possibly get?