Poor thing, look at her hand. She shouldn’t even be working. Yeah, but Ross, he never lets up.
Always on her case. I don’t know how she takes it. Denise heard them.
She heard everything. The laughter, the pity, the digs Ross made every time she moved slower than usual. And yet, she kept going.
Because for her, quitting was an option. Rent didn’t wait. Bills didn’t care.
By mid-morning, sweat had gathered at the back of her neck. Her good arm ached from carrying too much weight alone. She sat down an order at table six, whispered a soft, enjoy your meal, and turned, only to bump into Ross himself.
The collision sent a glass of water spilling across his shirt. The diner went silent. Ross leaned in so close, she could smell the sour coffee on his breath.
Clumsy again? You’re just looking for excuses, aren’t you? A few customers shifted uncomfortably. Someone muttered, man, give her a break. But Ross ignored them, his eyes locked on Denise like a predator enjoying the hunt.
She mumbled an apology, reached for a towel with her good hand, but he snatched it away. His lips curled into a grin only she could see. The kind that told her this wasn’t about the spill.
It was about control. And the worst part? She knew why. Weeks earlier, she had overheard Ross bragging about skimming money from the register.
She hadn’t meant to listen. She was just cleaning tables after closing when his voice carried through the thin office door. At first, she thought she heard wrong.
But when she pressed her ear closer, every word confirmed it. Ross was stealing. And when he caught her outside that night, frozen in the hallway, she remembered the flash of anger in his eyes.
The way his hand shot out and twisted her wrist until something cracked. The pain had dropped her to her knees, but Ross only sneered. Clumsy, huh? Better keep it that way.
One word about what you heard, and you won’t just lose your job. Now, with her hand bound and useless, she was the one being marked as incompetent. By the end of her shift, Denise’s body was trembling from exhaustion…
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