How Did It Get So Far?
Her heart was galloping as the manager’s words echoed in her head, and sweat ran down her face and neck. She couldn’t believe it had gotten so far. When she took the job, she didn’t expect anything of this to happen.
But now, the situation had arrived at a point of no return. But there was still one question in the air: what would happen now?
The Story Of Alice
Alice’s life hadn’t been easy. Born and raised in Cicero, Illinois, she had lost both of her parents at a very young age. Since then, she had been bumping from one foster home to another.
Now she was 19 years old, had moved out, and still hadn’t figured out what she wanted to do with her life. Sometimes, especially at night, she fantasized about a miracle that changed her luck. But that moment hadn’t arrived yet. Little did she know that she was about to experience a life-changing event.
Cashier
Shortly after Alice started living on her own, she took a job as a cashier at a grocery store down the road. It was on the town’s outskirts; most of the clients stopped there to get something while they were on their own way somewhere else.
The day she took the job, something rubbed her off the wrong way. She decided to ignore it, not knowing that she would regret doing so later on.
Alice’s Manager
The store’s manager, who was also the franchise owner, presented himself as a womanizer from the first minute. At first, Alice didn’t think much of it. Being an attractive young woman, she was used to men hitting on her.
She thought the manager was just a naturally flirtatious guy, and that was it; she expected that things would remain serious and professional. She didn’t know how wrong she was.
Shady Coworkers
Aside from the manager, Alice had two coworkers at the store: two other female cashiers had been working there for months when Alice took the job.
Apparently, they were aware of the manager’s tendencies and likings, and they didn’t have a problem with that: they used to giggle every time he would make a flirtatious comment to Alice, no matter how bad in taste. And that wasn’t the worst part.
Unlawful Scheme
Apparently, the other cashiers had some racket going on with the franchise’s manager. They had some sort of scheme set up, and they were illegally skimming money off the company!
So that was a reason why Alice’s coworkers seemed to have no objection to anything the manager did. One day, they came to Alice with a suggestion that left her absolutely appalled.
Their Proposal
They asked her to take part in their scheme! “Why not? You would be taking home a few hundred more at the end of the month. You look like you could use that,” they said.
Alice refused without a second thought. She didn’t want any problems: all she wanted was to do her job and make just enough to support herself. Why did everything have to be so shady and complicated.? Little did she know that her problems had just started.
The Manager Got Annoying
The manager started getting bolder and bolder in his attempts to seduce Alice. He would get close to her under any pretext, make dirty jokes in front of her, touch her in overly familiar ways.
One day, things got too far. He hugged Alice from the back while she was busy and placed his hands over hers while she was trying to tidy up some items from one of the shelves. Alice felt the man’s breath on her neck. She knew she had to say something.
Alice’s Words
“Excuse me, Mr., but I’m trying to work, and you’re making me uncomfortable,” she muttered. It was the first time she ever had come close to confronting the sleazy manager. He stopped groping her, but he still had something to say.
“You can try to avoid me, but I’ll still get what I want,” he said. “You don’t think you got this job for nothing, do you?” Alice couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She could barely contain her tears.
What Could She Do?
Alice tried to do her best to keep herself together for the rest of her shift. How did it get to that point? How long would she be able to stay in that situation? She even thought about quitting that same evening.
But unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be many available jobs in the area. There was not much she could do. But suddenly, during the last hours of Alice’s shift, something happened.
A Mysterious Man
An elderly man dressed in raggedy clothes entered the store. He walked to one of the aisles, grabbed a couple of sandwiches, went to the cash register, and talked to Alice:
“Sorry, Miss. Could I take these? I don’t have any money right now. I’m in a rush, I have to pick up my son from the airport, and I left my wallet at home.” The manager kept an eye on the interaction, and he didn’t hesitate to intervene.
Manager’s Rage
“Are you out of your mind? Do we look like charity over here?” he roared. “If you don’t have money, then get out of here. This is a store. You pay for what you get.” But Alice felt compassion for the old man; plus, she had enough of the manager’s nasty manners.
“No worries, sir. I’ll pay for them myself,” she said. She took $5 from her pocket, placed them in the cash register, and handed the sandwiches to the man with a smile. He thanked her and walked out the door. And immediately after, all hell broke loose.
Consequences
“Who do you even think you are? Who gave you the right to do that sort of thing?” the manager yelled. “You think you’re gonna start welcoming beggars into my store? Forget about it! You’re fired!”
Alice’s mind went blank. Was she really getting fired for buying some old man’s sandwiches? What was she going to do now? She took off her uniform and stood outside, thinking. But suddenly, a car stopped in front of the store.
He Was Back
It was the same old man she had given the sandwiches to. But he was in the passenger seat: a younger man was driving the car. Perhaps he was his son, the one he had mentioned before?
“Good evening,” he said. “I’m Samuel Rochefort. Is the manager inside? I’m the new owner of this franchise. I’ve been negotiating the deal for the last few weeks, and I’m here to take over.”
A Happy Ending
And that’s exactly what happened. The franchise had been losing money under the old manager’s reign; when Mr. Rochefort took over, he put an end to the cashier’s scheme. Also, his dad had told him all about Alice’s generosity, so he hired her back then and there. And that wasn’t all.
He also promoted her to a manager! Her efficiency, transparency, and righteousness were evident, so Rochefort felt comfortable delegating more responsibilities to Alice. It seemed like her life was finally starting to take a lucky turn.