= CHRIS POV =

“Hello Christina, or is it Chris? Rosa says you prefer Chris. Please, have a seat” Ms Cullens said and indicated the lone chair on the other side of the round table.

I remember somewhere that the shape of a circle is supposed to indicate openness and inclusion, but sitting across from these two powerful women, I just felt small and dead inside.

I took a seat and sat as straight as I could, trying not to let my expression belie how I really was feeling inside.

“So, we have had some…. complaints, about you in the last few days” Ms. Cullen began, tapping a large stack of paper “Apparently there are a few kitchen staff who say you have been, somewhat of a slaver driver”

I looked at the stack of paper in awe. It seemed like, over the span of a week, I had gained a lot of haters within my own department.

“I mean perhaps I was also to blame, I know I told you that we had to keep our KPIs, but I think maybe you should relax a bit. I know, coming from me, you might not believe it, so I thought maybe coming from her, it would be more authentic” Rosa piped up, smiling.

I reflected on our talk. Yes, Rosa did tell me we had to pick up the pace, but that was not why I was working so hard….

 I just wanted to stop thinking about Sarah for one second, but I couldn’t.

 She was in my bed. 

She was in my kitchen.

Her underwear was turning up in my laundry, and her hair was on the floor of my bathroom. 

I couldn’t get away from her. At least at work, I could drown her out with all the work commotion.

“Rosa said you were having some problems at home. Do you suppose they might be affecting you a little more than usual?” Ms Cullens suddenly asked, and I froze on the spot. I bit my lip, trying to keep it from wobbling.

“Ah, it’s the roommate, isn’t it? Just kick her out. If you need a replacement, I know two people looking for a place to rent right now,” Rosa said dismissively, leaning back in her chair.

I leaned forward in my chair and buried my head in my hands.

“I can’t kick her out! She had nowhere to go, and I have all these debts, and I am so stressed, and I have no one to talk about this to,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

“What do you mean? Does she have issues with her family? Surely everyone has family they can turn to?” Ms Cullens asked, a look of concern crossing her features.

I sat back and ran a hand through my hair. “ Look, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be burdening you with this. If you want to fire me, please just do it, I have to start looking for a new job right away if not I’m in deep shit”

Ms. Cullens looked at me puzzled, then she reached down into a briefcase next to her chair and pulled out another stack of paper.

“The last six months have been nothing but an increase in return customers. We have never seen customer satisfaction like before. You started working with us two years ago; however, with the experience you have, working in all our kitchens, now that we promoted you to Assistant Lead Chef eight months ago, we have seen an immediate improvement in the return rate. 

All the banquets you have handled have run smoothly. The guests have left rave reviews, and even our board of trustees have commended you personally after you hosted the Gala of Five Nights, which was a fundraiser for planting 50,000 trees to promote environmental issues” Ms Cullens rattled out as she scanned through the documents she had on me.

With a sigh she closed the documents and looked up, addressing me again.

“Ms Fairfield, not only am I not firing you, I am considering you for the official position of Lead Chef. Our Current Lead is going to be overseeing our Sister Branch in October, and he has requested that we appoint you as his understudy. Mr Lee has said nothing but praises. He actually acknowledges all the complaints but appreciates your heavy-handed approach as he feels that a lot of the staff tend to slack off under other people’s watch. 

So, as an unofficial Lead of our kitchens, you are pretty much now on our level, and between us, we like to share our burdens so that we can all work hard to help one another out to work as efficiently as possible” Ms Cullens explained and placed the report about my performance on top of the stack of complains 

“If anything, all these complaints confirm your excellent performance, and elevated you in our eyes, so, what is going on, and how can we help?”

I blinked, completely taken aback “ I umm. To be honest I guess I have been harsher than usual to the staff. I will try my best to be a bit more understanding. These last two weeks have hit me hard as my gi-“ I started and caught myself. I can’t even call her my girlfriend. “ I mean, my roommate just moved in, and she came from a really messed up relationship with a guy who lied to her and stole all her money. I’ve had to take up a loan in secret to cover the costs of all her debts, and I haven’t told her because I don’t want to make her feel even more in debt than she already feels,” I explained.

“Why doesn’t this roommate get a better-paying job?” Rosa asked.

“Because she doesn’t have a job. She graduated with an Arts degree and-“

“Oh,” both Ms Cullens and Rosa said and laughed. I guess everyone knew just how difficult it was to get a job in this economy with an Arts Degree.

Ms Cullens leaned forward and clasped her hands together “ Chris, can I ask you a personal question?”

I nodded “ Yes”

“Chris, we are all very open here. No one is judging you. Nathan in accounting is Trans and Benjamin in HR is Gay. No one here is going to judge you, so are you…queer?” she asked, with an eyebrow raised.