So I was minding my own business at work last night, eyeballing my tables to make sure no one needed anything, when I saw a wad of cash on the floor. I went and picked it up and saw it was a wad of twenties and tens and a few ones. I asked a cowboy feller in front of me if he had dropped any cash and he said no. I asked a girl working my section if she had dropped any money and she felt around in her apron thing and said no. I asked a bouncer and a few other waitresses if they had dropped any cash and they all said no. So I figured I’d take it to my boss and if no one claimed it I’d be a little richer. Bwahahaha! On my way to the boss’s office, Erin, a girl I work with asked me what I was doing.
“Did you drop any cash tonight?” I asked.
“No, I haven’t even made tips yet,” she said.
“OK,” I said, “I found like, eighty bucks on the floor and I’m trying to figure out who dropped it. I’m going to give it to the boss guy.”
“Why don’t you just keep it?” she asked.
“Because I’m not a scumbag,” I told her and went on about my business. I gave it to my boss, told him what happened and went back to my “spot” on the floor. I let the bartender, Jenna know to send anyone looking for dropped money to the boss guy.
“You’re sweet but honestly, we find money on the floor here all the time. No one will probably notice. With a larger amount like that, I agree with turning it in though. I found a hundred dollar bill once and I turned it in but no one claimed it. Can you imagine just losing money like that and not knowing it?”
We chatted for a while and then a bouncer person told me the boss wanted to see me. I went to his office and he was like, “the money was claimed but we have a problem.”
“What’s up?” I asked him.
“You told me you found eighty dollars and you only gave me sixty something.”
I just kind of looked at him and was like, “I said I thought it was about eighty dollars. I handed it to you in the wad I found it in. I didn’t literally count it.”
“You told me you found eighty dollars and Erin just came in and said she dropped eighty. So if she dropped eighty and you found eighty where’s the rest of it?”
It took a while for two and two to click and I let out a little outrage holler.
“Listen. I asked her on my way to the office if she dropped any money and she said she hadn’t even made tips yet and I literally told her how much I thought I found. This is….stupid.”
Boss guy got on his walkie talkie thing and told a bouncer to send Erin in. She had a look of outrage on her face.
“I really don’t appreciate people stealing from me,” she said to the boss guy upon entering the room, “I work hard for my money.”
“Well, Jessica said you told her you hadn’t made tips yet and that she told you the dollar amount she thought she found.”
It took her a good ten seconds of silence to turn to me and say, “I haven’t even talked to you tonight! You’re going to stand here and lie like this? And I brought that money from home. It was in my pocket and it fell out.”
I was instantly annoyed by this moron and said to my boss, “I talked to her on my way to the office. I wouldn’t turn money in only to steal a portion of it. Think about the logic of this. Why would I find money on the floor, ask people if they dropped it, turn it in, only to steal a portion of it?”
“Well I dropped eighty dollars, you said you found eighty, and like, twenty is missing,” Erin said.
“You’re an idiot,” I said and then to the boss, “I literally asked her if she dropped money and I told her how much I thought I found. This is ridiculous.”
“She’s lying!” Erin screamed and flew into a rage filled speech about how she’s a single mom and doesn’t appreciate “this little brat” stealing from her.
I had run out of patience with this freak and told my boss, “the problem you need to deal with is this girl lying and causing all this trouble. I have no idea who dropped that money but it wasn’t her. She took information I gave her and manipulated it. I am not so desperate for money that I would steal from someone. This is ridiculous and I’d like to get back to work please.”
He told Erin to leave and then told me I was responsible for providing the “missing” money.
“No,” I said, “I will not be penalized for doing the right thing. I told you I thought I found about eighty dollars. I handed you a wad of cash. I clearly didn’t count it. To count it all, take twenty, and then wad it up so it looked like I didn’t count it…come on. If I stole twenty dollars don’t you think I would be smart enough to tell you I found sixty and not eighty? I am not paying that girl anything. She’s lying and this is ridiculous.”
“You’ll pay her the rest at the end of the night,” he said.
“No I won’t. So either fire me or let me go back to work.”
He glared at me and told me to get back to work. I saw Erin on the floor and she didn’t even look at me. For the next hour I fumed. I was furious. I would rather shove glass up my rear than give that liar any money.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jenna asked.
I considered not telling her because I didn’t want to “start crap” but did anyway. Her mouth was literally hanging open after I told her.
“I was standing right at the bar when you were telling her about it,” Jenna said, “I heard the whole thing. I also watched you pick the money up and go straight to the office. I’ll be back.”
I got back to work and one of Erin’s little friends said, “thieving bitch” as she walked by me and shoulder bumped me which made me spill the drink I was taking out to a customer. Erin and another one of her friends laughed as I picked up the ice off the floor and I felt my entire face get bright red and tears spring to my eyes because I was so furious.
“Awwww! She’s CRYING!” Erin shrieked and she and her friends laughed even harder. One of the old timer customers helped me get the rest of the ice picked up and he blotted the floor with napkins. He back slapped me and said, “ignore them girls darlin’. They’re just making themselves look bad.”
I wiped my face and forced myself to not actually totally cry and went to re-do the drink. Erin and her two friends kept being evil and when I had delivered the drink I went up to them and said, “the three of you are no better than a pack of disgusting animals. You freaks do not intimidate me and I’m a lot smarter than to partake in these idiotic shenanigans. Leave me alone or every time you even look at me wrong, I’ll go straight to Eric (the owner) and his wife and I are really good friends. I’m assuming you didn’t know that.”
“Oh, so you’re a tattletale?” the girl who bumped me said.
“Just leave the thief alone,” Erin said, and made a very hasty exit.
I was called to the office again about half an hour later. On my way, I saw Erin coming out with all of her things. She didn’t look at me as she walked past me. I went into the office and boss guy told me to sit down.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “Jenna talked to me and I talked to one of the other waitresses who also saw and heard the whole thing. I also had a customer complain that some of the girls were harassing you and one shoved you and made you spill a drink. Who was it?”
I made a mental note to thank the old timer and gave the boss guy names.
“I fired Erin. She refused to give the money back that she claimed was hers so there’s nothing I can do about that.”
“I don’t care about the money,” I said, “I’m glad this is over. Sorry for all the trouble.”
“Honey, you would have been better off to just pocket it,” he said.
“That’s not my style,” I said and got back to work.
The old timer guy was gone and I thanked Jenna.
“Don’t thank me,” she said, “right is right and wrong is wrong and what Erin did was wrong. Especially considering she had no problem screwing you. I’m honestly glad she’s gone.”
At the end of the night, the boss guy told me as I counted my tips, “It’s hard to be a good person now-a-days, especially when you work with mostly shit-stains. A lot of good people start working here and they end up turning into an asshole because it’s easier. Don’t do that.”
“I’ll try,” I said.
When I got home at three am, I considered telling Matt everything but was too tired to even form a sentence. People like Erin are way too messed up to even try to understand I guess. I’ve been trying to understand her actions since it happened and I just can’t. What’s sad is that it seems like more and more people are like that girl than not. So what’s a person to do in a world full of asshats? I don’t really know. I’m assuming standing your ground and being thankful for the non-asshats in your life is pretty much the way to go.
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