Team Player - Part 1 (Patreon)

Well, that was a close one! Ryan decided to donate his commission slot this month to whatever won second place in the Community Caption poll, and, by a margin of a single vote, that wound up being the Fast Food idea. Pictures property of ABDreams.

"I'm not sure why that's any of your business," Adriana rolled her eyes, barely even slowing down as she walked through the restaurant, inspecting.

"Because Laura's a good kid," Sasha replied, trying to keep up. "I know she wouldn't lie about something like this..."

"She's always whining about wanting more hours," Adriana told her. "Then, when I tell her she needs to stay late to help get ready for the district manager's visit, suddenly she has a doctor's appointment. She's lucky I gave her a chance... I should have just fired her scrawny little butt."

"Come on, you're kidding, right?" Sasha asked, although she had a feeling she already knew the answer. Why was she surprised about anything she heard about Adriana anymore? There was a reason she'd been preparing for this, after all, why she had all that stuff waiting in her locker. She really wasn't sure if she'd ever actually use it, but she felt better, knowing it was there, just in case... 

"Would you like me to change my mind?" Adriana stopped finally, turning to glare at Sasha, able to stare her directly in the eyes only because of her massive heels. "I can still get rid of her. And I know you're on your break, but if all you have to do on it is wander around and distract me, you might as well help get ready for the visit, too."

"You know I can't do that," Sasha shook her head. "I'm off the clock, and..."

"You're not sounding much like a team player," Adriana said threateningly. Everyone who worked for her knew what that meant... It was what she said when she wanted to get rid of someone, even if she didn't have a valid reason. Anyone who questioned her too often, or got on her nerves, or who she simply decided she didn't like was declared 'not a team player', and that was all she really needed to say.

The higher-ups didn't spend enough time there to know how bad she was; they praised her for trying to maintain a good team, who could all work well together. Turn-over was high enough in fast food anyway, they didn't question how often people were getting fired. The few people who did stick around for more than a couple weeks at a time banded together not because of her 'leadership', but to help each other endure it, together.

So, Sasha wasn't really doing this for herself, no matter how much she would enjoy it... She was doing it for the team. Somebody needed to take Adriana down a peg or two, and, as far as she knew, she was the only one who could do it in quite the way she had planned. And, honestly, if anyone deserved what was going to happen, it was Adriana.

"Maybe I'm not," Sasha shrugged, as nonchalantly as she could manage. "Maybe we should go into your office to talk about it."

"Seriously?" Adriana sighed. "You're going to pull this, today of all days? I guess I should have seen this coming... All right, come on, then."

Sasha's heart pounded as she followed the woman to her office, a quick mental debate playing out in her mind. Was she really going to do this?! There was still time... Sasha was one of the oldest people working here - both in age, and how long she'd survived - and, since she wasn't in school at the moment, could take more hours than most of the others. She was valuable to Adriana... She could pretend it was a joke, or that she'd changed her mind, and Adriana would probably be relieved to keep her around...

On the way, however, she spotted Laura, sweeping the floor, only to have to take a sudden break, sitting down suddenly and clutching the broom even tighter, looking queasy. Sasha reminded herself she was doing this for fun, or just for her own benefit... She was doing it because she was a real team player.

"Let me go ahead and grab my stuff from my locker," she offered as they walked through that room.

"Good idea," Adriana nodded. "Then you can give me your key right away."

Sasha's purse was there, of course, although she left it behind, picking up another bag instead, one that she'd been slowly adding to as she found things she thought would fit. "Let's go," she smiled.

"All right," Adriana said, closing her office door. "Now..."

"Sleep," Sasha commanded, snapping her fingers. Just as she'd been training the other woman to do for weeks now, her eyes immediately glazed over, her brain going blank, ready for the orders Sasha had been cooking up for a while now, yet never expected to carry out fully. It had been nice to imagine it, to know she could do it, if she wanted... Now, it was time for the real thing.