Piano Man

1.

"It was a joke, Mike! Is it really my fault they took it seriously?"

"CJ, when they asked you why their salmon is taking so long, you told them it was because they were still fishing for it! I don't give a damn if it was a joke or not, we are going to be professional in this restaurant!" my boss replied, before looking at his watch.
"Ok guys, you can go home now. Go rest, you deserve it", he says, as our staff meeting comes to an end.
As everyone leaves the room, Mike rolls his eyes and fist bumps me. I knew he secretly appreciated the joke, he just didn't want anyone else to think he had a sense of humor. God forbid.

I've been working as a waitress in this restaurant for three and a half years, so I could put myself through college. It was a fancy little place called "Par Hasard" on the Upper East Side, where our customers' morals were low but at least the tips they left were high.
My coworkers became family, my family was a piece of work, but everything in my life was a well-oiled machine. That is, until Mike decided to hire a piano player as entertainment in the evenings, completely unaware of how this would complicate things for me.