The Millionaire Bartender | Chapter 4 — The Bar

4 | The Bar

“Welcome to The Symposium. I’m Joe, the manager here. It’s great that you are joining the team.”

“It is great to be here,” Maya shook the hand of the guy whom she had been admiring from across the street for months. She wondered if Joe had noticed her looking in awe all those times. “I hope not. It would be a really awkward conversation if it was ever brought up,” Maya thought.

It was an interesting first day at The Symposium. Maya learned about the basic bartending tools, such as the Boston shaker, mixing glass, bar spoon, jigger, Hawthorne strainer, julep strainer, fine strainer, muddle and bar blade. All of which a bartender would use on every shift.

“Don’t worry about remembering our drinks. They are pretty basic, and you will be familiar with them after a couple of shifts. And that won’t be for a while. Like all newbies here, you will start by washing all those glasses and wiping them dry,” Joe smiled as he pointed to a pile of hundred dirty glasses next to the sink.

“Well, I suppose it’s an upgrade from washing dirty plates.”

“Alright Maya, you have been working here for 6 weekends and I believe that you have learned every trick there is to cleaning glasses,” said Elfie, while smoking his cigarette at the alley behind the bar.

Elfie was The Symposium’s bar supervisor and he had been making it obvious that he did not enjoy working with Maya. For reasons unknown to her.

“Yes Elfie, I have. Does that mean that I will get to learn something new?” Maya asked excitedly.

“Yes… We hired a new guy and he starts today. He will be starting with the washing like you did. If it was up to me, you will remain washing glasses too. But Joe wants you to start learning the more essential things,” Elfie replied in an annoyed tone.

“That is great! I can’t wait to learn new skills,” beamed Maya.

“Hey, don’t let it get into your head that you are very good at your job. You are not. It is going to be months before you even make a drink here or anywhere else. You are still a glass cleaner to me, and you still report to me!” Elfie snapped at Maya.

“Yes, I know Elfie. I never questioned your authority, nor have I ever said that I am better than anyone else. Why would I think that? I’ve only been washing glasses,” replied Maya in a fusion of anger and confusion.

“Watch your tone towards me Maya. You do not want me as your enemy,” warned Elfie as he flicked his cigarette onto the ground in front of Maya and stared at her furiously.

“What?” Confused and not wanting to be drawn into any mind game Elfie was playing, Maya walked back into the bar.

Maya was very curious to know why Elfie treated her the way he did. She was there to learn some new skills and had zero interest in work politics. But she was curious, nevertheless. He had been belittling Maya from her first day of work and has been relentless.

“Maybe he’s in love with me and hates it because he knows I will never reciprocate!” chuckled Maya.

Over 2 weeks had passed since Joe promoted Maya to a bar-back, but she has yet to learn anything valuable from Elfie. Maya decided that she will not tolerate Elfie’s childlike behaviour anymore.

“Today would be a perfect day to talk to Joe. Elfie is on medical leave, again, and won’t interrupt us.” Like a soldier on a mission, Maya marched to the office and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” said a voice from the other side of the door. Maya slowly opened the door and cold air rushed out of the room.

“Wow, it is cold in here,” said Maya as she walked into the room and sat on the chair opposite Joe’s desk.

“Yes, a nice escape from the humidity out there. So, what can I do for you Maya?” Joe smiled, as he closed his laptop.

“I’m here to talk about Elfie,” replied Maya.

“Ah yes, I am sorry that you have be burdened with extra work, now that he is on medical leave for 2 days,” Joe replied sympathetically.

“No, it’s not about that. I could care less about him not turning up for work. I am here to talk about the way he has been treating me.”

“What do you mean? Did he say or do something to upset you?” asked Joe as he sat up straight, with genuine concern on his face.

“Yes. Since the day I started working here, he has been nothing but rude to me. He has shown unjustified anger and frustration. He even told me that I shouldn’t think that I am good at my job because I’m not.”

“What? When did he tell you this?” Joe asked, visibly astonished.

“The day that I got promoted to bar-back. He has yet to teach me anything.”

“What do you mean? I have seen you prepping the garnishes, storing the bottles in the bar fridge, and other stuff,” asked Joe in confusion.

“Yes, all of those I learned from watching the other bartenders and enquiring with them. Elfie only ignores me during our shifts or orders me around like a house pet.”

“Wow. This is surprising. I will investigate it immediately and speak to Elfie, as soon as he reports back to work. Thank you for speaking to me about this. Just so you know, you are great at your job, regardless of what Elfie claims. You are the fastest learner we have ever had, and you execute your job to perfection. You should be proud of yourself,” smiled Joe as he reassured Maya of her abilities.

“You have no idea what that means to me. Thank you very much for your kind words Joe. And thank you too for looking into my situation with Elfie.” Smiling widely, Maya left the office.

Hello there dear reader. I am truly grateful that you have followed the journey of Maya Rao thus far and have enjoyed your read. This the the end of the teaser, or a pilot if it was a television show.

If you are curious to know what adventures lay ahead for Maya and further intriguing characters, click on the link to my Amazon page. Thank you.

The full version of The Millionaire Bartender is available on Amazon.