The Billionaire's Boba Shop, Slap in the Face

Graduation was over, and I wanted to experience what they call the real world.

My dad offered me a luxury summer getaway to celebrate, but I turned him down.

Instead, I decided to head back to my hometown and get a part-time job at a local boba shop.

On my first day, I put on my best polite smile and asked a senior coworker for help.

"Excuse me, could you show me where the creamer is? I want to learn how to make the house special."

Suddenly, she snapped. She spat sunflower seed shells directly onto my face.

Then she called someone, sobbing like she was the victim.

"The new girl doesn't know anything. I'm working myself to death while she just causes trouble..."

"She's bullying me on purpose, babe. It's so mean!"

Three minutes later, her boyfriend with fried, bleached hair stormed in to threaten me.

"Hell no! Are you the bitch making my girl cry? You think you're tough?"

"I'm going to teach you a lesson today. You're going to learn how to keep your head down!"

Well, then. It had been a while since I'd dealt with this kind of drama.

This was going to be fun.

1.

The guy in front of me had thin, dry, bleached-blonde hair.

He wore cheap loafers and skinny jeans that looked two sizes too small.

When he sneered, he showed a row of crooked, yellow teeth. It was honestly disgusting.

I couldn't stand looking at him, so I turned my head away.

That set him off. He slammed his bony hand onto the counter, acting like a big shot.

"I'm talking to you! Are you deaf or just stupid?"

Debra, the senior coworker, let out a smug laugh.

"Babe, look at her. She's terrified. She can't even find her voice!"

The guy got even more aggressive. He grabbed a tissue box and hurled it at me.

"Scared now? Too late. You messed with my girl, and now you pay the price!"

"I'll give you two choices. Either get on your knees and apologize to my girlfriend, or I'll call my boys over to handle you. Your pick."

Debra stepped up and grabbed his arm, faking a sympathetic look.

"Oh, honey, we're coworkers. Let's not make a huge scene. If she just kneels and says sorry, we can let it go."

She pointed a manicured finger at me with a smirk.

"Listen, Romi. My boyfriend is a big deal around here. His friends aren't the type of people you want to cross."

"If they come down here, things are going to get very ugly for you."

She looked me up and down, her eyes full of contempt.

A big deal? This bleached-hair loser?

I almost burst out laughing.

When I applied yesterday, I had made up a sob story.

I told them my mom worked the fields and my dad was bedridden.

Ever since then, Debra had treated me like dirt.

She was an hour late this morning. The moment she walked in, she started screaming at me for not prepping the station.

I wanted to take this job seriously, so I just kept my mouth shut.

I didn't realize she was a total psychopath.

Earlier, I forgot to close the lid on the ice machine. She shrieked like a banshee.

"Didn't your mother teach you anything? This is disgusting! No wonder your family is poor and sick!"

Later, she misread a label and made a drink with extra sugar instead of low sugar.

She blamed me in front of a shop full of customers.

"Romi Sterling, what is wrong with you? Are you blind? If you can't do the job, get the hell out!"

And now she had her little boyfriend here to play the hero.

Interesting. Very interesting.

I took a step forward and spoke softly.

"So, if I don't apologize, you're going to bring people here to hurt me?"

The guy hugged Debra, spat out a toothpick, and acted tough.

"If I didn't have a rule about not hitting women, I'd slap the taste out of your mouth right now."

"Good to know."

I pulled out my phone with a cold smile.

"Harassment and threats in a public space are crimes. I've recorded everything you just said."

"I'm calling the cops right now."

2.

Debra's face went pale instantly. She lunged forward to grab my hand as I started dialing.

She forced a fake smile onto her face.

"Wait, wait! We're colleagues, Romi. Don't be like that. We were just joking around."

My face remained blank.

"You can explain your jokes to the police."

"No, stop!"

Sweat was pouring down Debra's face.

"I'll apologize, okay? I'm sorry. It was my fault. I'm so sorry!"

I'm not from around here and didn't want to start a legal war on my first week.

I was actually considering letting it go.

But then the boyfriend saw an opening. He snatched my phone and laughed like a maniac.

"You think you can threaten us, bitch? I'm deleting this recording right now. Let's see what the cops say then!"

Debra's submissive act vanished. She grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin.

"You've got some nerve trying to pull that on us. I think you need to be put in your place."

These two weren't exactly geniuses, but they were definitely malicious.

I shook Debra off and stared her down.

"Deleting it won't help. My recording app is synced to five of my contacts. The file was sent the moment I stopped the recording."

The guy panicked. He looked at the phone and saw the status message. He was so angry he looked like he wanted to smash the device.

"Go ahead," I said calmly. "Intentional destruction of property will just add another charge to your list."

Their faces turned white with rage. Debra looked like she wanted to eat me alive.

But she had no choice. She forced herself to calm down and pushed her boyfriend out of the shop.

Then she spent the next few minutes begging for my mercy.

I just wanted to work and experience the world, so I didn't want to waste energy on them.

I gave her a warning and went back to work.

For the next three days, I worked hard. I memorized the recipes, prepped the toppings, and learned the register.

Debra stopped being a nightmare. She was actually smiling and teaching me things.

But the next morning, a stranger was standing behind the counter.

"You're the new girl, right? I sent a message to the group chat saying we had a meeting thirty minutes before the shift. Why are you late?"

I realized this must be the manager my boss mentioned, Whitney Montgomery.

She had been on vacation.

"Group chat?"

I looked at Debra. She was busy washing a tea barrel, ignoring me.

Wow. So the act was just for show.

"Debra didn't add me to any group. I didn't know."

"You didn't know?"

The woman's bright red lips curled into a sneer.

"That's a two-hundred-dollar deduction from your paycheck. You know now, don't you?"

"That's not fair. I never got the message..."

"Stop whining and get to work. Look at all these delivery orders!"

There was a huge promotion going on across all delivery apps. The orders were piling up.

I reminded myself why I was here. I wanted to feel what a real worker feels.

I gritted my teeth, changed into my uniform, and started working.

The order numbers were already past a hundred. My hands didn't stop for a second.

All I heard were their annoying voices behind me.

"Move faster! Hurry up! The customers are waiting!"

"Can't you see we're out of pearls? Use your eyes! Go to the warehouse and grab a fresh bucket!"

"You're so useless!"

3.

It went on until a customer complained about the wait.

I looked back and saw the two of them just standing there, relaxed, watching me struggle.

I was about to snap, but Whitney put on a fake pained expression.

"I'm so sorry. You see, this summer hire is from a poor rural town. Her dad is paralyzed and needs medicine money."

"We're letting her handle the big orders so she can get the commission. We're just trying to be nice, you know?"

I finally saw the game. They were a little clique.

Debra had lost the first round, so Whitney was helping her get revenge.

I turned around with a bright smile.

"Here is your Black Tea Float! Enjoy it while it's cold! Also, if you have a moment, please leave a review on our employee system. My name is Romi."

"Oh, of course! You're such a hard worker. I'll give you a great review right now."

The two women, who were busy eating oranges and touching up their makeup, froze.

They whispered to each other.

"The boss said the person with the most positive reviews gets a huge bonus this month. If she says that to everyone, she'll win!"

"You're right. Stop eating, let's get to work!"

I looked down to hide my smirk.

There was no such thing as a commission for doing more orders. They were just lazy.

But the boss had recently launched an employee rating system. That part was real.

I grew up watching my dad navigate the business world. I knew how people worked.

To deal with people like this, you have to hit them where it hurtsDtheir wallets.

Since they couldn't just use me as a slave anymore, they tried something else.

A week later, I was cleaning when I noticed the rags were covered in thick, greasy oil.

I didn't have time to wonder where grease came from in a boba shop.

I knelt down to grab a clean cloth from the cabinet.

As soon as I opened the door...

"Ah!"

A scream of pure terror escaped my throat.

I fell backward, my head slamming into a bucket of taro paste. The bucket tipped over with a loud thud.

The sticky purple paste poured out everywhere.

"Oh no! My fresh taro paste!"

Debra rushed over, but she couldn't hide the gleam of joy in her eyes.

Covered in taro, I pointed a trembling finger at the cabinet.

"There's a rat..."

A huge, fat rat with a long tail jumped out of the cabinet. I scrambled away in a panic.

"Help me!"

As I slipped on the taro paste, I caught Whitney's eye.

She and Debra were standing together, trying not to laugh.

In an instant, my fear turned into cold rage. I lunged forward, pretending to lose my balance.

I crashed right into Whitney.

She was wearing three-inch heels. She lost her balance and hit the floor hard.

The rat, frantic to escape, jumped right onto her face.

Whitney screamed, her eyes wide with horror. She clawed at her face, tears and snot smearing her makeup.

Debra was terrified too, but Whitney shrieked at her to help.

Debra grabbed a broom and swung it wildly at the rat.

The dusty bristles smashed right into Whitney's face.

Debra didn't even notice. She kept swinging until she accidentally jammed the broom handle into Whitney's open, screaming mouth...

The next day, when the shop was quiet, I slammed the schedule onto the counter in front of Whitney.

"What is this? You scheduled me for twenty-four hours straight?"

Whitney didn't even look up.

"When I started, I worked three days without sleep. You're young. Pulling an all-nighter won't kill you."

"Besides, you're poor, right? I'm giving you more hours to earn money. You should be thanking me."

4.

I knew why she was doing this.

She tried to scare me with a rat, but she ended up covered in filth and hit with a broom.

She was humiliated, and now she wanted blood.

I had wondered why she didn't say a word after she got up yesterday.

Now I knew.

"Did the owner approve this? Do I need to print out the labor laws for you?"

"Oh, listen to her!"

Whitney laughed mockingly.

"You think you know the law?"

She leaned in close, her voice dripping with venom.

"The owner is never here. She trusts me to run everything. In this shop, I am the law. Got it?"

"If you don't like it, quit. But I'm the one who handles payroll. I'll make sure you don't get a single cent."

"Without that money, your paralyzed dad won't get his meds. He'll probably kick the bucket in a week."

Debra chimed in from the side.

"Hear that? There's a line of people outside wanting this job. A trailer-park hick like you should be kneeling and kissing our feet for this opportunity."

She tapped her cheap, rhinestone-covered nails against my shoulder.

I looked up at her arrogant face. I was about to speak when a customer walked in.

Whitney snapped at me to make a watermelon juice.

I glared at her and whispered, "This isn't over."

She gave me a fake, dazzling smile. "This customer is a VIP. Do a good job, sweetie."

I finished the juice and handed it over. The customer took a few sips and frowned.

"Why does this taste weird?"

I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

Before I could offer to remake it, the customer ripped off the plastic seal.

Her face went white.

"A cockroach!"

Whitney gasped, looking at me with feigned shock.

"Oh my god! Romi, how could you?"

I was breaking out in a cold sweat.

"No! That's impossible! It was clean when I made it..."

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

When I finished the drink, Debra had offered to seal the cup for me.

She must have dropped it in then.

These women were truly evil. They were willing to sabotage a customer just to ruin me.

"I'm calling the health department! This is disgusting!"

The customer started storming out.

Whitney grabbed me and dragged me toward the woman.

"It's her! She's the one! I tried to give her extra shifts so she could earn more, but she's lazy and took it out on the customers!"

"This girl is heartless! She's trying to destroy my shop!"

"Ma'am, please, this was her doing. It has nothing to do with the business..."

A crowd started to gather. People were whispering and looking at me with disgust.

I tried to stay calm.

"You have no proof I did that. Check the cameras. You two set me up."

Whitney looked at me like I was crazy.

"Romi, you know the camera over the prep station has been broken for days. You're just a lying snake trying to shift the blame!"

Dammit. I forgot about the broken camera.

Whitney turned back to the crowd, sobbing.

"Since her first day, she's been looking for excuses to skip work. She steals fruit and messes up orders on purpose."

"When I correct her, she talks back. She even tried to hit me once!"

"That's a lie!" I shouted, shaking with rage.

But to the crowd, I just looked like a guilty person caught in a lie.

The insults from the onlookers grew louder.

Whitney grabbed my arm again, a wicked glint in her eye.

"I'm going to get justice for the owner! You're going to apologize to this lady and pay for the damages!"

"You'll pay for the reputation of this shop too, or I'm calling the police for food safety violations! You're going to jail!"

Debra shoved her way into the circle.

"Yeah! We have the evidence and the witness! You're done!"

She leaned into my ear and whispered.

"I smashed your phone earlier. Your recordings are gone. You have nothing on me now."

At that moment, I realized I had underestimated how cruel people could be.

My parents were right to worry about me being out on my own.

Even in a tiny boba shop, you can find monsters.

I looked up and walked slowly toward Whitney.

"You said the cameras were broken, right? So we can't see anything?"

"That's fine. I have my own."

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