<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><em>Lana Faye</em></span></span><br/><br/>"If it's all the same, Alex, I'll wait till the end of her shift."  After she'd been on her feet for at least eight hours; after serving who knew how many clients throughout lunch and, most especially, dinner; after being kept on her toes by Jamie, Alex and herself as the day progressed and who knew how many other punishments would have to be delivered if the girl wasn't able to either keep her mouth shut or only open it to speak with at least a forced sense of respect.  One final lesson given at the end of her first day would be one well deserved and drive the lesson home, if not overly so.  It'd also give Lana more than enough time to let each and every word of the new girl's stew in the back of her mind.<br/><br/>"Perhaps by then she'll also be a little apologetic for insulting a dead woman -- my mother no less, God bless her soul -- and I might be lenient."  Hardly, but it was worth giving the girl a measure of the thought; having all day and night to process those words, keep them buried and as the source of her later frustrations that would be all too happily taken out on the girl's hide, lenient was the last thing Lana could expect to be.  The pastry chef hadn't glanced up once as she'd spoken, concentrating instead of the work before her.  Not even the lunch desserts had truly been started, something she had more time with, as she instead put together a bowl of fresh berries and custard and then set it aside into the smaller refrigerator behind her for when her sister finally dragged herself in.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><em>Erin Faye</em></span></span><br/><br/>Shit!  Alex -- and so very likely Jamie -- was going to kill her.  This was going to be the third time in two weeks that she was late, though this time by far more than just a minute or two.  A glance at her watch told her she was very swiftly approaching the fifteen minute mark and winced.<em>Shit, shit, shit!</em>The thought raced through Erin Faye's mind as the slenderly curved red head went dashing across the street, still a few blocks from the Wharf, and juggled combing out the last few tangles of her long hair, keeping the wide strap of her designer shoulder bag caught between her teeth, and attempted not to be distracted by the various window displays she passed on the way.<br/><br/>"Hey!  Erin!"<br/><br/>She was perhaps just one block away, slipping the comb back into her shoulder bag, when a familiar voice had her pausing mid stride and swiftly turning, a wide smile already caught up by her soft mouth.  Only vaguely did she recognize the face as someone she'd recently and frequently met within one of the clubs (possibly even the one she'd gone to last night and was nursing a hang over with now) and she tipped down her sunglasses just enough to let him see the smile reach her eyes.  It took just that moment of watching him approach, her feminine instincts purring as she took in the tight jeans and equally fitting t-shirt that gave her an ample display of the hard body they clothed.  Well, she was already late ... what could a minute more hurt?<br/><br/>One turned into a few and it had Erin only dashing quicker when she caught herself, the man's cell phone number tucked into the swell of her cleavage, as she went nearly running into the restaurant and could only count herself grateful that there'd been no wait for the elevator.  She took the couple of minutes inside the cable car to give her hair and make up one final check, assuring herself she certainly didn't look as hung over as she felt -- even if her head was already starting to pound just by thinking of all the sounds and chaos she'd be encountering in just moments.  The budding head ache, however, came to a dead halt when her eyes glanced through the circular window of the swinging doors that separated the dining floor from the kitchen.<br/><br/>The sight alone of the girl bent over the counter, Jamie's expression, and Alex standing behind her, his instrument of choice gleaming as it came down again and again on the girl's exposed rear, told her today was<strong>not </strong>the day she should have been more than fifteen minutes late.  Stifling a groan, Erin caught her lower lip and edged away from the door, instead turning to slip into the next one down and quietly make her way into the kitchen via the back.  With any measure of luck, being distracted by the new girl, they might not have even noticed she hadn't been on time... maybe even just busying herself in the back getting ready for lunch.<br/><br/>It was worth a shot.