2 Stories That Will Leave You Shook

Owning the Revenge

Haido and I looked at each other and I knew we had to come clean about everything. I took a deep breath and started from the very beginning with that first lunch when Vera sat in my seat and pressed herself against Haido.

I told him about the constant harassment, the inappropriate touching, the attempts to break us up, and how she’d corner Haido when I wasn’t around. I explained about the Japanese businessmen and how one almost died from his allergy while Vera blamed me and got me written up by Daryl who believed her without even checking.

I admitted that yes, we taught her those phrases on purpose because I was desperate and felt like nobody would help me keep my job. The owner listened to the whole story without interrupting once, just sitting there with his fingers pressed against his temples.

When I finished, Haido spoke up and said he’d initially told me no, but changed his mind after seeing how much Vera’s behavior was destroying me. He said he took full responsibility for teaching her the phrases and understood if the owner wanted to fire him for it.

The owner leaned back in the chair until it creaked and rubbed his face with both hands. He finally said he was disappointed in what we’d done but understood why we felt we had no other choice given how Daryl had completely failed to manage the situation properly.

He said what we did was wrong, but what Vera did was worse because she chose to use phrases she didn’t understand just to impress people and make herself look good. He stood up and said he needed time to figure out what to do with everyone involved.

The Mother’s Wisdom

But first, he had to get back to his mother’s birthday party. We walked back to the dining room where all the birthday guests were whispering to each other and looking around nervously.

The owner’s mother was sitting at the head of the table with her hands folded, watching her son walk toward her. The owner pulled up a chair next to his mother and they had a long conversation in Japanese while everyone in the restaurant watched.

His mother kept nodding and occasionally looking over at Vera who was standing by the kitchen door with her arms wrapped around herself looking absolutely terrified. The owner’s mother slowly pushed back her chair and stood up, her small frame somehow commanding the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

She walked straight toward Vera with measured steps, her face calm but her eyes sharp. When she stopped in front of Vera, she spoke in clear English with just a hint of an accent.

“I have been called names before but never by someone who claims to respect my culture” Her voice carried across the silent dining room.

“Real respect means taking time to learn not playing dress up with someone’s heritage” Vera’s face went from white to red and she opened her mouth but no words came out.

The owner stood up next and cleared his throat loudly. He announced that there would be immediate changes to management and staff starting right away.

He apologized to all the guests for the disruption and told them everyone would receive 50% off their meals tonight. Then he looked directly at Daryl, Vera, Ho, and me and told us to meet him first thing tomorrow morning.

The Aftermath of the Storm

The birthday guests started whispering among themselves and slowly began eating again, though the mood was completely ruined. The owner helped his mother back to her seat and they continued talking quietly in Japanese.

The rest of the shift was the most awkward 3 hours of my life. Vera stayed in the corner by the dish pit not looking at anyone or taking any tables.

Daryl stomped around barking orders at everyone, but nobody really listened to him anymore. The other servers kept shooting looks between me, Haido, and Vera trying to figure out exactly what had happened.

I just kept my head down and focused on my tables, counting down the minutes until closing. Every time I passed Vera, she looked smaller, like she was trying to disappear into the wall.

Daryl kept trying to assert his authority, but it was obvious to everyone that his days as manager were numbered. The kitchen staff kept poking their heads out to watch the drama unfold.

Finally, we locked the doors and started the closing routine. I was wiping down tables when Ma came up to me with Nathan right behind her.

She put her hand on my shoulder and said she was proud of me for finally standing up to Vera. She mentioned that lots of other staff had stories about Vera’s behavior and how Daryl always took her side.

Nathan nodded and added that the kitchen crew had been watching this mess for months. They both said they would back me up if the owner asked them anything tomorrow.

I thanked them and finished my closing duties as fast as possible. Haido and I drove home in silence for the first few minutes.

Then we started talking about what we’d done and whether we’d gone too far with our revenge plan. We both felt terrible about the owner’s mother being hurt and humiliated at her own birthday party.

That wasn’t what we wanted at all. We just wanted Vera to face some consequences for once.

We stayed up until 3:00 in the morning going over everything, wondering if we’d lose our jobs tomorrow. We agreed that if we somehow kept our jobs, we needed to find a way to apologize to the owner’s mother properly.

The Reckoning

Neither of us slept well that night. The next morning we got to the restaurant 30 minutes early and found Sophia already there with stacks of paperwork spread across three tables.

There were termination forms, policy manuals, and what looked like new employee contracts. Daryl showed up looking angry and defensive.

Vera came in last, her eyes red and puffy from crying. The owner walked in exactly at nine and didn’t waste any time.

He looked straight at Daryl and told him he was demoted to server effective immediately. Daryl started to protest, but the owner cut him off with a raised hand.

“You’re lucky to still have a job at all after your complete failure as a manager” Daryl’s face turned purple but he shut his mouth.

The owner then turned to Vera and his expression got even harder. He told her she was fired for harassment, creating a hostile work environment, and damaging the restaurant’s reputation.

Vera completely broke down, sobbing and begging for another chance. She promised she’d change and never do anything like that again.

The owner stayed firm and handed her the termination papers. “Clean out your locker and leave immediately”

Vera took the papers with shaking hands and stumbled toward the back room still crying. The owner looked at Haido and me next and my stomach dropped.

He said what we did was unethical and could have seriously damaged the restaurant if word got out to customers. However, he recognized that we were driven to it by management’s complete failure to protect employees from harassment.

He was giving us one final chance, but we were both on probation for 3 months. Any incidents during that time and we’d be terminated immediately.

Additionally, we both had to write formal apology letters to his mother and attend cultural sensitivity training at our own expense. Haido would also have to teach Japanese to any staff who wanted to learn, but properly this time, with real lessons.

We both agreed immediately, grateful we still had jobs. Sophia stepped forward with the new policy manuals and started explaining the changes she was implementing as the new manager.