Somewhere In Between

Well Jason, as much as I don't like to give advice, I think you might take Mark aside and ask him to speak to the young nerdy gay boy, to quietly and discreetly let him know that he (Mark) has heard that the boss ( that's you, not the owner) is already spoken for, and is supposed to have a very jealous partner. This will have the effect of letting Mark know you don't want the cute nerd, get the gay nerd to quieten down, and more importantly let Mark know you trust him to carry out this task with all the skills of an international diplomat. As a side benefit it also reinforces your authority in the restaurant in relation to both Mark and the lad. After all it would then be necessary for Mark to be seen to carry out his duties without raising suspicion that he is your "jealous partner."Mind you, this kind of thing will only have a chance of success if both you and Mark feel it is appropriate. Trust each other and you won't stumble. It might also be worthwhile waiting to see what other people here, think on the above plan.

I like Des' plan. It is, frankly, brilliant. Strangely enough though, the part that upset me most in your tale of angst is the dumb-ass lady with her befouled meat problem. My temptation would be to not charge her, but also to remove all signs of the food that was supposedly contaminated. If she had eaten it already, and was now complaining, well, she ate it. Furthermore, I'd not let her remain outside. God knows, a fly could land on it too. OMG, I just realized, AIR POLLUTION - a sure way to destroy an outside meal. Customers like that should just go jump in the nearest swollen drainage ditch and save the world a lot of trouble.

Frankly, Des' plan rocks.I can't offer advice as I'm hopeless when it comes to stuff like that. Me, I'd probably get so wound up I'd explode ... quietly, in the corner.Hmm. Maybe, I'm thinking, in addition to Des' plan, you have to let Mark know that at work you're THE BOSS. If he loves you as much as you love him he'll realize he can't go on usurping your position at the restaurant.Wishing you all the best!Camy

Jason:You write a superb blog. I know it's superb because after reading one of your entries, I always want to jump through the screen, grab you and talk some sense into you.I don't get that worked up about what most other people write.There's a great deal of honesty and innocence in what you write that is incredibly attractive, and that brings dormant paternal instincts hidden within me rushing to the fore. At 33, you'd be about the right age to be my son. I don't have a 33 year old son, but if I did, and he had your problems, man, would I be wanting to jump in and help him solve them.And so I want to do the same thing for you. Just as Des did. Grab a couple of those suckers and tell you how to fix them. The urge is strong.But unsolicited advice is rarely wanted and even more rarely heeded. So, I'll desist. Much as I don't want to. I'll desist.But, you know my address.CPS - I guess I couldn't desist entirely!

Cole- I've never heard someone say so much while claiming not to say anything. And wow, if only I had the time to fill you crazy people on the events of yesterday, Cole's and Des's advice would be pointless. But much like the way Cole accuses me of only telling snipit's of events and keeping everyone in the dark, I'm off to work for now. Maybe I'll have time once I return home.*laughs wickedly*Jason *scampers off to work before everyone traps me and beats the truth out of me*

Now that was just mean. Dastardly and mean!And I'll sit here watching the screen, waiting.Damn it!C

I'll move up a chair and wait with you Cole. Don't you just love these mystery stories?

I'll grab chair and put the popcorn on.

Des, just what is it you think Jason is doing while you and I, old farts that we are, are sitting by our monitors waiting?Yeah, I think so too.C

Des, just what is it you think Jason is doing while you and I, old farts that we are, are sitting by our monitors waiting?Yeah, I think so too.C

Hey Cole,You wanna know what I've been doing the last three days?Working my ass off at my hip up-scale restaurant and making tons of money.I really didn't mean to make you guys wait so long.Anyway I have tomorrow off and promise to write it all downJason

It's 'tomorrow' *tear*.*Brings up a chair*Maddy (:

You guys are all nuts. You need to refresh the screen to see if Jason's posted, or you'll be waiting forever.

You guys are all nuts. You need to refresh the screen to see if Jason's posted, or you'll be waiting forever.

I'll happily admit to having nuts. but being nuts? It sounds very Zen: along the lines of 'what is the sound of one nut nutting?' Chip and Dale might know, I suppose. Hmm.Whatever 'it' is, it's inevitably all Jason's fault.