Who’s The Boss

(It’s been a busy day, and we’re still about three hours from close. My manager, who is my boss, comes to hang out where I am wrapping up the sandwich bar. My manager is always whining about how early she gets up for work, and often shleps small responsibilities onto me.)

Manager: “Ugh, I’m so tired! Can I just go home?”

Me: *thinking she’s joking* “Haha, sure! Why not? I’ll just close up for the night and count the cash.”

Manager: “Oh, good!”

(As we get ready to close up, the owner calls to get the end-of-day (EOD) update. My coworker comes looking for our manager.)

Coworker: “Hey, have you seen [Manager]?”

Me: “Not for a while.”

(Unable to find her anywhere, we call her cell.)

Me: “Hi, [Manager], we’re ready to close. Where’d you go?”

Manager: “I went home! You said I could go home!”

Me: “What? But I don’t have keys for the safe, and [Owner] is asking after the end-of-day update.”

Manager: “WHY DID YOU SAY I COULD GO HOME, THEN?!”

Me: “I… thought you were joking.”

(She reluctantly came back and helped finish close, snarling at both my coworker and I the whole time. Fortunately, I discussed the incident with the owner, and she was let go a week or so later.)