Off-season - The Motel
The Small Business Chronicles: Off-season - The Motel
Chapter 1: Morning
Jack woke up rather suddenly…he didn’t like being awoken by the incessant beeping from his alarm clock, so he somehow trained himself to wake up mere seconds before it went off. He quickly pre-empted the alarm and then relaxed a bit in his bed, reminiscing over the past few months.
It was now the month of April; the repairs and upgrades he had performed on Christmas were still making life for him a whole lot easier. The inclusion of Serriah alone had increased shop efficiency considerable. Immediately after acquiring the motel from his neighbor, he quickly retrofitted the place with more modern comforts and equipment in order to optimize overhead.
Building the addition connecting the motel to the shop, as well as the addition to the shop itself also happened quickly, what with the new robotic construction services available nowadays. Now Serriah was working in the new gift shop and making the shop even more money.
Unfortunately, the work was done a little too quickly, and Jack was forced to staff the motel before he could completely finish repairing the android he had chosen to work the reception desk, as well as fine tune the trio of sex bots he had recently acquired. He was forced to set aside an entire day to working on each staff member of the motel, but fortunately Rakhee, the maid, required only routine maintenance and cleaning of her filters. Gina, the security guard, also required only routine maintenance.
A few minutes after awaking, he sensed movement to his left as Gabby awoke, or rather, as he internal clock informed her she should awaken. She woke up with the same smile as usual, leaning over and giving him a kiss. “How come the alarm didn’t go off?” she asked with a curious look. Even though she was pre-programmed to sleep until a certain time, her systems still monitored surrounding noise levels in case there was an intruder or emergency.
“I’ve never liked waking to an alarm,” Jack admitted, “So I’ve been training myself to awaken just before it goes off,”
“Oh, I see,” Gabby nodded, “You know, if the alarm is an issue, I can always wake you up,” she offered.
“Thanks Gabby, but I don’t want to use you as an alarm clock,” he told her, “You’re a bit better than that,”
“Well thanks, but it’s no problem, really,” she said with a modest air, “I’d love to be your alarm clock,”
“Well, if you really don’t mind,” Jack shrugged, “Still, I haven’t been tweaking your systems so you could be my alarm clock.
“So, what’s on the agenda today?” Gabby asked.
“I’ve got to work out all the issues with the motel staff,” he responded, “Especially with Varsha,” he added, coughing uncomfortably.
“Oh,” Gabby said sadly.
“Yeah, anyway, they’ll probably take me all day,” Jack continued, “I might not even be in for dinner,”
“Well, I’ll make you some anyway, just in case,” Gabby said.
“Thanks dear,”
Jack and Gabby cuddled in bed for a few minutes longer before starting their usual morning routine: shower, breakfast, sending Henry off to school. Jack waved them off until the car disappeared past the driveway and then he headed into the back office of the shop.
“Good morning Jack,” Rachel greeted him. As a timesaver, Jack had programmed Rachel to activate 30-minutes before the store was to open. Now she activated the rest of the staff in the mornings, and shut them down at night.
“Good morning Rachel,” Jack replied, “I’m going to need you to transfer your work to Varsha’s station and follow me,” Jack told her, “I’m going to be working on all the motel employees, starting with her,”
“Alright,” Rachel said, tapping a few keys on her station to link it to the motel office. She then picked up a tablet and stood up, waiting on Jack.
“Alright, let’s go,” he told her, heading towards a door on the far side of the office, the side where Rachel’s desk used to be.