Raymond continued.
“But you’ve worked here three years and I don’t think either of you understood how serious this could become.”
Alyssa disagreed silently.
They understood now.
Raymond gave them final written warnings.
They lost closing privileges.
Neither could access the property outside scheduled hours.
Madison was also required to contribute toward the repair deductible for the damaged Mercedes.
The amount was eight hundred dollars.
That was where resentment turned into anger.
After the meeting, Madison followed Alyssa into the wash bay.
“You happy?”
Alyssa kept walking.
“No.”
“I bet.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“You told him.”
“He saw the camera.”
“You told him about the first time.”
“He asked whether I knew it had happened before.”
“You could’ve said no.”
Alyssa stopped.
Madison nearly walked into her.
“You wanted me to lie to the owner while he’s dealing with a damage claim?”
“You already said you weren’t going to tell.”
“I said I wouldn’t tell if you stopped.”
Madison laughed.
“You think that makes you sound better?”
Alyssa stared at her.
“I’m not trying to sound like anything.”
Madison moved closer.
“You cost me eight hundred dollars.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You burned somebody’s paint doing an unauthorized job.”
“You think because Ray likes you, you can judge everybody.”
Alyssa shook her head.
“I gave you a chance.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
Madison walked away.
Lauren said nothing to Alyssa for almost a week.
Then she apologized.
Not for the side jobs.
For how awkward work had become.
“I should’ve told Madison no,” she said while folding towels.
Alyssa looked at her.
“You wanted the money too.”
Lauren sighed.
“Yeah.”
“That’s okay to admit.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“It’s honest.”
Lauren smiled slightly.
For a moment, Alyssa thought maybe the problem would die there.
It did not.
Madison kept feeding it.
Every inconvenience became evidence that Alyssa was targeting them.
When Lauren was assigned to clean vacuum filters, Madison called it punishment.
When Madison lost a requested Saturday off because three other people had already requested it, she said Alyssa was retaliating.
When Raymond asked Alyssa to train on payroll reports, Madison told everyone he was “building his little management team.”
The phrase became a joke.
Alyssa ignored it.
By January, the jokes became more personal.
Someone poured dirty rinse water into Alyssa’s clean towel bucket.
Her detailing brushes disappeared and turned up in the dumpster.
The tire-shine applicator on her station was deliberately filled with diluted product, creating streaks on a customer’s wheels.
Alyssa began documenting everything.
She hated doing it.
Documentation made normal work feel like evidence collection.
Raymond noticed.
“You think it’s Madison?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I don’t have proof.”
Raymond nodded.
“Fair.”
Alyssa looked toward the wash bays.
“I don’t want people fired because I don’t like them.”