Other Fan Fiction ❯ Service With a Smile - Welcome to the Fazbear Hotel! ❯ Chapter 2

Summary:  After being chosen as the new general manager, Paul has one month to prove he's the man for the job.  But with xenophobic customers, jealous employees, a former employer out to sabotage him, and a flirty hotel owner, does the human stand a chance, or will he be sent back home?

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He was being watched.

Not that this was out of the ordinary, Rolfe had been observing him at different points to watch his performance and Golden...well he wasn't quite sure why the bear was following him around.  The female Tierans seemed to know, if the giggling was anything to go by, but no one wanted to tell him.

No, this stare was much more intense.  Almost predatory, like he was about to get pounced.

It had started when Golden was called away to take care of some hotel business and it didn't show signs of letting up. Deciding not to let it get to him, he checked his watch and noticed he had just enough time to grab a granola bar for lunch before he met with Kima (1).  The bear had an employee review coming up with a somewhat problematic youth and wanted Paul's input.

"Well hello, little human."

Now Paul would like to say that he did NOT in fact shriek when Spring popped out in front of him, wearing a too-wide smile reminiscent of a homicidal maniac.  He'd like to, but that would be a lie.

"IIYAAA!!!!" Jumping back, Paul misstepped and wobbled dangerously off-balance.  Bracing for a painful fall, he was stunned when instead he fell back against a warm, familiar chest and a strong arm wrapped around his shoulders.

"Are you all right?"

Looking up into concerned aqua eyes, Paul nodded.  "Thanks for catching me."

"You're welcome."

Steadying himself, Paul turned his attention to the gold-furred rabbit that had startled him.  He was tall, maybe even taller than Golden, with silver eyes, a torn right ear, and a deep scar cutting across his right eye.  He would have been an intimidating figure if he hadn't been doubled over in laughter.  From behind the human, Golden was giving the rabbit a dark glare that had Spring laughing even harder.

As the rabbit's laughter died down, Golden sighed and shifted to Paul's side.  "Paul, believe it or not, the laughing jackass here is a detective with the Luonto Police and our head of Security."

Straightening up and giving the human a normal smile, the tall rabbit extended a hand. "Spring Lapin."

Smiling back, the red-head shook the offered hand, "Paul Cawthon."

"Oh I know who you are," the rabbit smirked, noticing that Golden still hadn't taken his arm away from the human's shoulders.

Completely oblivious, Paul laughed.  "Considering your position, I suppose you would."

"That and Golden and I have been best friends since we were kids."

Remembering something Asagi mentioned during the group outing, Paul gave the tall rabbit a curious look, "You're Asagi and Bonnie's older brother aren't you?"  The blue rabbit had been disappointed his eldest brother would miss the chance to hang out that day and properly meet Paul, but knew his job as a detective was important.

Spring nodded, "and if you're calling them by name, then you can do the same with me."

Brown eyes twinkling, the red-head grinned, "I'll do that Spring, as long as you call me Paul."

"It's a deal."

Glancing at this watch, Paul blanched at the time displayed.  "I'm sorry! I've got to get going, I'm supposed to meet Kima in his office in about 3 minutes."  With an apologetic smile, the human gave both Tierans a cheerful wave and walked off at a brisk pace.

"He didn't eat lunch," Spring commented once Paul was out of sight.

"I know."  Golden sighed and pinched the bridge of his muzzle, "and he never eats enough when he does.  The doctor said he's too thin for a human."

"Got a plan?"

"Not much of one.  We're not courting, so I'm a bit limited in my meddling.  I've got Kima and Kingen helping me trick him into eating proper dinners."

"Let me guess, she keeps bringing new dishes for him to try?"

"You got it," the bear smirked, "and since he's only been here nine days, he has no idea that most of the "new" dishes she's bringing are ones from the old menus."

"And Asagi tries to make him eat lunch," the rabbit chuckled at the memory of watching his youngest sibling pounce on and drag the human to the break room.

"When he can catch him," Golden amended with a somewhat exasperated smile.  His human was constantly on the move, always finding something he could do, it made keeping out of sight while following him quite the challenge.

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Silently from behind his mask of professionalism, Asagi groaned the minute Eis Bär spotted Paul, why couldn't this have happened two weeks ago?!  The old arctic bear was always trouble when he stayed here and had the worst timing.  He also had a distinct disliking of aliens, but since he'd demanded to see the General Manager....

"Who are you and where is Mr. Wolfe?!"

The human didn't even bat an eye, "I'm Paul Cawthon, the acting General Manager, Mr. Wolfe is retiring, sir."

"Ah, so you're merely temporary."  He gave Paul a condescending sneer, "An alien, much less a weak and pathetic human like you, could never hope to manage a hotel of such prestige."

"Be that as it may, I am the only General Manager available."

"Hmph."  The bear snorted and standing up to his full height, looked down his nose at the slim-framed human, "Very well, one of your maids has cost me a rare and expensive bottle of liquor and I insist she be brought to task!"

With a quick search on his tablet, Paul sent an emergency page to the head of housekeeping.  He would need her to confirm the details.  Having already heard about the incident from the maid herself, the graying badger had already been on her way to speak with Paul about it when she got his page so it only took moments for her to arrive.

"Yes, Mitzi (2) was cleaning Mr Bär's room.  She knocked over a liquor bottle and picked it up almost immediately.  Unfortunately, when Mr. Bär shouted at her, she was startled so badly that she dropped the bottle and it fell to the ground and shattered."

"Unfortunate!!!" the bear roared.  "That bottle cost more than that girl makes in a year!  Bring her here and deal with her immediately!"

Checking security's pictures of the ruined bottle and confirming the cost and condition of the bottle before and after its' destruction, Paul pulled up the appropriate refund and handed his tablet to Asagi so the rabbit could begin processing it.

"Mr. Bär, on behalf of the hotel I am sorry about this incident and of course we will be compensating you for your loss-"

"And what of that incompetent girl?!  I want her brought to task NOW!!" he bellowed, bending down to get right in Paul's face.

"I do not chastise in employees in front of other staff or guests, nor do I allow anyone else to do so," he replied, never breaking eye contact with the massive Tieran.



Observing the situation from where they could not be seen, Rolfe knew the smitten cub standing next to him would react the moment Bär got in Paul's face.  "Do not interfere unless it is absolutely necessary!" the old wolf hissed as he grabbed Golden's shoulder just as he started to move.  "You cannot let your desire to protect him override your common sense, this is as much a part of the job as anything else!"

With a quiet snarl of protest, Golden conceded to the elder Tieran.  Rolfe was absolutely right.  Dealing with belligerent customers came with the job...it was also why they had an excellent security team already on hand to assist should things get out of control.  But if that old bastard laid a finger on his human....



Out of the corner of his eye, Bär spotted the security staff closing in and stood back up, noting with distaste that the human was not looking away.  "A soft-hearted alien like you will never last here," he sneered, "Mr. Wolfe would have brought her to task here and now."

Squaring his shoulders and setting his feet, Paul continued to stare the Tieran in the eyes, "I do not chastise employees in front of other staff or guests," he repeated.  He didn't believe the bear for a second, but he wasn't going to argue with someone who already hated him.

"Fine," Bär snarled, snatching up his refund while glaring down at the slender-framed human.  "I look forward to seeing a Tieran in your place next time I'm here."

Asagi and Paul both sighed in relief once Bär had left the building, security discretely following him the entire way.

"Man that old bear is something else!" the rabbit exclaimed, thumping the red-head's shoulder.

"Y-yeah."

"Paul?" Green eyes widened in concern as Asagi noticed the state his friend was in.  Paul was gripping the front desk in a failed attempt to stop the faint trembling of his body that was only getting worse.

"I think you should sit down for a bit," the rabbit advised, taking hold of the human's shoulder.  "You're shaking like a leaf."

"O-oh, I'm ah, f-fine....r-r-really!" Paul protested, wincing as he stuttered.  This wasn't the first huge, belligerent, potentially violent, non-human customer he'd dealt with, but the relief and released tension once they'd left always left him shaky.

The blue rabbit frowned and was just about to forcibly drag the red-head to the employee lounge when Golden solved the problem for both of them.  Without saying a word, he scooped Paul up and carried him off through the nearest "employee-only" doors.  Paul was so shocked by the bear's action, he only managed a startled 'eep!' when he was picked up and didn't even protest being carried until they were halfway to the lounge.

Already in the room, the head of housekeeping and the maid heard the bickering duo long before they entered the room.  Both ladies hiding their smiles at the sight of the owner carrying their new General Manager.

Placing the now-sulking human on one of the couches, Golden poured him a glass of water and ordered him to drink.

"Are you all right sir?" the maid asked after the red-head had taken a deep swig of water.

Paul nodded, "I'm just a little shaky, Mitzi.  It happens sometimes after I have to deal with customers like that."  Taking note of Golden's concerned expression he added, "I know that sounds bad, but it's nothing to be worry about," he reassured the bear before returning his attention to the mouse.  "How are you feeling?"

She gave him a small smile, "Kinda like you sir, a bit shaky.  I really didn't mean to mess up so badly..."

He held up a hand, "We can talk about it later.  Right now, I think we both need to calm down first."

Golden sat down next to Paul, ruffling his hair and getting a mild glare for his efforts.  He didn't say anything, but both he and Rolfe were impressed by how the human had handled the aggressive arctic bear.

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Paul frowned as he looked over the documents in front of him; according to hotel policy when a refund is given due to a staff error, said staff receives a write up and in severe cases; a demotion.  'That seems too harsh,' he thought, thinking of how Bär had treated the girl.  However, he couldn't make his decision based on that alone.  Closing out the policy file, he pulled up the girl's employee record.  Up until now, Mitzi had maintained a spotless record going back to her hiring date.  She'd moved quickly from the cleaning teams to the independent crew and had done well ever since, receiving glowing compliments from guests on her work.

Setting his tablet down he reached over and dialed up the housekeeping office. "Mrs. Blaireau?  Could you come speak with me in my office?"

"I'll be right there."

A few minutes later the badger woman arrived and Paul welcomed her in with a smile, "Thank you for coming."

"It's no problem, sir.  What did you want to see me about?"

Paul gestured for her to take a seat, "Well, I've been going over the incident and I believe I've come to a decision as to what to do.  I just wanted to ask you a couple questions before I make my final choice."

Mrs. Blaireau nodded, "What would you like to know?"

"I've looked over Mitzi's reviews already, but I wanted to know what you thought of her and her overall work and work ethic?"

The old badger smiled, "Since she was hired, Mitzi has been a hard worker.  She's always excelled at her job and maintained a friendly, honest demeanor.  If I may be completely honest, she's my top candidate to train as a supervisor once I retire, should one of the current supervisors take my place."

Paul was only mildly surprised to hear this; Mitzi's employee reviews all indicated she was potential management material.  Pleased with his decision, he decided to ask one more question before he told Mrs. Blaireau what Mitzi's discipline would be.

The Tieran frowned when she saw Paul's expression grow concerned, "Mrs. Blaireau, I noticed Mitzi has been demoted to cleaning teams.  Is there another reason for this?"

The badger's face brightened, "Oh it's not a demotion sir."

"Really?"

She nodded, "Yes, poor Mitzi was so shaken by Mr. Bär's reaction that she's afraid to clean alone right now, but still wants to work.  Her supervisor and I asked if she'd be comfortable going back to team cleaning for a while and she agreed.  She'll make less in tips, but her hourly pay will stay the same."

Paul smiled, "I thought that might be the reason, but I wanted to be sure.  Now as to the final discipline..."

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When Mrs. Blaireau called her into her office, Mitzi was a mess of nerves.  She knew hotel policy regarding incidents like this and was dreading the results.  After all, the General Manager was new and with his own performance being rated, would likely follow policy to the letter.

"You wanted to see me, Mrs. Blaireau?"

"Have a seat dear," the badger offered, waving at one of the chairs in front of her desk.  Her stomach doing flips, the mouse did so just as her supervisor walked in and took the other chair.

"Sorry if I made you wait, one of the girls had a family emergency pop up."

The older Tieran gave a dismissive wave of her paw, "It's all right, you're right on time anyway.  Now, let's get to why I called you both here:  As you both know, when an incident results in a full refund, the General Manager has the final say in what disciplinary actions will be taken."  She gave the young maid a gentle smile, "Mitzi, Mr. Cawthon has decided that in light of the situation, a verbal discipline will be placed in your file and no further action will be taken.  He also has no problems with you returning to your position once you're ready for it."

"Thank you, ma'am!" the girl exclaimed, almost jumping for joy.

"No need to thank me, Mr. Cawthon is the one who made the decision.  Now go on back to work."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"That's something Rolfe would do," the supervisor commented once Mitzi had left.

"The boy's got a good head on his shoulders and a good heart," Mrs. Blaireau replied. "He wouldn't be here if Rolfe didn't think he'd be a good fit."

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As was his usual routine when he returned from a long trade run, Foxy Renard liked to prowl the halls of the hotel while his mate Chica worked.  It kept him out of her feathers and allowed him to catch up on the new faces amongst the staff as well as any other changes that may have occurred while he was gone.  However, this time he was in search of a very specific person and the bear that was following him.

Soon enough, he came across the thin-framed human conversing with one of the managers and after a brief scan of the area, found Golden lurking in the background.  Silently, he moved across the room towards the bear, being careful not to alert the human to his presence.

"There something interestin' about tha lad, I should know?"

"He's older than you," Golden grumbled, barely turning his head to acknowledge the fox.

"My mistake, but ya still havn' answered my question."

Turning away from his quarry, he scowled at his friend.  "You're not going to leave me alone until I give you an answer are you?"

Foxy grinned, "Nope."

The bear sighed in frustration, "Fine. I like him all right?"

Foxy chuckled as the older Tieran's attention drifted back to the young man.  Chica had been right about how bad Golden had it for the human.  "I guessed as much, see'n as ya been following him around since he got here."  He laughed when the bear started blushing through his fur, "Does he know why ya be followin' im?"

"Not according to most of the staff."

"Has he stopped jumpin' when he sees ya?" he asked, hoping to learn something new.

As if in answer, Paul finished talking with the manager and before leaving, gave the room a quick scan in case something else needed his attention.  Spotting Golden and Foxy, the red-head's tan cheeks lit in a blush as he met the bear's aqua eyes.

Golden smiled, admiring the human's backside as he beat a hasty retreat, "Does that answer your question?"

"Aye. That and then some," the fox chuckled again, Chica was going to be positively giddy with delight over this.

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Paul groaned in pained relief as Golden kneaded the knotted cords in his neck. The slender human had spent too long poring over files and had accidentally worked through lunch.   Again.  He'd been at it for so long in fact, that when Golden had popped into his office to interrupt him, his neck and shoulders had locked mid-greeting and he'd face planted on his desk with a hiss.  The bear had immediately jumped to his aid, gently working the stiff muscles until the red-head could sit-up again.

"You shouldn't do this to yourself," the bear gently admonished him.

A faint blush dusted his tan cheeks, "I know.  I just get carried away and lose track of time sometimes."

"Hmm," Golden leaned in close, his breath hot against Paul's ear.   "I'll just have to check on you more often then," he murmured, delighting in the human's embarrassed squeak of protest.  Continuing to work, he smiled when Paul finally relaxed, a content hum slipping from his lips unnoticed.  After a few more minutes, Golden slowed his movements and eventually stopped, allowing the human a chance to sit up. "How's it feel now?"

"About a thousand times better," Paul gushed, his tan cheeks a slightly darker shade of red than before. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome Paul," he smiled, aqua eyes twinkling at the human, "and you can repay me by joining me for lunch."

Paul laughed, "I don't see how that's repayment, but if that's what you want, I can certainly oblige you."

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"Still in-between cases?"

"Waiting on a couple of leads to come back, why?"

"I received this from an "anonymous" source," Golden said, handing Spring a stack of complaints from the hotel Paul had previously worked at."And these from a man claiming to be a former co-worker," this stack was filled with glowing compliments from former co-workers and customers.  He'd come straight from his office to Spring's the moment he'd finished printing out the contents of both messages.

Leafing through the sheaf of complaints, Spring raised an eyebrow, some of these were downright ridiculous.  "I'll check it out.  But from what I've seen of the guy, I'm willing to bet it's the negative ones that are phony."

Golden nodded, "That's what I believe too, but I want whoever is trying to sabotage my human stopped."

"Your human?"

Aqua eyes narrowed as the bear scowled, "Don't even start.  You know I handed the decision over to Rolfe and the senior staff, so I can be as biased as I want."

Spring laughed, "Of course I know."  His expression shifted from amused to concerned, "but it's only been two weeks since he got here and you're already verbally claiming him."

Golden sat down and stared up at the ceiling, "I can't explain it...I'm just...drawn to him."

Unseen by his friend, the rabbit frowned in thought.  He'd been watching Golden and Paul interact these last two weeks and while he could tell the other man was just as drawn to Golden as the bear was to him, Spring couldn't help but worry.  "You know, I did some research..."

Golden snapped from his daze to face his friend, "I thought you already did a background check."

"Of course I did and stop glaring at me.  I didn't research Paul, I was researching humans."  When he was sure his friend was listening he continued, "You know how rare they are and how they almost never work away from their own colonies...."

"Now- I'm not saying this applies to Paul, but humans in general are nervous and fearful around other species when they aren't in their comfort zone.  Sure some of them hide it behind false bravado, but it's still there."

The bear shook his head, "Either Paul is different or he's already comfortable here with us.  I've only seen him fearful once and that was after having Eis snarl in his face."

Well-acquainted with the belligerent arctic bear Spring nodded, most Tierans were fearful when on the receiving end of Eis' wrath so he'd been impressed watching the human dealing with him.  "But he is a bit skittish when faced with making close acquaintances."  Asagi had told him how tense Paul had been at the beginning of their weekly outing.

"What are you saying?"

"Just keep going slow with him until you're courting," he warned, "You don't want to scare him off before you even ask him."

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Asagi and Chica snickered as they made their way from Paul's dorm to Freddy's apartment.  The moment he'd stepped out the door, their mates had each latched onto one of the human's arms and after introducing themselves, began regaling him with wild tales of their travels.  They'd been ready to rescue the easily flustered human, but found he was so fascinated by the foxes' stories that he had already gotten comfortable in their presence.

Upon reaching the apartment, Paul didn't get much of a chance to look around before Golden had approached and immediately distracted him from any other thoughts.  Not that Paul minded of course. Despite the strange butterflies fluttering in his stomach everytime he was around the bear and his frequent blushing problem, he really enjoyed spending time with the gold Tieran.

"So Paul, ye any good at card games?" Foxy asked, slapping the human on the back and ignoring the mild glare he got from Golden for it.

"Good enough, I suppose."

"Well then, you're in fer a treat."

After a few rounds of poker; in which Asagi lost miserably, Paul broke even, and Kima cleaned house, Chica suggested a different sort of game.  As she explained the rules, the human realized it was the same game he had grown up calling Pictionary.

"Now, we've finally got an even number of couples so that just leaves our three single men to divide up," she said, ushering Golden and Paul to her and Foxy's side while Kingen, Asagi, Mangle, and Kima moved to the other. "So, this time Freddy and Bonnie will be on my team and Spring will be on Kingen's."

As the friends got settled onto their sides of the living room, Paul slowly began to realize that Chica had included him and Golden amongst the couples. Before he had a chance to let it fully sink in and could properly freak out, Golden draped his an arm across his shoulders, disrupting his thoughts entirely.

"Ready to taste defeat again, Spring?" the bear sneered at the gold rabbit.

"We'll see who loses first this time," he replied, giving his friend a taunting smirk.

A couple hours later, after staying neck-in-neck the entire time, the group had agreed on one last game to decide the winner....


"We did it!" Paul cheered, jumping up and hugging Golden in his excitement.   Delighted, the bear returned the hug, unable to stop the happy growl at having his human so close.

It wasn't until he settled down a bit that Paul realized he had just glomped his boss and releasing the bear, blushed clear to the roots of his hair.  Before he could stammer out an apology, Golden ruffled his hair as a distraction, chuckling as the now-annoyed human tried to finger-comb the red locks back into some semblance of order.

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December 03, 2015

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1 - (Toy Freddy) Kima [Japanese] bear

2 - I've done it again!  *giggles*   Well, if you figured out Rolfe, then you know where Mitzi's from.