Damien

     When your dad is the boss, things are a bit different for you. Like you don't have to work nearly as hard to get into a position of power over people. Your dad says you are, therefore you are. Also, you can get paid what you ought to, immediately, not when someone else says so, but right away.

     But that's his right. It's his business. Damien thought it was only right for the business to benefit the family. And if there were grumblings, which he knew there were, hey, they could get another job somewhere else. No one was holding them hostage. Damien had a right to a piece of his father's business, more so than the Mexicans working for him did. They probably didn't have any real right to be working in America in the first place.

     But then, it wasn't as if even Santos was perfect, despite how he presented himself. He had gotten lazy with age; he could leave on a lunch break and come back two hours later as if nothing happened. If you looked at the punch cards, someone, probably Rafael, had punched him back in right at the 30-minute mark. Daniel had never caught him red-handed, but just knowing that opened up a window to him. There was probably a million other things he was doing he ought not to be.

     And then there was Rafael. My God. That guy was a mess. Daniel's friend who worked at Whole Foods was working on a way higher level than that guy, and his friend made some $12 an hour, while Rafael made $15! Daniel wanted to tell his dad, tell him how he was being taken advantage of, but he knew what his dad would say.

     Santos has been with me for a long time. Rafael has been with me for a long time. And if Daniel said anything more, his father would get angry, and go outside and smoke his cigarettes to show his anger at being confronted over anything having to do with the running of his business.

     But hey, even Daniel could admit he didn't want to run the store full time anytime soon. No, he wanted to go to a four-year college and play soccer collegiately. Join a fraternity and maybe get an MBA after school. He wanted to go to a school like Arizona. Get a good degree but also have a good time doing it. He wasn't into birkenstocked women and poetry circles.

     And yeah, Daniel did think of his dad as being a little bit of a simpleton. A guy that needed someone to tell him what to do. The reality was, he'd done well for himself. Daniel had everything he ever wanted. Maybe his dad knew what he was doing, and Daniel should just leave well enough alone.