Immediately Riley got to her apartment, she took out the files and read through them. It was mostly boring stuff — how she had been converted to a CHIS and was no longer a civilian specialist until the job was over.
Then she took the file and clutched it to her chest, her head facing the ceiling as she lay on her back. Tomorrow was the start of a new job, no big deal.
What was actually bugging her was the EG. But like Mrs Miller had told her, the EG was just careful, not dangerous. And careful people could still be exposed.
When she had first been told about this "mission", she had questioned why she had been chosen among many others. There were even police officers who specialised in undercover work. She had easily shrugged it off, assuming it was because of her good performance, but really?
Why was she chosen for this job?
Was it because… no one had accepted it?
What had she gotten herself into?
Or was she just being paranoid?
She couldn't deny the fact that she was a bit excited about the job and couldn't wait for it to start. Her emotions were a mix of fear and anticipation.
Riley decided to check the website for the job application. They had already posted vacancy notices for different house-worker positions. Mrs Miller was right. They did change house-workers like clothes.
What she had to do now was work for a week and memorise the information on her new résumé.
Everything would be set by then.
---
Darryl walked into Nathaniel's office while he was drinking his morning coffee. Not really barged in. More like… strolled.
"I knew I'd find you here," Darryl said, heading for the coffee machine to make one for himself.
"Good morning, by the way. I received a call from your housekeeper saying you didn't return home. She said Melanie was worried."
"I'm sure Melanie knew where I was," Nathaniel finally spoke.
"Still, you should try calling her every day. At least to say goodnight."
Darryl took a sip of the coffee and immediately spat it out.
"This is terrible," he said.
"Just like your idea," Nathaniel replied, giving him a knowing look. "You know I can't afford to get attached."
Darryl wanted to say more but was busy searching for the sugar he had put in the coffee.
"Anyways," he continued, "I think I may have found out why the D.S. visited the company the other day."
---
Riley woke up at her usual time the next morning, went through her usual routine, and was about to step out the door when she remembered she was working somewhere different that day.
Today she would begin work at The Verdant Plate, an elite five-star restaurant.
Her job as a waitress required her to arrive at 9:00 a.m. At the police academy she usually arrived at 6:00 a.m., leaving her house very early before some of her neighbours even woke up.
Maybe that was why a woman in the building had once stopped her and asked if she actually lived there.
It wasn't surprising that most of her neighbours didn't even know she existed, except for the gateman.
She had always been the invisible one.
Riley walked into the restaurant looking completely lost. The man at the door noticed and approached her. She explained her situation, and he directed her to the staff-only entrance at the back after checking her staff ID.
It was completely empty when she got there.
There were aprons and polo shirts for staff. Riley grabbed a polo and an apron, pulled the polo over her shirt, and tied the apron around her waist.
She had just finished tying it when a lady walked in.
"Hey, you," the lady said, as if she had expected to see Riley there. "What are you doing? Grab a book and a pen and go collect some orders."
Following the command, Riley checked her bag for a notebook and pen.
"Shit, I think I forgot my pen at home," she muttered to herself.
She looked up to ask the lady for one — and that's when she noticed the lady was busy on her phone.
The funny part was that she was also a waitress.
Imagine someone telling her to go collect orders while doing nothing herself.
The lady finally looked up and noticed Riley still sitting in the same corner, playing with her fingers.
"Hello?" The lady snapped her fingers in Riley's direction. "I thought I told you something."
"You aren't my boss to tell me anything. I'm sure we're both the same age. Besides, you're a waitress too. And if you think I'm naïve enough to let you sit around while I do the work, then you're the one who's naïve."
Riley gave her comeback, picked up her phone, and began scrolling through it.
She hated being idle and unproductive. Maybe she should locate the manager's office and let the manager decide where she would start her waitressing.
The lady stared at Riley like she was speaking gibberish, shook her head, and went back to her phone.
The silence between the two ladies didn't last long.
A man burst in the next minute.
"What the hell!"
Riley glanced at him and noticed he wore the same uniform.
"Would you two get up? I can't believe we're all out there struggling to keep up with the customers' requests while both of you are here relaxing."
Riley turned to look at the lady who was still busy with her phone. She didn't even care about what the young man was saying.
"Am I not talking to human beings here?" the lad asked.
He turned to Riley. She returned his gaze.
"I'm busy," she replied coldly.
She wasn't about to let a fellow co-worker intimidate her.
"BUSY WITH WHAT?"
"You know, instead of interrogating us here, you could go back out and do your job instead of keeping customers waiting."
"I asked you a question," the lad gritted, trying to control his anger and frustration.
"I'm busy with…" Riley thought for a moment before responding.
"…customer care."
"I'm reporting you two to the manager," he spat and walked out.
Riley wanted to run after him and stop him. She didn't want to get into trouble on her first day of work. But the lady from earlier interrupted her thoughts with a laugh.
"Customer care," she repeated, still laughing. "That's a good one."
"Aren't you worried about what he said?"
"My mum's the owner of the restaurant. I can't get fired. You should get to work."
She finally dropped her phone and pulled a mirror out of her bag to check her appearance.
Riley's gaze was full of disbelief, but she understood what the lady meant.
She opened the door to head out, but someone on the other side beat her to it.
"The manager wants to see the both of you."
---
"So you think these devices might have been used by your grandfather for illegal activities? That's cringe."
"We're talking about my grandfather here. A D'Oro."
"No offence, but I don't trust that man."
"Me neither."