Riley's gaze flickered from the manager to the young lady who had come with her. The two were engaged in a heated argument and completely ignored her. It seemed to be about something that had happened in the past.
Riley was glad she wasn't involved. Maybe she could slip away while they were busy tearing into each other.
"And you," the man snapped, suddenly turning his gaze to Riley. "Incompetence on your first day of work? I'm disappointed."
Riley felt a flash of irritation. She was about to defend herself when the lady beat her to it.
"Don't go there, manager. She's with me," the lady interrupted.
"Thank you, sweet, but I'll answer this myself," Riley said.
She turned back to the manager.
"I came to work and wasn't directed on what to do, where to start, or how the job is done. Is that how things run here?"
"How dare you question me?" the manager shot back.
"I'm quite sure you're not the owner of this place," Riley replied calmly. "And I'm also quite sure you don't want to lose your job. So it might help to have a better attitude… or else."
She gave him a look that clearly said you're out.
"I've been told before that I have a running mouth."
"Indeed," the manager scoffed. "Birds of the same feather flock together. The both of you have the same bad character, threatening your boss…"
"I'll make sure your mother knows about this, Skylar," he said to the lady. "And you, I've got my eyes on you," he added, pointing at Riley.
"Both of you are excused. Now go out there and be useful, or be fired."
Riley and the lady quietly left his office after his outburst.
"Hey," the lady tapped Riley as she was about to walk away. "It was nice to see someone stand up to the manager for once. I guess I was wrong about you. I'm Skylar, by the way. Skylar Rowan. And I can assure you that knowing me is one of the biggest advantages you have here."
"You brag a lot. I'm Riley Knox. I wouldn't say it was nice to meet you."
"I don't really nail first impressions," Skylar said, half-smiling. It made Riley wonder how pretty she'd look if she smiled fully. "Allow me to show you how the job is done."
"Be my guest."
---
It was closing time for Nathaniel and his assistant. They closed two hours later than the other staff.
"I had a lovely day working with you, boss. Can't wait for tomorrow," his assistant waved as he was about to enter his car.
Nathaniel gave him a look that silently asked, Are you okay?, then entered his own car.
This one had been hired two months ago and always found one ridiculous thing or another to say when they were about to go home. At least he did his job well. That's how they all started. Acting like they loved the job, until it stressed them down to their bone marrow. Then their real character and intentions would come out.
It was after these thoughts that Nathaniel noticed the car hadn't started moving.
He forgot he needed to give the order to his driver.
"Drive," he said.
One word, and the man in front started the car.
They hadn't gone halfway when Nathaniel received a text.
Meet me at the bar beside The Verdant Plate.
That was Darryl's favourite spot. Unfortunately, it wasn't his.
"Turn around. Drive to De Cisasco Bar."
---
Although Riley was a bit sweaty by closing time, she was happy. Her co-workers were very nice and helped her in every way they could. This was something she had never experienced back in the police force. It felt good to be accepted for once.
Even the manager didn't hold a grudge over her outburst that morning. He let them carry the leftovers home.
"Good night, everyone. See you tomorrow," Riley waved as she made her way out of the restaurant.
"Riley, wait."
She turned. Skylar was walking toward her.
"Where are you going? The bar is that way," Skylar said, pointing to the side of the restaurant.
"I'm going home. And what bar?" Riley asked.
Skylar pulled her along, shaking her head. "You've still got a lot to learn."
"This is De Cisasco Bar."
"Your mother owns a bar too?"
"No. This bar is owned by a man, but we use it to make extra pocket money."
Riley gave her a puzzled look.
"Let me show you," Skylar said, leading her inside.
"When it's evening like this, influential and well-to-do people troop in. Here, people don't just drink. They play games, watch performances, dance battles, and eat roasted meat. The staff are many at night, and not all of them recognise each other. So we sneak in and pretend to be staff. When we serve, we get huge tips."
"What are we serving?"
"Food and drinks."
"How huge is huge?"
"Look over there."
Skylar pointed to one of their colleagues serving drinks. After serving, a $50 tip was dropped on the table.
Skylar turned to an astonished Riley.
"It's just serving drinks, right?"
Skylar nodded.
"Is this legal?" Riley asked.
"We're not stealing anything, are we? We're even helping them serve hungry customers. It's a win-win."
"How do I start?"
"I'll show you. But first, you must obey three rules.
One, never refuse a drink when a customer invites you. If they try anything, scream.
Two, don't cause a scene. If they don't want to tip, don't force them.
Three, don't stare at any customer for more than three seconds. No one should memorise your face."
"I don't really get number one, but hey, what are the odds?"
"You'd be shocked to know," Skylar murmured. "Come along."
---
Nathaniel met Darryl in a half-drunk state.
"It took me five minutes to get here and you're already drunk," Nathaniel mocked as he sat beside him.
The men seated with Darryl stood up immediately when they saw Nathaniel approach. He recognised one of them. A man who had once tried to harass a waitress here. Nathaniel remembered punching him until his face swelled.
So-called men who couldn't control themselves in public.
"I'm not drunk," Darryl slurred.
"Should I call a waiter?" he asked.
"I'm not hungry," Nathaniel replied. After a brief silence, he continued, "Why did you call me here?"
"I know you're bothered about a lot of things. I brought you here to help you relax. Your home isn't a good place for that."
Darryl called a waitress. Nathaniel already saw through his plan. All he had to do was get Darryl drunk enough to talk.
After Darryl placed the order, the waitress walked away. Nathaniel kept his eyes on her. Not for any wrong reasons. He didn't want his drink drugged. Females were… very unique creatures.
"Have you contacted your grandfather?" Darryl asked.
"I visited him a week ago. Contacting him so soon would be suspicious."
The waitress returned with their drinks.
She handed one to Darryl, then hesitated with Nathaniel's. He had to pull it from her hand.
Nathaniel took a slow sip. Darryl drank in gulps.
Nathaniel smiled faintly and waited.
"My fiancée thinks you're gay," Darryl blurted. "She doesn't want you around me anymore. Thinks you'll convert me."
"Hm."
"She also doesn't want me going to bars alone. That's why I brought you."
And just like that, the truth came out.
"Nathaniel, you're not gay. I tried telling her. She hates gays. Dude, get a fake girlfriend. Stop being introverted. Even the media thinks you're gay."
"Really?" Nathaniel didn't care. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't abandon his drunk friend.
"Think of Melanie."
Nathaniel paused his drinking.
"She needs a mother."
"Don't involve Melanie in this," He snapped, "How's the maid hunt going?"
"No one's applied. Your daughter is crazy."
"She really took after her father," Darryl muttered.
"That's it. Get up. We're leaving."
"But I wanted to play poker—"
Nathaniel dragged a whining Darryl to the car, shoved him in, and buckled his seatbelt.
"I'll drive you back."
"Sir," the waitress rushed over with a card machine.
He had forgotten to pay.
He handed her his card. She kept staring. Not at his face. At his lips.
"Could you be less perverted?" he asked.
She blushed instead of responding and ran his card through the machine.
As if that episode wasn't strange enough, he spotted her again at a red traffic light.
The mistake he made was staring.
Maybe she felt his gaze, because she turned and locked eyes with him.
She held the look for a few seconds, then waved and blew him a kiss.
Nathaniel's brain stopped functioning as he tried to reason what that meant.
He even forgot to drive when the light turned green.