--[Tiana]--
With a steady breath, I pushed open the door and stepped inside the restaurant. After a long night and taking Ramon's advice to heart, I had made up my mind.
"Oh, hey T!"
I blinked as an excited voice greeted me, and I looked over at Meg, who was in the middle of opening for that night's dinner service, "You're back, does that mean you're taking the job offer? And is it alright that I call you T?"
After a second, I smiled warmly at Megan and let out a small chuckle, "Yes, you can call me T, and yes, I'm taking the job offer."
"Oh my god, that's great!" Megan cheered and clapped her hands excitedly, "You don't know how much Ramon will appreciate having you to help out in the kitchen. I'm surprised he hasn't collapsed yet from how hard he's working."
I couldn't help but nod in agreement, recalling the workload that had fallen on our shoulders yesterday, "I really don't know how he managed to feed three hundred people every night by himself."
Megan smiled broadly, and I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for lying. While Ramon was a great chef without a doubt, I knew that his nature as a spirit was involved, 'He might be conjuring the food or using some kind of hex to make it for him.'
I shook my head, avoiding the rabbit hole I had fallen into last night, trying to figure out what interest a spirit could have in opening and running a restaurant. After an hour, though, I realized that the situation was so illogical that short of confronting Ramon directly, I would likely never get an answer.
That being said, I was operating with a certain degree of blind faith, trusting that Ramon's intentions weren't hostile, which was difficult given the fickle nature of spirits. They didn't align themselves with human sensibilities or morality, meaning they wouldn't seek to actively harm or help, and would only do so if it served their purpose or nature.
So far, the only attributes Ramon had displayed were a drive to feed and nurture, which gave me some small hope that the chances of him harming me without provoking would be negligible.
"T, you there?"
I blinked as Megan gently nudged me out of my train of thought, and I quickly shot her a reassuring smile. "Sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment. Is Ramon in the kitchen?"
"Yep, pretty sure he's been waiting on you to show up," Megan answered with a sly wink before returning to her duties and leaving me to follow up with the man in charge.
Making my way to the back of the restaurant, I made it to the kitchen doors, which swung open, making me take a step back to avoid getting hit.
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there. I should have been more careful," The curly-headed ginger waitress quickly apologized with a timid smile and a heavy blush across her cheeks.
"You're fine, it wouldn't be the first time I would have caught a door to the face," I waved aside her apology while searching my memory for a name, "Though, if you wouldn't mind telling me your name, we could call it even."
The redhead perked up, visibly glad that I wouldn't hold the close call against her, "Oh, I'm Patty, it's nice to meet you. You're Tiana, the new chef, right?"
I nodded and stuck out my hand, "I will be once I talk to Ramon."
"Well, either way, welcome to the team!" Patty quickly reached out to shake my hand, but when our palms touched, I froze for a second as I felt a subtle current infusing Patty's skin. It was weak, barely noticeable, but the fact that it was there at all was enough to shock me.
Somehow, I managed to keep the surprise off my face and smile through the shock, "Thanks, I look forward to working with everyone here."
Patty shot me one final grin before letting me go and leaving to join Megan in setting up. But as she left, I couldn't help but stare at her back, while assuring myself that I hadn't imagined it.
The current infusing her body felt like a much weaker version of Ramon's aura, 'Did he put a curse or hex on her?'
It was the only possible explanation, but from our brief interaction, I couldn't find anything wrong with her behavior. It was then, after a brief second had passed, that I thought of the second possibility, 'Maybe not a hex but a Ward or his blessing? Is Ramon protecting her for something?'
Before I could turn the thought over more in my mind, the kitchen doors opened, and I felt his aura even before Ramon stepped into my line of sight; it was somehow stronger than I remembered it.
Our gazes met, and for a moment, I froze, wondering if he could read my mind or emotions and would act on my suspicion. Instead, he grinned charmingly at me, "I'm glad to see you're back. I was dreading having to do all the prep myself. Just having you around for a day already spoiled me."
I couldn't help but relax as Ramon's easy-going voice and welcoming attitude made it nearly impossible to think of him as some evil entity.
"Yes, I took your advice and thought about what my position here would entail, and I've come up with some terms of employment," I announced as I reached into my bag and held out a small stack of papers that Ramon took and started to riffle through.
"I'm willing to negotiate for my pay and benefits, but I-"
"Yeah, there's no need to negotiate," Ramon interrupted as he continued browsing, "Your pay is more than reasonable, and most of these things I was gonna offer you regardless of whether or not you asked for them."
Ramon set the papers down before holding out his hand, "Congratulations, Tiana, you're now officially hired."
I stared at his hand for a second before reaching out and shaking it, "Thank you for the opportunity, I promise you won't regret it."
--[Ramon]--
"I don't doubt that for a second. Now, let's get to work." I smiled and clapped my hands like a call to action, "All the vegetables need to be cleaned and prepped, that means potatoes, lettuce, and fennel."
Even before I could finish shouting out the task list, Tiana was already at work, rolling up her sleeves and throwing an apron over her head.
I moved to join her as well, though my attention was a bit split as I looked over the slew of notifications that had popped up the moment I shook Tiana's hand.
[You have hired Kitchen Staff: Tiana Rodgers]
[Kitchen Staff: Tiana Rodgers]
Wage: +$6000
Skillset [0/1 SP]: +5% cooking speed
With one handshake, I nearly doubled my monthly maintenance, but it had been shockingly low to begin with. 'In all honesty, I expect that to get 'patched' any day now.'
Still, I wasn't upset about it in the least. Tiana could have asked for ten thousand a month, and I would have gladly paid it. A flat five percent increase alone was a worthwhile investment, but it also looked like I could spend my own skill points on Tiana to level up her cooking skill.
'It's a shame I don't have any to spend at the moment; it would be good to find out how her bonuses scale with each level. Even a 1% increase will compound over time. If it's five percent, then I really was a fool for not hiring someone sooner...she might even get a quality bonus at some point down the line.'
For a moment, I was dismayed over a missed investment opportunity and how I could have optimized my profits had I known.
Though my regret lasted only a few seconds before I thought about all the money I would be making that night with Tiana's 5% boost to efficiency.
'That's roughly 114 tables every night, which should at least be a couple more thousand dollars in my pocket.' Like an old-timey cartoon, I heard a cash register go off in the back of my head as I joined Tinana in prepping.
--[Lois]--
"I'm headed to the bus, Mom!!"
"A-alright, Chris, have a nice day at school," I forced myself to respond, even though all I wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die.
Ever since I had gotten that positive test, I had relived every single moment that had led me into his arms and eventually his bed. And the worst part was that a part of me wouldn't have changed anything even knowing the consequences.
'I could still get rid of it; I haven't told anyone; everything could go back to normal.' I let out a distressed sigh and squeezed my eyes shut, 'No one has to know.'
"Lois."
I spun around and found Brian staring at me with an accusatory look in his eyes, "We need to talk."