“We vote with a two-thirds majority,” Eliza explained unnecessarily. “So his vote doesn’t really count anyway. Unless there’s a tiebreaker.”
A tiebreaker was what I was looking for. Eliza already seemed on board with the raise. And I’d known she would be because we were good friends. Will was the one hyper fixated on the budget and expenses and ROIs.
I just had to hope what I’d done here so far was a good return on their investment.
“Well, thanks for chatting with me,” I told them. I wished I would have done this at the end of my shift because now I had to keep bumping into them for the next several hours. But both of them rarely stuck around till close these days.
Which they had me to thank for.
And of course, Charlie, who was finally being taken seriously. At least in small doses.
I escaped to the dining room, dodging curious looks from Case and Joey and the mystery of the closed door, and found Charlie putting his stuff down behind the bar. He must have just arrived.
I felt light, effervescent even. Like a shaken-up bottle of champagne. I hurried behind the bar and grabbed his bicep. “I did it!” I whisper-shouted. “Oh my God, I really did it.”
He turned to face me with an amused smile and quirked eyebrow. “Don’t tell me,” he ordered firmly. “I’m sensing a lot of excitement and a real smile... which is rare for you.” He pointed a finger at me with an expression on his face that said not to bother arguing with him. “It must mean... you got Taylor Swift tickets.”
I shook my head. “There would be confetti cannons if I could afford seeing her royal majesty. No.”
“Um... you hit a mil on TikTok?”
“Sorry, no social media for this girl. I’m an individual.”
“Being off the grid does not make you an individual,” he argued smugly.
“Fine, I’m not cool with AI algorithms following my every eye movement, finger swipe, and shopping habit.”
“Fair.” He sighed thoughtfully. “But have you ever considered Only Fans?” I pinched his nipple. Because honestly. “Ow!” He pulled back but didn’t go far. “Oh. I know, you finally decided to join me in my quest to cut out all sugar and processed foods.”
“First of all, I have yet to see you cut out any sugar or processed foods—”
“Real change doesn’t happen overnight, Ada,” he said with mock offense. “Maybe if I had an accountability partner...”
“I talked to your brother,” I said, leaning closer, “about the raise.”
His smile turned... it would be weird to say proud. I was essentially asking him for more money too. And who liked giving away money?
Not me.
Something fluttered in my belly. Low and warm and probably indigestion.
“Did you now?” he said in a slow, thoughtful kind of way. “And what did he say?”
I shrugged. “That he’d have to run numbers.” I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling too big. “I told him to talk to you.”
“Oh?” He quirked an eyebrow. “You think you got an inside guy?”
The fizzy, bubbly feeling collided with the warm, fluttering feeling and moved upward toward my heart. I cleared my throat and hoped this was all acid reflux.
“No, I just...” I cleared my throat again. “I just think they should include you. It’s an important decision. So. Yeah. All three of you should be involved.”
He leaned back against the bar, resting on his elbows. “What if I tell them it’s a terrible idea?”
“You wouldn’t.” I punched him in the bicep just to be sure. “You wouldn’t.”
“Ow!” He rubbed his arm. “You’re so violent.”
I rolled my eyes.
