The man behind the bar turned and nodded toward the steps. “She’s upstairs in the VIP lounge. You can go on up.”
“Thanks.” VIP lounge—fancy. The bar she’d worked at back in Frenchville definitely didn’t have one of those. She made her way up the stairs and again took a deep breath to calm herself.You’ve got this, girl. Just be yourself,she silently coached herself before she approached the two women she found up there. “Excuse me, are one of you Emelise? I was told I could find her up here.”
The two women by the bar turned at her voice. “I’m Emelise,” Eme said and moved around from behind the bar. “What can I do for you?”
Kylie blinked when the dark-haired woman introduced herself. She was obviously pregnant and, judging by the weariness in Emelise’s eyes, it was starting to take it’s toll on her. “My name’s Kylie Bishop. I saw your ad in the paper, for the Drink Mixologist—awesome name for the position, by the way—and was wondering if it was still open.”
“Thanks, I thought it was pretty awesome too,” Emelise replied. As soon as she got close enough to catch the other woman’s scent, Emelise arched a brow. “It is still open, yes. Let’s have a seat, Kylie,” she said and motioned to one of the tables. “Can I get you something to drink? Some water, maybe?”
Kylie sat and folded her hands in her lap. “Water would be great, thank you.”
Emelise grabbed three bottles of water and handed one to the other woman before she motioned for her to join her and Kylie at the table. “This is my best friend, Lily—she’s going to sit in on the interview, if you’re okay with that.”
“Um, sure,” Kylie replied. Her nostrils flared and she blinked. The other woman was a wolf and she almost said something but stopped herself.
“So, what brings you to New Orleans, Kylie?” Emelise asked once they were all seated. “Did you know when you moved here that New Orleans was Pard territory?”
Kylie tensed a little. “I just decided I needed a new start in my life and this is where I ended up,” she hedged. “No, I had no idea there was a Pard in New Orleans.” She frowned at the look Emelise and Lily shared but again, she said nothing about it.
Emelise nodded at her. “Okay. What kind of experience do you have that you can bring to the job?”
“I worked as a bartender, back home, for three years. We didn’t have a VIP lounge but I made all sorts of drinks. It wasn’t just beer and whiskey.”
“Do you have any references I can check with?”
“No, I don’t. Name a drink, any drink, and I’ll make it. I swear I know what I’m doing, but I can’t…I can’t supply any references.”
“Who are you running from?” Lily asked softly.
Kylie jerked at the question. “What? How did…how did you know?”
“Been there, done that, bought the fucking T-shirt,” Lily replied. “Me, it was my father, because he was trying to force a pair bond I didn’t want.”
“As long as you’re not running from the cops, you don’t have to worry,” Emelise interjected. “You don’t have to go into detail with me, but when you meet with Caine, the Pard’s Alpha and my mate, you will have to give himsomething. His first priority is the safety of the Pard, so if whatever you’re running from will put the Pard in danger, he needs to know about it.”
“I’m not. It won’t. It’s nothing like that,” Kylie insisted.
“Okay, let me tell you a little about the position then. You’ll be working up here, in the VIP lounge. We’ve been open a month so far and we’ve already had one celebrity, with his entourage, come through, a couple of big names in sports, and even a politician’s kid. You have to be able to serve whoever comes up here in a professional manner. That means no fan-girling and asking for autographs.”
“I would never embarrass myself, or this club, by being unprofessional.”
“Well then, show me what you can do,” Emelise said. “Surprise me. I want you to make four different mixed drinks for us to sample.”
“On it,” Kylie said before she hopped up and went around behind the bar to see what she had to work with. The first drink she made was a Basilico. It contained one-and-a-half ounces of Citron Vodka, half an ounce of peach liqueur, one-fourth ounces each of apple liqueur, simple syrup, and lime juice, five basil leaves, and a single strawberry for garnish. The second was a Red Velvet Shortcake made with one-and-a-half ounces of Red Velvet Zing Vodka, two ounces of cream soda, a splash of lemon juice, and two strawberries muddled into the drink with a third as a garnish. The third drink was a Whiskey Smash made with two ounces of Dewar’s White Label Blended Scotch Whiskey, one teaspoon of sugar, two wedges of lemon, and three mint sprigs. The final drink was a Gold Rush, made with two ounces of Buffalo Trace Bourbon, one ounce of honey syrup, and three-fourths of an ounce of lemon juice. She placed all four drinks on a tray and added two empty glasses for them to sample the drinks from, then carried the tray to the table.
Emelise
Emelise watched her as she whipped four very different drinks up. She’d half expected Kylie to go with something basic, like a Whiskey Sour, but no, she went all out to prove her skills. She watched her put on a bit of a show with each bottle. Eme was already impressed.
“Damn, she’s good,” Lily whispered to Emelise as they waited for Kylie to finish.
“I was just thinking the same thing.”
“If those drinks taste as good as they look, I think you’ve found your new Drink Mixologist.”
“Me too.” Eme grinned. “Go ahead, say it.”
Lily snickered. “Told you so,” she said and laughed when Emelise stuck her tongue out at her. “These look really good; what are they?” she asked once Kylie set the tray in front of them.
