Rose’s lip twitches. Taylor can tell that Rose is trying to make out what she thinks of her. Good luck with that; she’s not quite sure what to make of herself. It felt weird this morning to put on regular clothes instead of scrubs to go to work. Like she was donning a life suit that didn’t belong to her—at least,not yet.
Taylor starts unpacking the wine boxes. At least the wine cellar is not claustrophobic; it’s one of those modern ones, with glass doors, and it’s on the second floor, not in some basement. It could be worse.
She wonders what’s on the upper floors and if she’ll eventually get to see them.
At one point Liam the bartender wanders in. “There’s a lot you don’t know about here, Taylor,” he says, standing too close.Inspecting a bottle of Barolo, he whistles, but she sincerely doubts he is quite the wine connoisseur he’s pretending to be. The Knox must count dedicated sommeliers among its staff, right? “This place has all kinds of nooks and crannies…and secrets,” Liam continues. “There’s a hidden library behind a faux door…and maybe some important scrolls scattered throughout the building, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
When Taylor ignores him, he leaves. She supposes some might find him attractive, and who knows, maybe she would, too, if she were lonely enough. She decides that’s how she’ll know she’s hit rock bottom: if she starts pining for Liam.
Another time, Eduardo enters, carrying a plate of steaming chicken piccata and jasmine rice.
“I hope you’re not a vegetarian,” Eduardo says, holding out the plate. He’s a little taller than she is, probably five feet six inches, and wears his dark hair slicked down with gel, almost like a swim cap, over his olive scalp.
“Nope, definitely not. Thanks.” She takes a bite. “Wow, this is good.”
“Don’t be surprised. You’ll learn everything here at the Knox is top-notch. It’s why they don’t have you waiting tables yet. They don’t like mistakes. They don’t like to make mistakes. The members here are very important people. They watch you a bit, and when they think you’re ready, they’ll let you know. At least, that is what they did with Tara.”
“Tara?”
“Jerry’s sister. That is who you replaced.”
“Oh. What happened to her?”
“She quit.” He pauses, and adds, “It’s probably best if you don’t bring up Tara around Jerry…. He’s protective of her.”
Taylor shrugs. “Okay, fine by me. So when do you think they’ll deem me ‘ready’ to start waiting tables?”
“Could be next week, could be next month.”
“So I’ll just be doing stuff like this?” she asks, gesturing around.
“Yeah. It’s not bad, though, right? Good job, good pay? Health insurance from day one.”
“They haven’t told me the pay yet,” she admits. She’s relieved to hear she’ll have health insurance immediately. That should somewhat appease Aunt Gigi; Taylor’s already bracing for her aunt’s reaction when she finds out her niece has taken up waitressing over a return to nursing.
Eduardo gives a half smile. “You’ll be happy with it. But let me ask you, why would you accept a job if you don’t know the pay?”
“I, uh, I didn’t know the exact amount, but they gave me an idea.” She wonders if you can tell so many lies that they start to become your truth.
Eduardo nods thoughtfully. “Must be the week. It’s an off week, you see. The senior members are at the Mansion for their annual retreat.”
“The Mansion?”The retreat?she also wants to ask but doesn’t.
“It’s the country club for the Knox. It’s in Beverly, the north shore.”
“I didn’t realize there was another place.”
“They go every year before the initiation.” He sees her frown, and explains, “The initiation happens after the retreat. During the retreat, they decide the new members they are tapping.Ifthey are tapping new members. Some years there are no new members, and some years, there are many.”
“When is the initiation?”
“It will be soon after they return. Might even be the following week. They will tell us.”
“Is that here, or at the Mansion?”
“At the Knox, always.” He pauses, and adds, “It’s an interesting time to start work here. There’s a lot to learn. I have been here for many years and am still learning. There’s also…a new person in charge. Best advice I can give you is keep your— What is the saying? Keep your face down?”
“Keep your nose down?”
