“It’s not very often we receive applications from omegas willing to work bartending jobs,” Clarissa said. “I couldn’tnotcallyou.”
“It’s not very often that employers actively seek out omega candidates.” Lucian’s lips drew in at the corners. During his rehabilitation at Stonecrest, he’d been warned about employment offers from businesses who seemed a little too interested in omega candidates. The White Lotus wasn’t the only underground sex ring inthecity.
“It depends on the omega,” Clarissa said. Beneath the floral notes of her perfume, Lucian thought he smelled omega on her, too. The thought put him more at ease, but didn’t totally rid him of his fears. “That’s why I called you in to interview. The Shepherd doesn’t hire new staff carelessly. I’m eager to get to know a little more about you. Would you like to come up to the bar and sit down for a drinkwithme?”
“Something non-alcoholic,” Lucian insisted. Counselor Ellis was coaching him from the back of his mind, warning him to limit his risks. Lucian would not let his inhibitions down. “Preferably something inacan?”
“Thank god. You passed test number one with flying colors.” Clarissa winked and nodded toward the stairs. “Bartending doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, but the clientele we serve is… well. Let’s get you upstairs and have a chat. I have a feeling you might have exactly what it takes toworkhere.”
Without waiting for a response, Clarissa turned and made her way back up the stairs. As she climbed, Lucian watched, mystified. Were all job interviews like this? He’d assumed they’d be stuffy and maybe a little trivial, but Clarissa was chatting with him like he was an old friend. Stonecrest hadn’t prepared himforthis.
“Coming?” she asked from the upperlanding.
“Coming,” Lucian said. He followed her up thestairs.
“The Shepherd is an interesting place to work,” Clarissa told him as he climbed the last few stairs. “Did youGoogleus?”
“Yes.” It was a lie. Enchanted by the thought of working a full-time job, Lucian hadn’t done much research—he’d been too focused on reviewing the interviewing techniques Counselor Ellis had taught him to thinkofit.
“Good. Then you know what you’reinfor.”
Lucian reached the upper landing. The second floor matched much more closely to what Lucian thought a bar would look like. Booths lined the wall immediately opposite the stairs, intimate in size and decadently furnished. There was a bar to his left, its back wall lined with shelves lit from the bottom by blue LED lights. The bottles on the shelves glowed, the light refracting through the glass in stunning,otherworldlyways.
The bar counter itself was sleek and polished. Tall stools lined up in equal increments in front of it, just as well-looked-after as everything else in the bar. Tables and chairs were set up between the bar and the booths on the back wall. The chairs were stacked on the tables,legsup.
Nothing about the bar was as strange as Clarissasuggested.
Everything except for the doors that lined the wall beyond thebararea.
Lucian let his eyes trace across them, trying to make sense of what he saw. Each door was marked with a gold-plated number, but as far as he could see, none of the doors had doorknobs. Every one of them was left ajar out of necessity—as far as Lucian could tell, there was nothing for them tolatchonto.
Beyond the strange open doors was a hallway. From where Lucian stood, he couldn’t tell how faritwent.
“If you follow the hallway all the way to the end, you’ll find the stairs to the third floor,” Clarissa explained. While Lucian stared, she’d ducked behind the bar and pulled a can of sparkling water from beneath the counter. She crossed her arms on the counter and arched a brow, leaning forward to look at him. There was no doubt that she’d seen him staring. “Is there anything in particular you’d like todrink?”
“I’ll have what you’re having,” Lucian said. He tore his eyes from the doors and devoted his attention to what mattered the most—theinterview.
Clarissa produced a second can, placing it next to the first. As she did, Lucian settled on one of the bar stools and familiarized himself with his surroundings. The bar area was large, but it wasn’t overwhelming. The bar was big enough that he figured several people could work it at once, and if that was the case, he saw no need to be anxious. There was safety in numbers. With a co-worker, he wouldn’t need to worry so much about taking care of belligerentcustomers.
“So.” Clarissa ducked out from behind the bar and sat next to him. “I think a good place to start this interview is to ask whyyou’rehere.”
“What?” Lucian snapped the tab on his can of sparkling water. The hiss of carbonation marked the beat between his sentences. “You invitedmehere.”
“You’re my first interview of the day to actually show up,” Clarissa admitted. She leaned on her elbow, cheek cupped in her hand, as she looked at Lucian thoughtfully. “Most people Google us and bail. So, what is it that made you think you can handle working in a placelikethis?”
The lie was coming back to bite him in the ass. Lucian resisted the urge to squirm. What the hell was so special about The Shepherd that it chased potentialemployeesaway?
“Well.” Lucian looked down at the rounded opening of his drink, reflecting on his answer. Counselor Ellis would have told him to sell his best attributes and turn the conversation around to focus on his strengths, but Lucian had a feeling that an interview at The Shepherd wasn’t like the kind of interviews Counselor Ellis was used to. “To be honest, I’ve been through a lot of shit, and at this point, I’m not really afraid of anythinganymore.”
Clarissa’s expression clouded. He couldn’t tell if she felt sorry for him, or if she was reacting to his replynegatively.
“I’ve seen a lot of things no one should have to see, and I’ve done things that no one should have to do,” Lucian continued. If he’d already stuck his foot in his mouth, there was no point in scrambling to make it seem like an accident. It was better to swallow his ankle in an attempt to own his mistake than to pretend it’d never happened. “When I was sixteen, I ended up getting involved with someone who I thought had my best interests at heart, but who was two-faced and money-hungry. It… changed me. I’m out of it now, but when something like that happens, it’s something that stays with you. I have some hang-ups, but nothing crippling. I’ve been the lowest I could ever be, and now that I’m on the outside and getting back on my feet, nothing scares meanymore.”
Clarissa lifted a brow and drank. When she set the can back down, she looked him in the eye. “So is this about reclaiming your identity? Making astatement?”
“It’s about living my life the way I want to live it,” Lucian replied. He spoke the truth. Right now, nothing else felt right. “I’m determined to makethiswork.”
Silence stretched between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Instead, Lucian’s confidence swelled. Whatever it was about The Shepherd that made normal omegas run, Lucian would conquer. He’d been through hell, but hell didn’t define him. His bones had been forged in its fires, and his body had been shaped by its staggering heats, but it hadn’t left its mark on his soul. He’d made it through and come out stronger than he’d ever beenbefore.
