He hadn’t said a thing, so obviously, she wasn’t anyone special to him.
Was she sad about that?
No, not really.
Maybe.
She wasn’t sure.
Another sip, and she started to feel the depth of, well, Depth. Her shoulders relaxed more into the couch, and she pulled a leg underneath herself.
“A case of bad spirits,” Adryel began, a memory creeping up. “A few years ago, back when I was at my prime–”
“Your prime of what?” he asked.
She smiled. “Creative borrowing.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”
“You want to hear this story or not?”
“Oh, I absolutely do.”
“Good. Because you’re gonna,” she replied. “Now, I was working as a waitress for some nefarious characters who did lots of bad things, and they employed people who could do more bad things. So there were bad people all around in this place. Like all the damn time.”
“And you worked there,” Stron asked, his face somber. And were those armor bones on his shoulders getting bigger?
She didn’t know. Maybe she was just seeing things.
“I did. I served drinks. And I watched everyone.”
“Was that part of your job? Watching?”
She shrugged. “Not intentionally, no. It started for employee gossip. Who was talking to who, who was sneaking around dating what waitress on the side, that kind of thing. Just became a habit as I got to know the regulars, and would see them flirting with staff and stuff.”
“Did they approach you as well?”
“Sometimes. I didn’t really get involved with that stuff there. I’d seen too many employees never show up again after a date with one of the family.”
“How did you manage to get out of it?”
“One of the staff managers accused me of stealing their bottles of cheap spirits. Guess a bunch had gone missing from the storage rooms, and they swore they had evidence of me going in there and coming out with them.”
Stron raised his eyebrow. “Did you steal it?”
“Of course not!” She replied. “If I was going to steal, I would take the expensive stuff. Why bother with the cheap stuff? Make it worth the trouble.”
He shook his head. “The logic follows, I suppose.”
“Right? I told the staff manager that, too. I wouldn’t bother stealing the cheap stuff, that I could get anywhere. I’d take the top end stuff.”
“Did they find the thief?”
“Don’t know. They fired me.”
“Why?”
“Because I stole the good stuff and put it in the cheap bottles, and took the cheap bottles home.” She started laughing, and so did he.
