[Gift] Business Meeting

The bar was relatively silent, in comparison to how it usually was, at least. Stephen thought he might finally have a chance to breathe and have a nice drink, or maybe a few drinks. Work had been stressful as of late, with the upcoming changing of the seasons, folks were hiding away Mint Tuelips and Gold Fashions en masse, and bothering him about what the price of them would be in the next few months. It always sucked when buns came to him about something that was another department's job. And yet he couldn't just say that they needed to talk to someone else, there were rules regarding customer service that he had to follow, if not for his job's sake, than for his own sake. 

 

He tried not to think about it any more than that, taking a swig of the shot glass in front of him and holding the empty glass in front of him. Hops said she had to go do something, no doubt probably serving Angora's table again. For a moment, Stephen looked at the taps behind the bar. He did... technically work there. If he put on his uniform and got another glass for himself, it probably wouldn't be too big of a deal... at least as long as Angora didn't see him. He was about to stand up, maybe consider going through with that dumb idea, when two sets of hoofsteps entered the bar. It didn't take too long to hear that they were headed straight for him. He froze. It might be Hops coming back, or maybe it was just another customer? Oh shit, what if it was Angora?

 

"Well, if it isn't the pencil pushing pipsqueak. I knew I would find you boozing it up back here." A dark voice laughed. Oh no. Arguably, this was worse than Angora. Stephen froze, shaking slightly with his glass still in his hands. "Uh, good evening, Mister Montalban..." He got out, still shaking and refusing the look over his shoulder in either direction. He could tell that there was someone at either side, so he couldn't be sure which one was Trajan. "Oy, don't they tell you in your office to look at your superiors when you're takin' to them? Or are you getting cold feet because your usual boss doesn't toss your ass on the curb every other weekend for being a drunkard and a gambling addict?" Stephen gulped, looking over to his left. Instead of Trajan, another large man was standing there, staring down at him with red eyes framed by pieces of gold. "Heh, wrong side, pipsqueak. But while you're there, why don't you say hi to Mister Rook? He's workin' the casino too, though... it's not like you'll see a lot of him." 

 

Rook stared down at Stephen, silent and stoic in appearance. What was with Angora and hiring all these intimidating men?! He felt like he was going to collapse, but he knew he had to say hello, make a good impression... if there was eve a chance of that. "It's... Nice to meet you, Mister Rook. I'm Stephen... I do bar work here sometimes." Rook nodded. "And a few other things, I've heard. It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Mister Stephen." He was shocked that Rook was so... polite. He looked intimidating, sure, and the grip he had on his shoulder was anything but gentle, but maybe he wouldn't be so bad to see around. It was unfortunate that they might not cross paths that often in work, even more unfortunate was the fact that Stephen knew he'd be seeing much more of Trajan in comparison. 

 

"There, You're already becoming fast friends. Now enough with the pleasantries, turn your fucking head and look at me, boy." Trajan downright growled at him, and Stephen turned his head quickly, fueled by the fear he had in regards to the large pride bun. "You've got work to do, and I was told to make sure you do it before I go put Rook to work." Rook looked away and blushed lightly at that, grateful that Stephen was probably clueless to the context. "Okay, do I need to put on my uniform then?" Stephen started, moving to get up before seeing Trajan laugh again. "For now, yeah. But Boss is gonna be around here soon to come grab you. Said something about 'personal assistance.'" Stephen blushed heavily, knowing exactly what that meant. "But until then, get your uniform on and start handin' out drinks, or I'm gonna go for a new high score in how far I can throw you across the street." 

 

Stephen didn't need to be told twice, jolting up from the bar and walking off to go get changed. "And clean that glass while you're at it!" Trajan yelled after him. After a moment of silence, he turned back to Rook, who had calmed a little from the blushing. "That was... something, Trajan. You must really not like Stephen, huh?" Trajan shrugged. "Nah, it's nothing like that. I'm used to kicking him out as part of my bodyguard and bouncer job, but he's not all that bad. A fuckin' nerd and a ball of anxiety, maybe, but he does good work. He's just a coworker that gets kicked out on the sidewalk to show the business hierarchy here, you know? It's not any bad blood." Rook paused, and then shook his head.

 

"Trajan. I don't think that's how you interact with coworkers."