“Thank you, on both counts.”
Claudia seemed pleased and hooked her hand around Bliss’s arm. “Let’s go meet the other waitresses.”
“Lead the way.”
They didn’t have to go far. One girl whose perky ponytail swished as she skipped over said, “Hi. I’m Wendy.” She didn’t look like she wanted to shake hands. Still, she seemed friendly enough.
“Hi ,Wendy. I’m Bliss.”
Claudia let go of Bliss’s arm and said, “Wendy, I’d like you to show Bliss how we do things here. Just let her shadow you. She’ll pick it up quickly, I’m sure. So when she says she’s ready to go it alone, let her. She can always ask you if she has any questions, right?”
Bliss wondered why Claudia was giving the girl so many explicit directions. Maybe she’s got one of those brains with a dimmer switch, but her perkiness covers it.
“Not a problem, Claudia. I’ll just drop off this order and be right back.”
“No hurry. I still need to introduce her to Robin.”
“Oh. Okay. I’ll see you later, Bliss.”
As soon as Wendy skipped off, Bliss lowered her voice and asked, “Claudia? Is she always that perky?”
“Yup, if not perkier.”
Bliss groaned.
Claudia led the way to the remaining waitress, who was wiping down a table.
“Robin, I’d like to introduce you to our newest employee. This is Bliss.”
“Huh? Yeah, I guess. I mean it’s always nice to have more staff, but bliss? That’s a little strong, isn’t it?”
Claudia chuckled. “Her name is Bliss.”
“Oh!” Robin slapped her own forehead and giggled. “Oops. Sorry.”
“No need to be,” Bliss said. “You’re not the first to make that mistake, and you won’t be the last.”
Robin giggled again, and Bliss got the distinct impression that she was even flakier than the other one. Stop it. Don’t be judgmental. You just met them. Bliss hoped she was wrong, but her initial impressions usually proved to be fairly accurate.
She felt eyes on her and turned to see a gray-haired woman in a booth, shuffling tarot cards and staring directly at her.
Claudia led her over to the woman. “Bliss, this is Sadie. She’s Anthony’s aunt. Her tarot readings are a big draw here, and her customers have to meet a one-drink or two-soft-drink minimum. In other words, she’s very good for business.” Claudia spoke behind her hand: “Don’t charge her or cut her off. Anthony lets her drink for free, and she’s more psychic when she’s had a few.”
Bliss thought she saw one side of Sadie’s mouth curl up in a sly smile. “If she’s psychic, why are you whispering? Won’t she know what you’re talking about anyway?”
Claudia snorted. “Leave it to you to think of that.”
At that moment, Wendy reappeared with a drink for Sadie. She set the cocktail in front of her and said, “There you go,” in her sprightly voice. Then she whirled to face Claudia. “Is Bliss ready to be my shadow?”
“Ask her.”
Bliss thought she saw Claudia smirk. What’s that about?
“Okay,” Wendy said, unfazed. “Are you ready, Bliss?”
Bliss pulled the order pad from her apron pocket. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
A couple hours later, out of the corner of her eye, Bliss caught Claudia exiting her office with someone else. She led him right over to where Bliss was wiping down a table.
“Bliss, this is Anthony,” Claudia said.
The tall, dark, and impossibly handsome man scrutinized her with such an intense stare, Bliss trembled inside.
Reverting to her old, flippant coping mechanism, she said, “Yo, Tony. How you doin’?”
His eyebrows shot up. Claudia gaped at her friend, and the activity near them ceased while people listened to the uncomfortable exchange.
“Um… Bliss,” Claudia whispered, “no one calls him Tony.”
“Oh.” She wanted to slink off into a safe corner and give herself a time-out.
At last one side of Anthony’s mouth turned up. “I’m ‘doin’’ well, thank you. And how you doin’?”
She didn’t miss the mimicry and probably deserved it. Still, the fact that he went along with her Italian-American slang made her feel better somehow. If he was comfortable teasing his employees a little bit, maybe he wasn’t the stick-in-the-mud Claudia had made him out to be.
After a deep breath, she said, “I’m quite well, thank you. And I want you to know how much I appreciate the job and apartment.”
He nodded but made no comment. Focusing on Claudia, he said, “Can I see you in the office, please?”
Oh, shit. Claudia’s probably in trouble with the owner for hiring me.
“Of course.” Claudia followed Anthony to the small office where Bliss had changed into her uniform. She glanced over her shoulder and sent Bliss a wink.
Whew. She doesn’t seem worried, so maybe she’s right and he just appears intimidating. Bliss let out a deep breath. She couldn’t afford to be shit-canned. At least not until she got her Hall-Snark cards back on line—but not online. There had to be a better way to protect her grand finale.
Wendy bounded over to her. “Did you just call him Tony?”
No sense denying it with half a dozen witnesses. “Yeah. And I’m afraid I said, ‘Yo’ too.”
Wendy giggled. “That’s funny.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It just is.”
With that, she skipped off to the bar to give Angie her orders.
Bliss noticed Sadie smiling at her. Maybe she’d tell her if the owner was really the pussycat Claudia indicated he was, or if she’d completely blown her chance to make a good first impression.
Bliss made her way around the tables to Sadie’s booth. The woman continued shuffling her tarot cards even as she smiled up at her.
“Um, Sadie. Did I do something terribly wrong by calling your nephew Tony? Does he hate that nickname or something?”
She chuckled. “No, dear. You’re fine. I think you just surprised him. He isn’t used to employees being comfortable around him. At least not right away. I think you made a good first impression.”
“Seriously? I was already looking for another job in my head.”
Sadie laughed melodiously. “Don’t you go anywhere. You’re a breath of fresh air around here.” Then she held up her empty glass.
“Ah, I see you need a refill.”
Sadie grinned. “I see I’m not the only psychic here.”
Bliss smirked. Psychic. Really? “What are you drinking?”
“White Russians, dear. Always White Russians.”
“Okay. In that case, I won’t ask you in the future. But if you change your mind and decide you want something else…”
“I won’t.” Sadie stated it so matter-of-factly, Bliss couldn’t help wonder what was so special about that drink. Maybe she just knows what she likes.
Bliss was about to go put in the order when Sadie said, “Oh, and dear…”
“Yes?”
“Be careful of Drake.”
“Huh?” Drake hadn’t even visited the bar while she’d been working. “How do you know about Drake and me?”
“I know a lot of things.” Sadie spread the cards across the table. “Turn one over.”
Bliss took a step back. “I—uh, I don’t believe in letting tarot cards tell me what to do.”
Sadie snorted. “The cards don’t tell you what to do. They give you insight so you can use your free will accordingly.”
Claudia said to keep her happy. “Okaaay.” Bliss reached for the card closest to her and flipped it over.