--[Ramon]--
"And then when you come back with the ticket, you pin it right here, make sure that you call it out and hear either Tiana or me, responds. And that's about everything you two need to know for the upcoming shift. Any questions?"
I turned around to face Summer and Tricia, and while the first shook her head, Tricia raised her hand, "Whose Tiana?"
"Oh, she's my sous chef, I'll introduce you when she gets here, which should be any minute now."
"Of course, your other chef is a woman, don't tell me that fucking her as well," Summer muttered under her breath and crossed her arms.
"Summer," Tricia hissed, shooting her friend a warning glare, "There's no need to be rude."
Summer smirked and shrugged her shoulders, "It's more likely than not. Both of the other waitresses are already his girlfriends."
"Wait, what?!" Tricia asked with wide eyes as she looked from Summer back to me, "Y-you're in a relationship with two other girls? And they work here?"
I nodded, "Yep, they're back at my penthouse resting a bit; they didn't get much sleep last night."
I didn't realize how that sounded until I watched Tricia's eyes widen before a knowing smile spread across her lips, "Are you guys in an open relationship, and if so, do you think there's room for one more?"
"Alright, that's enough!" Summer spoke up, cutting off the conversation before I could even respond, "Come on Tricia, we have tables to go set up!'
"W-wait, I didn't even get to ask him what his girlfriends are into," Tricia protested even as Summer dragged her out of the kitchen.
'She and Megan will get along well, and at least Patty will have someone else who's a bit more reserved and rational to talk to.'
I nodded after thinking about what it would be like to have both of the girls join the coven. 'Tricia would join in a heartbeat, but Summer still needs a bit more convincing.'
Putting those thoughts on the back burner, I switched my focus to the restaurant and opened up the appliance store. I had already done some browsing before Summer and Tricica showed up, and had preselected a few pieces of kitchen machinery.
[Appliance: Commercial Vortex Boiler]
Cost: $16,500
Maintenance: $3,580
Slot [Kitchen]: 3/5
Effect(s): +20% Cooking Speed
[Appliance: Planetary Floor Mixer]
Cost: $10,286
Maintenance: $2,426
Slot [Kitchen]: 4/5
Effect(s): +15% cooking speed
[Appliance: Vacuum Sealer]
Cost: $9,328
Maintenance: $1,310
Slot [Kitchen]: 5/5
Effect(s):
Meats can now be souvied
Food can now be preserved overnight
[Would you like to buy a Commercial Vortex Boiler, Planetary Floor Mixer, and a Vacuum Sealer for 36,114 Y/N]
I selected yes and then spent a few minutes rearranging the kitchen to make space for the new equipment. But I wasn't done with my shopping spree. With my cooking speed now sitting at an 85%, I could add more seats without incurring a negative satisfaction rating, which is exactly what I did.
[Furniture: Dark Oak Longtable]
Cost: $ 10,550
Maximum Number: 2/2
Seating: 10
Traits: None
[Furniture: Dark Oak Round Table]x5
Cost: $ 2,950
Maximum Numer: 10/10
Seating: 4
Traits: None
[Furniture: Dark Oak Booth]x1
Cost: $ 5,750
Maximum Numer: 1/1
Seating: 5
Traits: None
[Would you like to purchase: Dark Oak Round Table[x5], and Dark Oak Longtable[x1] and Dark Oak Boot[x1] for a total cost of : $31,050 Y/N]
I confirmed my purchase and then went about placing the new piece of furniture, bringing my capacity up to 86, 'And here comes the money.'
"That's a rather large grin on your face."
I looked up as Tiana walked into the kitchen with a smirk, having caught me off guard, "Don't tell me it's because of those two girls working up front?"
I recovered after a second with a small chuckle, "No, it's not. I was just thinking about how tonight is gonna go."
"Hopefully you mean that in a good way?" Tiana asked hopefully, and she sighed when I nodded, "Good, because I don't think I could have handled another day like that."
"I doubt that, but I get your point, now let me walk you through all the changes I made so we don't work ourselves to death tonight," I prefaced before pointing at the industrial boiler, "First change, we can do up to fifty lobsters at a time in that industrial boiler, which is also where we'll souvide the steaks after they're sealed up in this vacuum sealer and finish them on the grill. The vacuum can also be used to preserve pastry dough, which we can now make in bulk thanks to that mixer over there in the corner."
Tiana's eye bounced between the three machines as I pointed them out, and I could see the gears turn over in her head, "If we limit the number of lobsters, we could also boil the potatoes as well."
"I…totally overlooked that, you're absolutely right," I nodded in agreement, "We'll have to fine-tune the ratio as the night progresses, but this is a good place to start."
"Alright then, let's get started on prep!" Tiana said enthusiastically as she walked over to the row of hooks along the wall and grabbed an apron.
"I like the attitude, but just a heads up, I'll have to step out for a quick second to pick up Megan and Patty," I warned while putting on an apron myself.
"I was wondering about that, don't tell me you're replacing them?" Tiana asked, though I can tell she didn't believe for a second that I had fired them.
I shook my head, "No, Summer and Tricia are just temps for today, but I did offer them jobs here if they want them."
"More thralls for your coven?" Tiana asked with a raised brow.
"If they want to join, though, just to be clear, they just know me as a ridiculously handsome chef, not a sex demon…or at least not in the literal sense."
"If you start making jokes like that on the regular, I'm going to open my own restaurant next door just to steal your customers," Tiana threatened.
"Alright, alright, message received, I'll restrain my tongue," I surrendered with a short laugh.
--[3rd Person]--
"I'm telling you, Jenny, there's more to this than just a simple break-in," Joe insisted as he followed behind Jenny as they walked through the precinct towards the holding cells.
"You're right, Joe, it's not a break-in at all, just after you were kicked out of Mr. Young's home, he told me that he believes the intruder was sent there to kill him," Jenny retorted in a clipped tone, clearly upset.
"W-what no! That's not what I'm talking about," Joe shook his head, "But that's absolutely ridiculous! Besides, didn't you realize that the perp didn't have any wounds on him, not a cut, a lesion, or even a bruise?"
Jenny paused for a second, "That is somewhat irregular."
"Somewhat? We're supposed to believe that this guy managed to subdue his killer after being ambushed in the middle of the night?!" Joe insisted, but his words only made Jenny angrier, "Well, I don't know what to believe. We have no idea what happened because I couldn't get Mr. Young's statement."
Now it was Joe's turn to fall silent before he let out a sigh, "You're right, I let my personal emotions get the best of me, but that guy is a real piece of work."
"Seemed nice enough to me, but being nice doesn't inherently make you a good person," Jenny replied, smiling at Joe, "Now let's get this interrogation over with so we can start putting together a timeline."
A minute later, the two police officers reached the holding cell and saw their suspect curled up on the metal cot.
Taking out his baton, Joe banged on the cell bars, "Rise and shine, buddy! It's time to take a walk!"
A soft groan escaped the cell, and a second later Samson sat up, rubbing the side of his neck and blinking rapidly, "W-what? W-where the hell am I?"
"The police station, you got arrested last night, remember?" Jenny muttered as she unlocked a small window in the cell. "Now turn around and stick your hands through here so we can cuff you. We're here to take you to interrogation."
"Interrogation?" Samson muttered before a glazed look passed over his eyes, and he started talking in a monotone, "You don't need to interrogate me. I did it, I broke into Ramon's house to kill him because he has evidence on my employer, Preston Northwest."
Joe and Jenny fell into a stunned silence as they shared a look, not sure if their investigation had become a thousand times simpler or far more complex than they could have ever anticipated.