MILLIE'S BAR: DOWNSIDE SEATTLE.
The music was loud, the bass thumped through the floor, rattling the glasses stacked behind the counter. Bottles clinked like wind chimes in a storm.
The air smelled like beer, lemon cleaner, and the faint sting of sweat from the men pressed shoulder-to-shoulder at the counter. Somewhere behind me, someone laughed too loud, making me roll my eyes a bit.
Teejay worked here too. He's thesame colleague from Buzzbar.
"Yo, you didn't report back to the office after the interview." He said, leaning on the counter.
"Yeah, I didn't finish early, and I figured y'all wouldn't have returned from the event yet. Plus, Stacy's not at work to make an article out of it," I explained, polishing a glass until it squeaked.
"So, how was he?"
"It was okay," I shrugged.
"I mean Grand," he clarified, raising a brow.
"I don't understand," I tilted my head a bit.
"Is he like... a god or something?" Teejay asked, wide eyed.
I hesitated, "He doesn't have an amazing chocolate skin like yours." That cracked him up.
"So I win." Teejay said, grinning.
"What are you winning? The lottery?" We both giggled before he went off to take orders.
Between working at the Buzzbar and working at Millie's, I wasn't sure which I was better at. But I did know that while I'd messed up plenty of things at the station, I hadn't broken a single bottle here. That said alot.
BUZZBAR NEWS.
"Where is Zoey Blossoms Faye? Why are we yet to receive the report from the interview you carried out?" Mrs Keene's voice cut through the office.
I'd just dragged myself to work and barely set my bag down when I heard her voice.
She was already halfway inside her office , her black heels clicking like a countdown to my execution.
I swallowed hard. "I'm coming ma." I said quickly, fumbling through my bag. My fingers brushed through crumpled receipts and loose gum wrappers and finally, the sheet of paper I'd scribbled on yesterday. I smoothed it out with a half satisfactory smile and then hurried in.
She didn't look up from her computer, just held out her hand.
Biting my thumb, I passed her the paper.
Her brows knitted. "What is this?" She held it like it might stain her fingers, then dropped it onto her desk.
I blinked at her, genuinely confused.
"Zoey Blossoms, it's too early for your nonsense. Where's the recording you took?" She stretched out her hand again, eyes still on the screen.
I froze for half a second. Ohhhh, no no no. Nobody told me anything about recording. I stayed quiet.
Her head jerked up, eyes narrowing. "You. Didn't. Record?"
Heat burned across my face. "I...I didn't know I was supposed to record."
She looked at me in disbelief. "The one thing you were supposed to have running the moment you sat down with Valor Grand and you stand here to tell me that you didn't know? Interest me more." She stamped her feet against the floor.
"Do you have them written, at least?" She eyed me.
Wordlessly, I slid thesame paper from earlier across to her. She snatched it up, flipping through it with the speed of a shredder.
Her lips thinned. "Not even one question on his businesses?" She snapped. "Where is Stacy? Did Stacy make this up?"
"No, ma. I..." I forced a nervous smile that died instantly. "I forgot the original questions, so I had to improvise."
She leaned back in her chair, folding her arms. The silence stretched until my heartbeat was the loudest sound in the room.
"Zoey Blossoms Faye," she said finally, "I'm afraid for you. If you do not find a rich man to marry you in the next few years, you might never, I mean never make it to the top in this industry."
The words landed like a slap. She glared at me like she dared me to speak back but I just bit my lips and kept my mouth shut.
"You've been here for how long? Three months? And the very first time you were handed an interview, you went on to romanticize Grand and make a fool at yourself." She continued.
There were worse things than swallowing my pride and right now, I couldn't afford to choke on it.
"Ma, I know it wasn't strictly about business ma, but... people already know what Valor Grand does."
"And now they want to know how he starts his day?" she shot back.
"I'm sorry ma," I whispered, fighting back tears.
"Yeah, you should be sorry for yourself because we're never getting another interview with Grand. And guess what? The money we were supposed to make from publishing this article would be covered from your salary."
I looked up.
"Yeah, I mean that. Whatcha gonna do" She glared.
"Nothing ma."
"Get out."
When I stepped back into the open office, heads turned. Mrs. Keene's voice had carried; everyone had heard. My cheeks burned as I bolted for the bathroom.
A knock on the door.
"Who's there?"
"Teejay."
"I'm fine Tee," I tried to sound okay.
"Just open up."
The moment I did, he pulled me into a hug. The tears I'd been holding in came rushing out. I wished I had done better. I wished I hadn't screwed this up.
BEACON HILLS: ASHFIELD ESTATE
Room 119
I called in sick at Millie's. Since Mrs. Keene's tirade, I hadn't been myself.
On my way home from the station, I'd bought two bottles of liquor. Her voice kept replaying in my head, reminding me of what a loser I was.
I'd barely finished the first bottle and my head already felt light, my vision a little fuzzy. I wasn't much of a drinker.
The paper with my scribbled questions sat in my lap.
I read through them again.
"Not so baddddd," I laughed softly.
"I put a lot of work to you, you can't go to waste," I told the page, staggering towards my laptop.
I stared at the blank headline box.
"What should it be?" I chewed my lips.
One idea popped into my head. I shook it away. No better ones came.
"A TASTE OF GRAND." I laughed out loud. Stupid but I typed it anyway.
I hovered over the 'publish' button.
Mrs Keene is going to kill me. Or not.
I pressed 'publish' anyway.
Because whatever.