Chapter 7
“Death is the tyrant of the imagination.”
— BARRY CORNWALL
R eaver never came back from his smoke break, not that I minded. I was doing everything myself anyway. It was easier without him getting in the way.
Maybe I got lucky for once in my life, and he quit.
When it came time to close, I made sure every single duty was checked off and accounted for before bringing the till down into the basement of the restaurant to balance it with Raf. I paused just outside the door when I heard Raf and Reaver talking in the office.
I thought he left hours ago.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice that shit you pulled tonight,” Raf was saying, and I felt a rush of satisfaction. So he had noticed how useless Reaver had been.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Reaver’s cold voice retorted. He sounded pissed off.
Shocker.
“Listen, you have to go through training properly, or Eloah’s going to lose his shit when he comes for our quarterly review.”
Eloah was the regional manager for all the Voodoo stores in Gravestone. He was like a god. Everyone feared him. I had never met him in person, but whenever it came time for quarterlies, the managers always got really uptight about everything.
“I don’t give a fuck what Eloah wants. Not all of us are as desperate to lick his asshole as you are, Raf,” Reaver snapped, and I forced back a gasp.
No one talked to Rafael like that.
To my surprise, Rafael just laughed. He had mentioned that they were friends. I guess that gave Reaver more leeway than anyone else who worked here.
“Maybe if you did, you wouldn’t be in the position you’re in.”
“Fuck you.”
“You can be pissed off about it all you want, but if your training doesn’t work out with Lilith, both of your heads will be on the chopping block,” Rafael said matter-of-factly.
My blood ran cold. If I couldn’t train this asshole, I was at risk of losing my job? How was that even possible? This wasn’t fair at all. I had just finally achieved all my goals, and now I was at risk of losing everything because of this random asshole?
“Hey, Lil! What are you doing down here?” Shem asked loudly as he jogged down the stairs. I jumped nearly a foot in the air and lost a roll of quarters from the till I had been clutching to my chest. Raf and Reaver abruptly stopped their conversation.
“Um, cash out. What are you still doing here?”
“A bunch of us are going to Yabbos for some after-hours drinks. Do you want to come?”
I don’t know why he even still asked me. He knew the answer would be no.
Reaver walked out of the office. God, he was tall… he had to be pushing six foot three at least. He towered over me, pinning me with a steely glare, his mouth a flat, firm line. I answered Shem but held Reaver’s gaze. I wouldn’t let him intimidate me.
“No, I better get home. I’m sure Chaos is waiting for his dinner.” That was a lie. Chaos didn’t eat at my place unless I was serving scraps of bacon or potato chip crumbs. I tried to buy him kibble and wet food, but he always turned his tail up at it. I guess the rats he hunted in the city streets were more appealing than the mushy food I tried to get him to eat out of a can.
Shem shrugged. “What about you, buddy? What was your name?” Shem leaned over to read his name tag. “Reaver? You want to come catch a drink?”
Reaver held my gaze for another moment, narrowing his eyes on me. I narrowed mine right back. Finally, he turned to Shem. To my absolute shock, his entire demeanor changed. His shoulders relaxed, and he slid one hand into his pocket, running the other hand through his thick, dark hair.
He gave Shem a dazzling smile that honestly would have made my panties wet if I didn’t hate him so damn much.
“Sure man. I’ll meet you over there. I just need to grab my shit.” Reaver brushed past me, seeming to intentionally bump me on his way by. He knocked me so hard I almost dropped the till again.
Asshole.
“Come on, Lilith, let’s get this done so we can lock up,” Rafael said, and I slipped into the cramped office. I dropped the till on the desk, and Raf dug into my receipts to staple them together.
“How much of that did you hear?” he asked conversationally. Shit. He knew I had been eavesdropping.
“Enough to know that you’re worried about the upcoming quarterly,” I said, and he pursed his lips, nodding gravely.
“We’re in a tight spot. With Jezebel gone and now Sam too, we’ve lost two of our best people. We need to make sure we’re ready for when Eloah comes for our review. All the bartenders need to have passed all their training exams by then.”
Bartenders at Voodoo were tested on their cocktail knowledge and had to pass a practical that included free pour tests, as well as practice service sprints. We were also tested on things like the appropriate amount of time for a guest to wait for a drink, an app, and a main.
I had passed all my exams with flying colors, but it had been weeks of studying and hard work. I wasn’t feeling super confident that Reaver had the dedication necessary to make it through all the required tests. I also had a feeling he was going to get off on making my life a living hell.
“You want me to train Reaver?”
Raf put down the receipts and nodded. “Yes. I saw you tonight, you really impressed me. I think you’re the best we’ve got right now. You throw your heart into everything you do. I know you can get Reaver up to speed in time for us to pass this review without a hitch.”
I hesitated. “Rafael, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Reaver doesn’t seem to like me very much. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get him to listen to me.”
“You let me handle that. I’ll have a chat with him and let him know that if he wants to work here, he has to listen to you. I know he’s a little rough around the edges, but I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a great bartender. We just need to get him up to Voodoo’s standards.”
“Is that how he knows who Eloah is?” I asked, and Raf nodded.
“Yeah, we all go way back. We’ve been in this industry for years.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.” I frowned and tugged on the hem of my skirt anxiously, making sure it didn’t ride up and expose one of my scars. “I heard you say something about both of our heads being on the chopping block if I fail at training him… is that true?”
Raf gave me a sympathetic look and patted my hand. “I’m not going to lie to you; it is a risk. As a senior bartender, you will be graded on your ability to lead and train the people under you. It doesn’t look good if your trainees can’t pass their tests. You might not necessarily lose your job, but we may have to take you off the bar and have you serve again. Or maybe just have you stick to weeknights. We reserve primetime for the best, and that includes training and team development.”
I sighed. Well, shit, I guess I didn’t have much of a choice. So much for just cruising. It was looking like I was going to need to fight tooth and nail to keep this position for as long as I wanted it.
“Alright, Raf. I won’t let you down.”
Rafael smiled at me, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. “I know you won’t, Lilith.”