Page 11 of Powerful Deception
As soon as my foot is through the threshold, a few of the regulars greet me and so do some of the waitresses. A few of them give sad smiles but I ignore them and continue back to Jimmy’s office.
The door is slightly ajar, so when I knock and he sees that it’s me, he waves me in.
“Ari, what are you doing here? I thought you would be out longer.” He says, giving me a look of concern.
I shrug a bit. “I need a distraction, so I thought I would come and see if you needed some help for a few hours.”
It’s not a total lie at least.
Jimmy’s face changes as a smile replaces the concerns.
“Of course, sweetheart. I was actually thinking about calling you in because we’ve been a little swamped, but I didn’t want to take away from your time. Work however long you want today.”
Jimmy is a nice guy and definitely not what you would expect him to be as a bar owner. He’s like the neighborhood grandpa, always looking out for his employees.
“Thank you, Jimmy.”
“Anytime. If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”
I give him one final nod and make my way back to the front to get started on my shift.
Or should I say, my recon?
One of the waitresses, Cora, sees me as I tie on my apron and approaches me with a big smile.
“How are you sweetie?” She asks before taking me in a tight hug.
The tightness of it takes me by surprise but I realize that this is what I’ve been missing these last few weeks. A hug from someone that cares about me. Maybe not on the level of my dad, but still cares, nonetheless.
So, I bask in it for a few seconds longer than needed.
“I’m getting better.” I say when she lets me go. “I needed to get out of my own head though, so I thought that I would come in for a few hours.”
Cora placed a hand on my shoulder and looks down at me with a sad smile. Everyone looks at me with a sad smile nowadays.
“Well, I’m glad you're here. Why don’t you work on tables eleven through fifteen and we’ll see where the night takes us?”
I give her a curt nod. “Sounds good.”
Right away, I get back into the groove of things. The thoughts of what happened the last time I worked, are still playing on repeat in my head but it’s nothing that I can’t smile through.
At least I think I’m smiling through them.
A few regulars do stop me to give me their condolences and I try my hardest not to concede and let the tears roll on through.
About three hours after I arrive, Cora tells me to take a quick break, so I grab some food from the kitchen and situate myself in one of the booths in the back corner.
It’s as I’m eating my fries when a conversation between a woman and man catches my attention.
Most of the time I’m not one to pry into what people are saying but when I hear what they are talking about, I’m all ears. More so given the information that I’ve been seeking.
“He’s having the interviews at Perversa.” The male says in a hush tone.
Perversa.
I know that word. I’ve seen it countless times in the last few days.
It’s the name of Dante Rosetti’s club.