Page 18 of Echoes of Desire
Time to turn the tables on our little black-haired beauty.
“What about you, Pet?” I ask, tilting my head as I study her.
Raven blinks, caught off guard. “Me? What about me?”
“Do you see yourself fitting into this world?” I ask, my tone even but probing.
Her cheeks darken, and she looks down at the water bottle again. “I don’t know. It’s... interesting, I guess. But I’ve never really thought about it before.”
“Never?” Blaze asks, raising an eyebrow.
She hesitates, then shrugs. “Well, maybe a little. But I’ve never done anything about it.”
“Why not?” I press, leaning forward slightly.
Her gaze snaps to mine, her eyes wide. “Because... I wouldn’t even know where to start. And honestly? The idea of handing over control to someone else... it’s kind of terrifying. There are already things about my everyday life that are out of my control. I’m not sure I could give more away.”
I nod slowly, my expression softening. “That’s fair. It’s not something that comes naturally to everyone. But trust me, onceyou find the right person…or people…it’s not terrifying. It’s freeing.”
Her breath catches slightly, and I see the flicker of intrigue in her eyes.
“All of that aside,” Blaze says cheerfully. “That’s not the reason we wanted to talk to you.”
“We wanted to talk to you about your job,” I admit.
“My job?” she asks. “Why?”
“You mentioned yesterday that you’re a bar manager,” Blaze says. “How long have you held that position?”
“About four years,” she says, her cute little brows furrowed in confusion. “But I was working there for six. Why?”
“We’re looking for a bar manager,” I explain. “Someone who can manage the bar staff and serve the drinks.”
“Here?” she asks, eyes impossibly wide as if we’d just offered her a job on the sun.
“Yes, here,” Blaze confirms, his grin widening. “You’ve got experience, and from the way you handled yourself last night, you clearly don’t scare easy. That’s a good start.”
She blinks at us, her fingers tightening around the water bottle again. “But... I don’t even know anything about this world. Wouldn’t that be, I don’t know, a problem?”
“Not necessarily,” I say evenly. “We’re not hiring you to run scenes or engage with the dynamics unless you choose to. Your job would be to manage the bar and ensure our patrons have a good experience. The other stuff? You’ll pick it up as you go.”
Blaze nods, leaning forward. “Besides, you’ve already proven you can adapt. And you’re smart. We wouldn’t offer you this if we didn’t think you could handle it.”
Raven’s lips part, but she doesn’t speak right away. She looks down at the water bottle, her brow furrowed as if she’s trying to piece together a puzzle.
“You’re serious,” she finally says, her voice soft with disbelief.
“Dead serious,” I reply, my tone leaving no room for doubt.
“But I got fired today,” she says, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Doesn’t that make me... I don’t know, less appealing as an employee?”
“No,” Blaze says immediately. “It just means your former boss was an idiot.”
“You don’t even know why I got fired,” her lips twitch into a hesitant smile, but doubt still lingers in her eyes. “I don’t know. This feels... sudden. And very weird.”
I lean forward slightly, resting my elbows on my knees as I meet her hesitant gaze. “Weird, maybe. But sometimes the right opportunities show up when you least expect them.”
“And we wouldn’t offer you this if we didn’t think you could handle it,” Blaze adds, his tone reassuring. “You’ve got the experience and the composure we’re looking for. And trust me, we’ve seen a lot of people who don’t. We don’t need to know the reason you got fired.”