Page 28 of Targeted By Fate

I went in, and it wasn’t very crowded, still as dark and dingy as I remembered it. The floor was sticky and the air smoky, despite smoking inside being illegal in this state. But a job was a job, right.

I asked for the owner. They weren’t there, but they sent over a manager. “You the new guy?”

“Yeah. Keane.”

“All right, come with me.” So much for small talk.

I followed him to what I thought was the office, but it turned out to be a corridor that led to a whole other establishment. There were offices along the way and storerooms, but the vibe was very different when we came out the other side.

“I’m confused.”

He looked at me. “You’re working at Moonbound?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, you were just at the bar side. And now you are in the club side.” The owner hadn’t mentioned that at all.

The manager, who still had not told me his name, stopped and looked at me like I was the stupidest creature they ever did see. “You were hired to work at the club.”

“He didn’t tell me.”

“Well, maybe you were hired to work at the bar, then. That would explain those jeans.”Those, as if they were to be looked down on. Oh well. I wasn’t here for fashion week. “You’re working at the club now. We need the help. There’s already a line outside.”

I didn’t know how to respond, so I stood there waiting for him to tell me what to do next.

“Well, do you want the job or not?”

“Yeah, I want the job.” The vibe was so different in this room, but my feet weren’t sticking to the floor, so there was that.

“All right, look around and tell me what you notice.”

I listed off a bunch of random things I saw, and he let out a long sigh.

“Wrong. You’re underdressed.” Why was this guy such an asshole?

“Huh?”

“Look at the servers. They’re all wearing suits.” It took me five seconds to see he was right.

“He told me to wear jeans,” I explained.

“He was gonna have you work at the bar. I’m not.”

“This is all I have.” Even at home I didn’t have a suit.

“Come back with me. I’m sure we have one that will fit you.”

We ended up in one of the storerooms where he tossed me a suit. “It’s as close as we’ve got to your size. Get changed and meet me on the floor.”

“This is a storeroom, not a changing room, not a bathroom.”

“Correct. Now get dressed. Time is ticking, and I want to tell the bouncers to start moving the crowd in. Hang your clothes on the hook when you’re done.”

I did as he said, putting on the suit. The suit did not fit, at least it didn’t feel like it fit. It was tight, but maybe that was the look.

Part of me said I should leave, but club was nicer than bar, right? This was like a promotion of sorts. Please let it be better than my last one.

I found the manager, who gruffly said his name was Ralph. Before we could talk, a man in red came over and said, “I’ll take… I’ll take him.” He pointed to me.

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