ruining everything

“Welcome to Me, Myself, and Pie, what can I get for you this morning?” Matilda trilled in a sweet voice almost automatically when she heard the bell above the front door to the bakery ring through the store. She wasn’t even facing it currently, deep in the task of slicing up a freshly baked trey of cinnamon swirls. “Do you want to hear about what we have special on the menu today, or are you here for something specific?” Once that was done she could set the sharp bread knife down to turn with a bright smile towards the new customer. Being in the bakery filled her with such joy there was no choice but for it to radiate genuinely through her eyes as well as her smile, more like a beam really. Maybe it was all the sugar in the air that gave her a boost of energy, or maybe it was just Millie, probably though it was a combination of both. @crystalcitystarters​

Emerson was the furthest thing from a morning person, and she tended to groan at people who were. Squinting as though Matilda radiated light, Emy found herself here purely because of a craving for sugary dough, despite the headache that resulted from too much vodka the night before. “Um...do you have anything with raspberries? I could really go for that right about now,” she answered as she approached the counter, the smell of baked goods almost waking her up enough to be a functioning person. Almost.

It’s not that he doesn’t like tending bar, he did a bit of it back in college before meeting Raphael, but even now he just prefers being in the mix of the crowd, mingling, dancing, having a laugh and a drink.  But he’s bored, he wants a drink and quick, and also, he knows with the night being busy the staff is just a little bit backed up. He tries to be a good boss, which he knows might be surprising to some. “Figured I’d try my hand at all of this,” he says, tossing the bottle of whisky from one hand to the other “Although, being eye candy to get you tips might be even more fun,” he muses, eyebrows going up, amused. “This is the money maker, after all,” he jokes, gesturing to his face before rolling his eyes at himself. “All jokes aside, do you need a break?”

“You might joke but it really is,” Emy smirked. “People come here and buy drinks from me just waiting to see if you’ll come out that night.” Emerson wasn’t one to stress much, at least not when it came to work. She liked being busy and talking to people who came up to the bar, to her that was much better than being idle enough to be alone with her thoughts. “I’m good, I thrive on busy nights,” she smiled, just the fact that he offered was a good sign in a boss. She expertly made a martini for a woman across from them as she spoke before sliding it across the bar to her. “Any big plans tonight, boss? Other than making all our nights a little better with that song,” she smirked.

It’s a normal night at LUX, the line outside is long, the crowd inside is packed, the drinks are flowing, and all is generally well. He’s glad for it honestly, because it means while he does need to show face for at least an hour, that he doesn’t need to stay much longer than that if he doesn’t want to.  He plays a song first, something easy and lighthearted that gets the crowd going, and he relishes in the attention it brings, though he does have to pull a few hands off of himself.  He doesn’t mind it too much, people tended to be drawn to him, he knew that well enough by now. But still, he found himself pulling away from grabby hands and heading towards the bar.

His manager is here tonight, but right now she’s flirting with someone at the end of the bar. He unashamedly takes a moment to watch the way she leans over the bar before he walks behind it, pouring himself a drink, three fingers worth of scotch. He’s just about to down it in one gulp when he spots a new patron, and well, he does own the place, he should probably take care of the customers.  “Well hello,” he greets, voice dripping with charm and too much flirtation for his own good. “what can I get you, tonight?”

Emerson loved working at LUX, she’d only been there a few months but it was so much better than the old places she’d worked at. She watched as the crowd loved every minute of Elias’ performance, Emy smiling at the energy there that night. She watched as he then came to the bar and eventually offered to serve someone as she was washing off a water mark from the bar counter. With a smirk, she waited until he had helped the patron before walking over. “Are you trying to take my job?” she joked. “Actually I could get great tips if you just stood here and let me serve everyone who came to get close to you.”

Mari had no right being this irritated at the broken heel on her shoe. There was a whole section of her closet lined with various types of shoes. However, she was carrying four bags of clothes from Stutton’s Chic Boutique to her car. And now one foot was six inches off the ground without any support. Added to her grief, these shoes were one of her (many) favorite pairs. “This is a sign isn’t it.”  Mari sighed hobbling away from the entrance so she could put her bags down and do something about her shoe situation.

Emerson was sitting at a bus stop waiting for her next ride home, but as always it was running late. She took a minute to people watch before she heard the other say something and then set down her shopping bags. Emy couldn’t help her eyes go wide at how big a shopping trip that looked like to her. “A sign of what exactly? Is there some kind of superstition on broken shoes?”

“You know, my favorite part of going to the bank is handing over a big wad of cash and them jokingly asking ‘are you a stripper or a drug dealer?’” Vic grinned, tucking a strand of brunette locks behind her ear. “And I just smile and say ‘both’ just to watch them try and figure out if I’m joking or not.”

Emerson laughed, she could definitely picture the situation Vic was describing. “I would love to see that in person next time,” she joked. “Maybe you should start making deposits by machine instead, unless the drama is what you’re into.”

There goes the most shameless woman this town has ever seen She had a marvelous time ruining everything