*It had been a busy night at the club, especially for a Monday. Apryl had been busy for the past two hours straight pouring drinks, taking money, and bitching at the two other bartenders. One of them, Paul, spent more time looking down the blouses of the women who came up to the bar than he did serving drinks. Unfortunately, the other bartender's skills were limited to getting beer from the tap and straight drinks. She was going to have to have a talk with Gabriel about the quality of her staff. If she'd known this was what she had to work with, she might have spent more than five minutes considering his offer before she'd said yes.* Paul! *She grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him backwards like a dog on a leash. She growled her words at him, anger boiling behind her dark eyes.* If I have to tell you -one- more time not to stare at women's tits when you should be pouring drinks, I will throw your ass out that nice bay window and deduct the cost of it from your last paycheck. Do you understand me?
~Y-Yeah.~
Good. *Releasing her hold on his collar, he skittered to the other end of the bar and began taking orders. Apryl sighed heavily and brushed a stray lock of hair back from her forehead.*
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He came out from the door which sat next to the main bar leading to his office, dressed sharply as usual as he stopped and watched Apryl take care of things her normal way.
Something Gabriel simply left for her, she was the head bartender and those two goons were her employess, he just signed the checks.
The club was playing the usual dance musicas he got the usual mundane greetings and suck ups as he was the owner of the club.
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*She noticed Gabriel watching her out of the corner of her eye. He was one of those bosses, the kind who liked to obsreve the staff and didn't care if you noticed. That type made some people nervous, but not Apryl. She was confident in her ability to bartend and manage those underneath her.
Paul was behaving himself, and things were quiet for now. It was a nice break. Reaching for one of the bottles on the wall, she poured herself a shot of tequila. Nasty shit, but a shot now and then helped keep her from killing people.*
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Walking over he gave a welcoming half smile to Apryl and leaned in.
"I'm liking the way you handle things around here Ms.Weather"
He watched as she shot back a drink and chuckled under his breath.
"anything you need?"
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*She slammed the shot glass on the bar, and leaned over the bar.* Well, having a staff that didn't consist of a lech and a trainee would be nice. *She chuckled, staring him straight in the eye.* But then, what would I ask for for Christmas? *Paul was still working, although it was obvious that he was trying to eavesdrop on his boss's conversation.* Is this place always so busy, Mr. Rains? Typically Mondays and Tuesdays are pretty slow..
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With a look to both of the other bartenders he chuckled and patted her back gently.
"how about I just give power to you?"
It was the simplest answer in his mind anyway, way not give the head bartender the ability to hire fire and run the bars as she pleased.
Besides with more work comes better pay, not like she was being paid peanuts now. He knew Aryl was a negotiator, heck she got the job in the end.
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*She raised an eyebrow slightly at Gabriel's suggestion. She'd heard of other places where such deals were made, but often, 'other' services were required.* As long as you don't expect me to sleep with you, Mr. Rains, you've got a deal. *She looked him over. He was fairly attractive in that bad-boy way, but she wasn't into dating. Behind her, Paul blanched. Somehow he knew that he'd be fired, and soon.
Apryl paused, her woman's intuition kicking in. It didn't make sense, but she had a feeling that there was something more going on here than just drunken debauchery. Maybe one day, she'd figure out what it was.*
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He laughed slightly as she spoke and poured each of them another shot and raised his
"To a great partnership"
Gabriel was not expecting other favours ever, he was a bussines man through and through, she was an employee and now a partner. She would be one of the true head's in the club, on the legal side anyway.
He would slam back the shot with her when she was ready and then he would move onto other business
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To a great partnership. *She clinked glasses with the boss, and then downed her shot. Two in ten minutes. She probably shouldn't drink anymore for a while.* I'm really impressed with how many people are here, especially so early in the week.
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"Ms.Weather this club is always this busy."
He stood next to her and soon pointed out secretly a few degnitary's wondering about. known TV celebrities,mayors office staff etc.
"This club is one of the only in LA and continues to grow. i just need competant staff such as yourself"
He stepped back a moment to let her look about and actually take it all in
" these three bars are yours to run as you wish Ms.Weather. I will let you know now that I have sent a young man named suicide to see you. Your call if he gets a job"
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*Well, she did notice people she hadn't seen before. Channel 5's weathergirl was dry-humping the deputy mayor in the middle of the dance floor. It's amazing, the deletrious effects that alcohol could have on individuals. With a chuckle, she turned her attention back to Mr. Rains.* I appreciate your trust in me. We don't need to be that formal, then. You can call me Apryl. *Then, she raised an eyebrow.* His name is Suicide? If I do hire him, he's going by another name at work. This isn't some goth bar where people wear mime paint and guys run around in mascara and fishnets.
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He again chuckled at her comments and nodded, agreeing completely with her as he watched over his very creation as it continued to flow with life.
"As i said Apryl, the young man is in your hands. The turst I place in you is not mislead, as you show yourself worthy of the challenge."
he stopped a moment looking up at the midus dancers and then the bouncers doing his habit of watching over everything.
"Also if you might, keep an open for a potential head bouncer and dancer"
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*She nodded again.* Of course. I'll let you know if I see anybody interesting for the position. *Sure enough, Paul was once again staring at the tits of one of his female guests. *Excuse me, Gabriel. *She stomped over to where Paul was now engaged in conversation with the woman's breasts.*
Ma'am, I apologize for the behavior of this sack of shit. Have a drink on me, free. *She smiled.*
~Really? Thank you. He is kind of creepy.~
He is, but don't worry. He doesn't work here anymore. *Grabbing Paul by his collar, she dragged him backward, and out of the bar area. His hands flailed wildly as he tried to match her brisk pace going backward. Finally, Apryl stopped, and true to her word placed one hand on his collar, the other on his belt loop and tossed Paul through the big bay window at the front of the club. He lay there, stunned, and surrounded by tiny shards of glass. His forehead and hands seeped blood from several tiny cuts. The music stopped, and all heads turned to look at the man laying outside and the woman who had put him there. Then, suddenly, there was a great deal of clapping, cheering, and whistling. Apryl bowed once, making a big flourish with her hand. Then, she walked back to Mr Rains, and wiped her hands on her pants.* Now, where were we? *She was back to business now, but she was smiling. That felt good.*
He pulled a slim cigarette from his jacket and lit it as she delt with paul. he actually laughed out loud as she tossed him through the window and even gave a slow amused golf clap with the rest of the club.
As she came back he pulled the smoke from his mouth and held it between his two fingers
"Well done, i suppose I am docking his severence to replace that window?"
It was more of a sarcastic comment as he wtached everyone get back to thier business and the music went back into full play once again like nothing happens
"Do, do me favour Apryl? keep properity damage to a minimum next time"
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*She nodded.* Yeah. Unfortunately that window's worth more than his last paycheck. *Her smile got wider, and she kept her mouth closed so that she didn't start laughing. After she regained her composure, she took a deep breath and continued.* I will, Gabriel. I just told him I would do that if he kept that shit up, and I had to keep my word. *Apryl's word was very important to her. If she said she would do something, she would. She hated lying more than almost anything.*
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"I like to hear that, a woman of her word. You continue to impress me"
He leaned over ashing the cigerello in a tray near by
"Anything else i can do for you? hows the living conditions? money situation?"
He was serious as he looked her in the eye, his seemingly playfullness gone
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*She raised an eyebrow again at Gabriel's words. She could tell he was serious.* I'm fine. Money's a bit tight now, but I ain't been in the city that long. Know of any rent-controlled apartments here in LA?*She winked, trying to lighten the mood just aa bit. Promotions, she could handle. His newfound interest in her personal life, she wasn't used to that.*
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Gabriel was a man who took care of his valued employees,mainly the ones in higher postions.
When it came to Apryl he could see she wanted to make things for herself so he decided to simply get her on the right foot.
Leaning over he grabbed a napkin and a pen from his jacket writing down a nice four zero number for pay every two weeks with benefits and the full yard.
Looking to her he handed over the napkin.
"I can see you like to do things for yourself, her's a kick to get you going"
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*She took the napkin, and read the figure. Her expression didn't change, but inwardly, she was almost giddy. She'd make a lot of money here, without even counting tips.* I do like to do things on my own, been doing it for as long as I can remember. *There was a whole sad story, but the middle of a club wasn't the place to have such a conversation.* I could tell ya the whole story, but I usually have to be drunk first. *Now she was left with an awkward pause, which she quickly filled.* If that guy Suicide's any good, I'll probably -have- to hire him now.
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"Run it your way Apryl, your the boss. hire what you need and order what you need. These three bars are your babies"
He looked her over again and put out the cigerello with a smile.
"Perhaps I will take you up on that some time, a few drinks over a business meeting never hurt anyone"
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Now, Gabriel, it might take more than a few drinks. I may be female, but I'm no featherweight. Besides, I'd rather not mix my personal life with where I work. I've done that before too, with bad results. *She liked the way he talked. She'd never had the authority to run things the way she wanted.* I've learned a lot watching idiots run good places into the ground. Hopefully, I can put my knowledge to work for you, Gabriel.
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he nodded and again the half grin came to his lips
"Again I trust you will do well"
The look in his eyes still friendly but seemed to hold a hint of fuck me over and you'll hate your life. gabriel was a good man until you stabbed him in the back. in his line of work he couldn't be over tursting, not without really good reason.
"But something tells me, you are capable of good things. Don't hold yourself back"
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Thanks, I'll do that. *She knew the look in Gabriel's eyes. She'd given it to a few people before. Over time, he'd realize that she wasn't gonna fuck with him. Some people she fucked with, but they had usually tried to screw her over, or were just pieces of shit to begin with. He seemed somewhat of a decent guy, even if his fashion sense was lacking.*
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"Anything else you think you need?"
It was easy to tell he was a business person and that his mind was constantly roaming over something, mabye even many things as he roamed his eyes over the club once more.
It was drawning near closeing time and the place was still packed. reaching into his pants pocket he tossed her a set of keys to the bars.
"their all yours now Apryl."
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*She caught the ring, midair.* Thank you, Gabriel. I can't think of anything else I need offhand, but if I do, you'll be the first to know.*
~*~Back~*~
