Bad Euphoria

I SEE YOU

It's another rainy Saturday in Farrington, Delmar, but Imani loves the rain. To her, it feels like the earth is cleansing itself, washing away all the negativity and filth of an ungrateful species. Imani James is the last child of four siblings. Her parents are the owners of a prestigious accounting firm, Account Liberty. It's been running for 30 successful years, which acquired the James family a large amount of wealth over the years and set their name in stone for generations to come.

The James children joined the company after graduating college, except for Imani. Her brother Lucas, who's the oldest, was made VP of the company 5 years ago. Then there's the twins, Jeremiah, he's the Director of Marketing and Miah, she's head of Human Resources.

Imani is in her last year of college and due to graduate in a couple of weeks. She's excited to finish. It was the one thing she wanted to do to make her parents proud.

Imani didn't plan on working for her parents' company. She loved where she worked now at the Roulette Bar. She knew her parents were going to disagree, so she was building herself up to tell them.

Many people probably thought she was crazy to turn down an opportunity to make six figures straight out of college. Sometimes, Imani wondered what her problem was, why she didn't take the easy way, or what seemed to be the easy way. Yes, she would definitely make great money, but her happiness would be sacrificed, and Imani wasn't willing to risk it.

Bzzz.....bzzz... Imani's phone buzzed as she lay in bed, waking from her slumber. She got in at 2am, this morning. Her shift was over at 11 p.m., but she stayed to help clean and close the bar. She picked up her phone. It was a text message from her bestie/roommate, Bria.

"Hey Mani, I left you some bagels on the kitchen counter. I had to leave early this morning, a last-minute outing with my sister before my niece comes. I'm so excited to be an Auntie! See ya later, babes."

Imani groaned, seeing the time on her phone. "10:56 am.," she sat the phone down next to her and went back to sleep.

Later that afternoon, she finally forced herself out of bed. Imani stood in the shower, letting the hot water glide down her back. Her brown skin glistened from the steam as she turned the water off and got out of the shower.

She stood at 5'3, with full firm breast, flat stomach, and firm thighs that rounded up to her plump bottom. The ends of her long curly fro touched her mahogany shoulders while she dried off and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror.

Imani shea butter creamed her brown smooth face, while her almond shaped, light brown eyes still showed the tiredness collected from the week. After brushing her teeth, she softly glossed her full lips.....she was gorgeous. Last, Imani lotioned the rest of her body and threw on some tights and a tank top....she was ready for a full day of relaxing.

Grabbing a buttered smeared toasted bagel and a bottle of water, she sat on the couch. Now, it was time to go through the movie catalog to search what genre she wanted to watch for the day.

"Hmmm.....I think I will do horror today," she said to herself.

After thirty minutes into the movie, her phone rang. She saw who was calling and answered.

"Hey Sam, what's up?"

"Hey Imani, I need a huge favor," Sam, her manager, said as if she was bracing for rejection.

"Let me guess, you need me to come in?" Imani already knew.

"Yes , but only for like 4 hours. Vince's plane was delayed, but he said he would still make it in today. It's pretty hectic here today, and we could really use your help. I'll even give you next weekend off," she said with hope.

"Sure, what time do you need me there?"

"4 o'clock....thank you so much Imani, you are the absolute best! See you soon."

Imani looked at her phone. "2:23 pm... great. Let me just get up now."

"Hey Bree, got called into work. Will see you later." She texted her bestie. The phone buzzed right away.

"Sheesh, they should put your name on the building instead. I'll bring you home some food for later....love you."

"Thanks, bestie. Love you too." She smiled, thankful for Bria's friendship these past four years.

Imani walked into Roulette, looking at the packed black painted wood tables of people. One side of the restaurant had red brick walls, the other side walls had pictures of rock bands and album covers. The ceiling had colorful strobe and laser lights that kicked on once night fell. The atmosphere was fun, hectic, and fast-paced, with interesting people that came in from day to day.

Although the majority of their customers were working class folk, an increase of new customers were people of high status. They owned companies, businesses, bankers, and lawyers who all had loads of money. When they walked into Roulette, they were treated like everyone else. No sucking up, ass kissing, or fake praise because of their wealth. They talked and mingled with regular folks who didn't care about their status or money. Everyone was there to have a great time and let loose.

"You're on restocking, but I may call you to serve the tables their orders to help out Amanda and Carlos," Sam told her as she walked into the back. Imani nodded and smiled.

"Thanks again." Sam smiled, rushing back into the office.

In no time, Imani was in full work mode. Working there for four years, it came easy to her. Her bubbly upbeat personality always kept the crew on their toes and energized. Being in the stock room was a breeze, plus she loved organizing things. It was therapeutic.

Two hours go by, and Imani can't believe how fast time is going. After she gave the last table their order, she walked back into the kitchen and headed for the stockroom. Sam came back there within minutes, interrupting.

"Imani, I need you to take table seven, please." She walked out before Imani could reply.

She adjusted her cat eye shaped eyeglasses, put on her waist apron with her order pad, and made her way onto the main floor. Usually, on the weekend, Imani would wear different colored wigs that matched her lipstick and nails. It was common for some of the crew to have tattoos, piercings, and have their hair dyed different colors.

The uniforms were black bottoms and tops with the small red logo on the right side. So they were free to rock whatever look that wasn't against company policy. Imani took full advantage of that during the weekend to express herself differently. During the week, it was glam and natural hair. On the weekend, it was glam and colorful hair. But since today was going to be short, Imani kept it natural and makeup free.

As she walked toward table seven, holding a glass of ice water, a man sat alone. She figured this should be an easy order.

She sat the glass on the table in front of him. "Hello, welcome to Roulette. My name is Imani, I will be your waitress today. What can I get for you?" She said in her usual bubbly voice.

The man looked up from his phone, and Imani's heart went turbo. She instantly put her hand on her chest, thinking it would make the beating slow down.

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