LILY DRAKE HATED NOTHING MORE THAN HER JOB. Sure, tips were fine, and pouring drinks for angry sports fans wasn't the worst thing she could be doing, but she despised every second.
Her manager was a sleaze, thus forcing her to wear or alter her uniform in a way that was "more appealing" to the male audience of the bar. She didn't give a shit about it, ignoring the rule, which made him upset enough to schedule her on nights like these.
It was dead. Less stressful? Sure. Less harassment? Absolutely. Less tips? Yup. So Lily took her time walking to work. Her wage at this shitty bar was stupid anyways. It was already dark on this early Monday evening, most of the would-be customers at home eating dinner with the wives they'd cheat on the next night.
As usual in San Francisco, there was a fair bit of homeless people living in the alleyways or right on the sidewalk, so she took care to leave them alone, unlike many of the city's housed occupants that cursed and swore at those less fortunate.
There was someone standing outside of the bar, leaning against the door, and Lily tucked her keys in between her knuckles just in case. He turned toward her, the young guy offering her a polite smile.
"Hey, you Lily?" He asked.
"Who's asking?" She asked in return, raising an eyebrow apprehensively.
"I'm Johnny, uh, I'm supposed to be getting trained by you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in turn.
"Oh, shit," Lily muttered. "I'm so sorry, I forgot that was today."
"No worries." Johnny said with a nervous laugh. Lily mentally smacked herself. Their manager did tell her she was supposed to finish Johnny's training. Essentially, she didn't have to do anything except make sure he was doing things right. She went over, unlocking the door and letting them both in.
Johnny flipped on the "open" sign and turned on the TVs as Lily filled the ice tray and started writing out the Monday specials. Whiskey sour and a margarita. They didn't go together at all, but she didn't make the menu.
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As the night went on, a few regulars came and left, and both Lily and Johnny were bored out of their minds. There was no game on, so they switched the TVs to the news, but it was excruciating. Together, they'd made $1.50 in tips. Until the night rush came in, there was no one. And then, it seemed like everyone.
Lily was swarmed with people, and her arms were exhausted from the endless margarita shaking. Johnny was doing fine, so she left him to his own devices.
"Can I get a scotch? Neat?" Lily turned to see her favourite, and easily the most handsome of her customers, Eddie Brock. He was an investigative reporter for MNBN, and currently the biggest name in the industry. He had a knack for pissing people off.
"Hey, Eddie. How you doing?" Lily asked, pouring his drink.
"Not great, Lily." He replied. She tilted her head, handing him the drink. He looked a little worse for wear. "I just got fired."
