The Trick to Falling in Style

Job

Tommy sat outside the office. His leg bounced nervously as he stared up at the ceiling. He could hear Mamacita and MD whispering to one another across the hall from him. If he pressed his ear against the wall he was leaning his head against, he could hear Sam, Nook, and the new person talking to each other with tones that spiked between almost-yelling and slightly above a whisper. There was the buzzing of the fluorescent lights above his head, and there was a low thrum of redstone running through the building. Tommy counted the seconds, his heart dropping closer to the floor as each hand of the clock ticked forward. Tommy could feel his heart beating against his knees when the office door swung open. Mamacita and MD immediately shut up, and Tommy nearly jumped to his feet. All the attention in that dimly lit hallway was thrust upon a tired-looking Sam.

"Come in. He'll see you all now," Sam said, stepping into the hallway to provide room. Tommy walked into the room first. Mamacita cautiously entered the room with an antsy MD following behind her. The three of them lined up shoulder to shoulder in front of the dark oak desk. Tommy let his eyes travel across the room, taking note of the bookshelf stocked full of books and the windows that were decidedly not locked. There were two chairs pressed into the side of the desk, but no one sat down in them. The only person who was sitting was the man that Tommy's attention was inevitably captured by.

A man sat behind the desk, his hands folded together on top of the wooden surface and his back ramrod straight. Although he possessed a youthful face, his hair was a metallic silver. As the sunlight filtered in behind the man, parts of his hair shone like rusty copper, sickly green and dull. His eyes were a blazing, rich red like with a flower-like design inked in pinkish orange around his pupils. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and he was wearing a black suit with a dark green tie. The more noticeable features didn't align, but Tommy could see parts of Nook in the curvature of the chin and the slant of the cheekbones.

Nook himself was standing behind the desk, leaned against the window. He had removed his homburg hat, allowing everyone to see the green streaks in his dark brown hair. He wasn't smiling like he usually was. He wasn't moving his hands around like he had too much energy. He was stock-still with a soulless, borderline angry expression crossing his tanned face. His brown eyes refused to look at anyone, staring intently at a potted plant in the corner like that plant had murdered Nook's whole family.

Sam closed the door behind him, standing against it as if someone was going to try to escape. Tommy knew that none of them were. Mamacita and MD would never consider trying to escape from their bosses, and Tommy would use the window if he needed to leave. The window led immediately outside, after all, and going through the door would force him to run through the hotel.

"Thank you for taking the time to see me. I apologize for the long wait. I needed to smooth out some details with Manager Sam and my younger brother," The man at the desk said with a sickly sweet smile that didn't fit his face at all. Tommy kept a shudder at bay as he waited for the man in front of him to continue speaking. "My name is Samson Bucket. I would prefer if you called me Mr. Bucket. If it is alright with you three, I will immediately get to business. This hotel is one of the busiest, after all, and I do not wish to hold you here longer than necessary."

Bucket stood onto his feet, walking around the desk with slow, methodical steps. When he came to the front of the desk, he looked at the three people he had gathered. He focused on each one specifically as he began talking. "Tommy Innit, you are the receptionist for the day shift. Mexican Dream and Mamacita Sueno, you two are part of the cleaning crew. Together with Manager Sam, the three of you make sure that this hotel runs efficiently. You have my gratitude for all the hard work the three of you have done over the years."

Bucket's smile disappeared off his face, and Tommy knew that they were seeing his true colors shine through. Tommy could see Nook's hands grip his upper arms tighter, and Sam shuffled away from the conversation. Bucket continued speaking, unbothered by his companions' tense reactions. "That being said, all three of you must be let go. You were hired by Manager Sam, and although I trust his judgment, I will be running the hotel a lot differently from him. I want professionals to be working here, not a teenager, a former drug addict, and a former prostitute. It simply isn't good for business."