After her blissful days away, Mia spent a nothing day of errands, laundry, and reading. She itched to message Arthur, but had nothing to say, typing and deleting variations of I'm thinking about you over and over. She chose to send none of them, especially as her own phone remained quiet.
The following day's return to work was a godsend, twice over: a chance to see Arthur in a natural setting, and the guaranteed distraction of a busy New Year's Eve service.
Mia arrived early, as Dutch's message instructed, walking through the empty dining room to the kitchen bench, where the chefs and day staff were already gathered. She nestled in next to Abigail and squeezed her arm.
"What's going on?" She asked quietly, scanning over the faces of her coworkers, offering a smile here, a nod there, as they each made eye contact.
"No idea," Abigail whispered back, but she clasped Mia's hand and swung her out, looking approvingly up and down. "You look good, girl. Glowy."
"Oh," Mia laughed, rolling her eyes.
"I mean it," Abigail pressed, "what did you get up to, all week? We missed you on the toboggan."
"Just caught up on rest, mostly," Mia said, shrugging and looking again around the room to avoid Abigail's inquisitive gaze. From the end of the bench, Arthur smiled at her, and she felt her face warm. Maybe he'd been thinking about her, too.
John hustled in with Jack in his arms and wedged himself between Abigail and Mia. He was just in time: Dutch came in from the back door, trailed by a blond stranger unfamiliar to Mia, and by the curious looks of her coworkers, the rest of them, too. Dutch smiled at the staff, but the man's face remained still as he surveyed them all out of pale eyes.
"Well hello, Outlaw," Dutch said, opening his hands wide. "I trust you all had a good holiday."
"Sure did, Dutch," Lenny said, from Mia's right. Other staff members nodded, and Mia, thinking again to her days in the cabin, bit back a smile.
"I'm glad we all had this time to rest, and reenergize," Dutch continued. "We'll be making some changes in the coming weeks, ones I know you talented folks will rise to the challenge of. With that I'd like to introduce Micah Bell, a consultant we'll be working with in the days ahead. Please give Mr. Bell your undivided attention."
Mia's gaze slid from Dutch's familiar, handsome, friendly face to Micah's, carved into a grin, but one that didn't extend to those pale eyes, which remained transfixed on the group.
"Well, well, well. Look at this good-looking group of people." Micah began. His voice, no more gravelled than John's - or Arthur's, for that - nonetheless set Mia at immediate unease. She clasped the edge of the bench and held tight. "We got the raw ingredients in this room, Dutch, that's for damn sure." He continued to look between the staff until he settled on John, holding Jack.
"Oh, a rugrat," he remarked, his lips curling.
"This is Jack," Abigail offered, a tenuous smile on her face.
But Micah ignored her, turning instead to Dutch and guffawing, "didn't think this were a family joint."
"It isn't," Dutch assured, and Mia saw John's neck grow pink around the collar.
Micah assumed a wide, cocky stance, his hands on his hips. "Phase one of this whole thing is upping the marketing 'round here. I'm talkin' Instagram. TikTok. We bring some young, good-lookin' influencers in here to do some interviews with your CDC, maybe a cocktail demo with your bartender. Who's the bartender?"
"That'd be me." With Jack in his arms, John half-raised his hand.
Micah smirked. "We'll leave the ankle-biter at home, hey, friend." John scowled, but Micah, indifferent, pressed on.
YOU ARE READING
The Night Shift: A Red Dead Redemption 2 AU
Fanfiction[ Arthur Morgan x OC ] Mia North needed a job. Kicked out of the apartment she shared with her (now ex) boyfriend with nothing but the clothes on her back, she'd found a new one for half the size and twice the rent. When she applies for a nighttime...
