𝑀𝐴𝐺𝑀𝐴 | 𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒

𝟏𝟓 | 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

・𝐉𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄・

"𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔, 𝐌𝐑. Reyes. We'll be contacting you shortly with our decision."

Jaime smiled and nodded, and he stood up. He quickly shook his interviewer's hand—he prayed his hand wasn't as sweaty as he thought it was—and muttered a goodbye before leaving.

As soon as the door shut behind him, he let out a huge sigh of relief and his muscles relaxed. That had actually gone pretty well. The interviewer had asked him just about the same questions Milagro had prepared him for, and it seemed like the man had been happy with his answers. He didn't want to jinx it, but he was confident he got the job.

As he passed the doors that led to the backyard, he glanced through the glass. Briefly, he caught a glimpse of Milagro, who was chatting to another working woman, obviously not making much use of the rags in her hand. Assuming this went well, that was the life he was going to have to look forward to. For the next little while, at least.

He stepped outside of the home, and then immediately turned to look at it. It was huge—he didn't expect anything less from someone as wealthy as Victoria Kord. And as much as he absolutely loathed her, he had to admit, her home was pretty nice. He definitely never expected to have something like this.

He wondered what he should do now. He could just call a taxi and head home, though he wasn't exactly eager to spend money right now—especially since he had to pay for a ride to get here in the first place. Besides, there wasn't much to do at home, other than watch TV or read a book.

He craned his neck. The café that Reina worked at was about three blocks from here—maybe he could head over there for a while. It was a bit of a walk, but it was better than nothing. And after that nerve-wracking interview, he definitely could eat something sweet.

Gotham City was only lively at night—and that was if you were downtown, specifically in the nightlife area. Anywhere you went, you were surrounded by tall, grey buildings that were practically identical to one another.

Palmera City, on the other hand, had a little more fun to it. Sure, there were still those huge buildings surrounding the roads, but the neon lights and signs everywhere made it a little more interesting to pass. And another thing Jaime had missed: all the greenery. Trees that were homes to twittering birds and baskets of plants hanging from shop windows—it just made the place so much more homey and beautiful.

By the time he had reached the Rich Cup café, he was sweating a little. He had already taken his blazer off and folded it over his arms, but that wasn't much help thanks to the heavy sunlight. It was a relief as he walked in and was hit with a cool breeze from the AC.

The place wasn't very busy, though there were a few customers. A couple of high school students were cooped up in the corner, and a small group of older women were sitting around a circular table.

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked for Reina; the counter seemed empty, and it was an otherwise open space. But as he neared, he realized that she was just crouched behind the display, rearranging some of the pastries.

She popped up as he stepped up to the counter. "Welcome—oh, Jaime!" Her grin instantly widened. "How was the interview?"

"I think it was good." He shrugged.

"Awesome. I'm sure you'll get it." She wiped her hands on the short waist apron she had on. "My shift ends in a little over an hour. If you're okay with waiting, I can drive you home."

"Sounds good to me. Thanks." He nodded. "I should probably get something, huh? What do you recommend?"

She pursed her lips as she leaned against the counter. She craned her neck to look at the desserts displayed. "I know you're a chocolate guy . . . our double chocolate brownies are pretty good. There's also chocolate tarts."