The next evening, I arrive at the club by 6. The empty feeling that I woke up with has grown stronger. I would much rather be spending my time with Thad, but thanks to Jack, I have a responsibility to oversee this acquisition that should have been his. Moirai doesn’t open until 8, but there are things to review with Julian beforehand.
When I enter, my first stop is the back office. Julian is already there pouring over some paperwork. He doesn’t hear me come in and I stand there for a bit, watching him from the doorway. After a minute, he must sense that he is being watched and looks up. The moment his eyes meet mine, he smiles at me and that empty feeling I have slowly starts to melt away. Here we go again.
“Hello, I didn’t hear you come in,” Julian says, standing. “I was just going over some paperwork. Are you ready to get started or do you need a minute?”
“I’m ready if you are.” I take off my coat and hang it on the nearby coat rack.
“Great,” he says, walking around the desk. He stops at a safe in the corner. “The first thing we need to do is make sure the registers are funded. We usually start off the night with two hundred dollars in each register, made up of two twenties, six tens, ten fives, and fifty singles.” As he says all of this, he pulls out two pencil cases. He opens one and shows me that the money has already been presorted.
“Each register has its own case. At the end of the night, the registers are closed out and reconciled. The cases are then prepped for the next business day.” He looks up at me to see if I’m following all of this.
“Got it.” He stands up and leads the way to the registers behind the bar, where he opens them and puts the money in the drawers. “Once the money is in the drawer, we log the amounts into the computer over here,” he says, showing me the touch screen monitor.
None of this interests me and I try not to make my boredom evident. He continues with his routine, but I stop listening and my mind starts to wander. My eyes start canvassing the empty space wondering where the elevator can be built to allow a new entrance to the complex. It will have to be somewhere out of sight and not easily accessible to the public. Just then I catch sight of the door to the storage room. I wonder…
“Hey…” I hear, gently interrupting my thoughts. “I guess you’re not really into this.”
“Sorry.” I give him an apologetic shrug. “My head is somewhere else right now.”
“That’s alright. That’s why you have me here. And don’t worry; it gets better as the place fills up.”
The next hour is filled with much of the same; me following Julian around, while he carries on with his routine and explains what he is doing along the way. The staff starts to trickle in and Julian does the introductions; bus boys, bartenders, bouncers, cooks, etc… He knows each and every one of them by name.
When he is done ensuring that everything is ready for opening, I follow him back to his office. “I hope I didn’t bore you too much,” he says, pulling a chair behind the desk next to his. He motions for me to sit.
YOU ARE READING
Lila's Choice
VampireThe first book in the Eye of the Vampire Series. Lila must choose between two men. One man offers her everything she's ever wanted in a partner and the other everything she never knew she did. Complicating matters further, Lila must deal with her je...
