I paid less attention to the route as I took the bus. I had no reason to do so as I'd done the trip to the Lunar Eclipse before. I adjusted my bag on my lap. It'd slid a bit when the driver took a sharp left turn.
I put my headphones on and listened to some music on my phone. Whenever I felt a bit nervous or needed some extra motivation to get through something, I played music to affect my mood and state of mind.
Right now, I needed to get pumped up a bit and feel energized and confident. So, I took a deep breath and let the music surround me.
By the time I'd reached my stop, I exited the bus feeling like I could handle things, excited to have the chance to show off my moves on the dance floor and knowing I only had a limited time in which to do so. This was my chance, and I was going to take it!
I walked with confidence the short distance to the main entrance of the Lunar Eclipse, with my bag slung over my shoulder. A few steps from the doors, Tony stepped out of the shadows and to a place where I could see him easily and waved to me.
"Miss Sinead.", he greeted me in a polite, respectful tone.
I smiled warmly. "Tony. It's nice to see you again."
"The main doors are locked. I'm supposed to be guarding the employee entrance. But I didn't know if they told you to go there or not, Miss Sinead. So, I thought I'd wait here for you.", He pointed to where he'd stood previously. "That way I can see both doors."
"That's very thoughtful of you, Tony. In fact, no one told me anything about it."
"Come this way."
I followed him around the corner, to the side of the building. I saw the door that must be the employee entrance. Tony kindly open it for me saying, "In you go, Miss Sinead."
I smiled at him. "Thanks again. See you later."
"Bye, Miss Sinead."
I had prepared myself to step into a dimly lit building, but my eyes didn't have to do much of a transition to the amount of available light inside.
The lighting was currently brighter than it'd been when I last visited. I noticed this change in lighting gave the place a slightly different vibe than it usually had. Although the place was quieter, I could hear voices talking in the distance.
Not sure where exactly I was supposed to go, I figured my best bet was to follow the sound of voices. I heard them more clearly the closer I got, as I travelled from the door and down the hall.
"…I just don't think you understand!", I heard a woman's shrill, accusatory voice say. "You aren't taking me seriously at all. You're making a mistake!"
"The matter wasn't up to just me to decide. You think I have more power in this situation than I do."
I recognized the second, male voice as belonging to Mr. Andrew Jackson.
"You're the one who makes the hiring and firing decisions around here. This must be your fault!"
"My fault? You have quite an attitude today, mademoiselle."
The woman made an offended noise of indignation and disgust.
I'd slowed down so as not to walk into the conversation. As it was, I didn't want to interrupt, but I didn't want to stand around and be viewed as an eavesdropper either.
I stopped walking and pondered for a moment. Maybe it was best just to interrupt?
Just as I'd made my decision, a tall, blond-haired woman stomped around the corner and walked right into me. I let out an 'oof', I rebalanced myself.
She huffed angerly and looked at me like it was all my fault. She took a step back from me with a look of distaste and trailed her eyes up and down me. Her frown deepened.
"Excuse me.", I said.
"Excuse you?", she asked with a rude tone.
I flicked my eyes from her to Mr. Jackson who walked up behind her. She turned her head to follow my gaze and glance at him.
Ignoring me completely, she addressed him. "Well, Mr. Jackson, looks like your mistake has arrived."
Her frown turned into an ugly sneer. "I'd be careful if I were you. Looks like she's an eavesdropping sneak too."
Laughing loudly at her own joke, she didn't wait for any reply, but pushed past me and exited out the employee entrance.
I stayed absolutely still and expressionless for a few moments, waiting to see what, if anything Mr. Jackson would say or do about the situation.
He sighed deeply. "I wish it wasn't a waste of breath to apologize to you about Angelique. I wish I could say she was having a bad day, or that this was a one-time thing. But that girl is spoiled and self-centred. Horrible, really. If she didn't bring in so many customers and so much money, we would have gotten rid of her long ago."
No matter what he said, I could see it in his eyes and face that he was sorry I'd had to deal with Angelique.
I grasped one of his hands in both of mine for a moment and gave it a sympathetic squeeze before letting go.
"It's okay. It's not your fault."
'After all,' I thought, 'you are not safe from her venom either, it would seem.'
"On a lighter note, how about I show you around the place and introduce you to a few people?"
I nodded affirmative.
"They'll all seem really nice in comparison to Angelique. Thank the Goddess that Essence isn't here yet. She always insists on being 'fashionably' late."
Something about the way he said it, made my heart drop to my feet. I was nervous to hear the answer, but I still asked the question, "Who is Essence?"
"Essence is the close friend Angelique. She works here too. They're like two peas in a pod and are both equally horrid."
I rolled my eyes heavenward. 'Great Goddess why throw one thorn in my path, when you could throw two?'
"Thanks for the heads-up." I said grimly to Mr. Jackson.
We started with the first floor. Mr. Jackson showed me an architectural floorplan of the place before he took me into the kitchens and introduced me to chefs and waitstaff currently there.