A knock at the door grabbed both women's attention. The entry to the room opened wide, revealing Lorenzo standing in the entryway. "Hey! Selene!"
She turned her head around upon hearing her name. "Yeah?"
"Just got in touch with the manager. He said that you've got the job. We've got a big night coming up this Thursday and he doesn't want to go through the hiring process. No one has tried to apply for the position since the last girl left, so he's going to take a gamble on you."
"Oh, that's fantastic!" Selene smiled from ear to ear, bouncing up and down. "I will not let you guys down."
"Yeah, let's hope not." Lorenzo crossed his arms. "We don't want another short-term employee. It's a waste of time and money. Two things that nobody in this town can afford to throw away."
"You don't have to tell me that."
"Welcome to the team Selene," Hualing said as she got up from her chair. She leaned an elbow on Selene's shoulder. "Never would have thought that you would have gotten hired that easily. Even I had to do a mandatory audition."
"Sounds like you're a bit envious," Selene replied confidently.
"Whatever makes you feel better."
"Don't start celebrating just yet." Lorenzo stepped inside. His lips furled and he pushed out his chest. "Boss said that he wants you to start working as soon as possible. That means he wants you to skip the introductions and team building exercises and get straight to getting ready for what he hired you for."
"Ooh, the fun part of working at the Family's Stone," Hualing butted in. "If you need someone to imitate a tipsy customer, I'm your girl. Of course, if that means the drinks are on the company's dime."
"Shouldn't you be rehearsing?" Lorenzo shot back. "You're not getting paid to be a socialite, you know."
"As if I need the practice. You get patrons here every night I’m singing, remember?"
“Yeah. But that’s because of happy hour. Not because of you.” Lorenzo looked away from the popstar to the new hire. “Come on, Selene." The bartender wagged his finger, indicating that he wanted Selene to follow him. She obliged while Hualing followed right behind. Lorenzo paused, staring at the singer. "What are you coming along for?"
"She's going to go straight to training, right?" Hualing asked.
"Yeah."
"That's the most entertaining part."
"Entertaining?" Selene asked with nervousness, poorly masked by a phony smile. “Kind of like when people say that they love their job?
Hualing shook her head. "No, no, no. It's not entertaining for you. I meant for me. It's the kind of training that's fun to watch but not to partake in."
"Oh. How long does it take, Mister Lorenzo?"
"Boss said he'd like you to start your training now. At least get the basics done before you go home. So probably a couple hours at the earliest. Can you stay that long? If you do, we can pay you in cash up front. We'll even give you a bit of extra money to compensate for the inconvenience."
"Wow. I'd love to! But I had to get a ride over here. Let me talk to my friends real quick and see if they'd be willing to come by and pick me up later."
"Sure. Be my guest." Lorenzo stepped to the side and pointed to the door with her hand.
"Come on, Vic! I get it. You know all the oldies." Quang ben his head back against his seat. He placed his hands over his eye sockets and started to rub the drowsiness out. "Can't you pick the lyrics of a modern song so I can stand a chance?"
"I don't know any modern songs, dude. You know me."
"Let's play a different game, man. This 'guess the lyric' quiz has already gotten stale."
"Shouldn't Selene be back from her interview?" Vic turned his head out of the window to look at the diner.
"You really have never applied for a job, have you?" Quang replied. "You don't just go in, ask for a job and they hire you on the spot. They ask you some questions. You know, like an interview? And it can take a while too. Sometimes the manager isn't immediately available. Or maybe there's other applicants that they have to get to first. Not to mention—"
A set of quick knocks came from the passenger side window. Quang darted up from his seat, looking surprised to see a smiling Selene looking back at him, waving. He reached over the seat and rolled down the window. "I can't quite reach the unlock lever. You've got to do it yourself."
"Right." Selene placed her hand through the window and unlocked the door. She opened it wide, pressing one hand on the roof and looked at Quang. "Got some good new guys!"
"Oh yeah?" Quang replied with some hesitation.
"Sounds like you got the gig to me," Vic called out from the back seat.
"You'd be right! I came out here because one of the employees gave me an offer. He said that he could give me some cash tonight if I stay here and get my training done before I head home. They're expecting a busy day on Thursday and they want all the help that they can get."
"What? No orientation? No drug test? No—"
"Hold up Quang!" Selene raised one hand, making him pause mid-sentence. "What did you mean by that line about the drug test?"
"Nothing! Honest! It's just standard practice. You know."
"They said they needed help. Pronto. And seeing as how I'm unemployed, my empty schedule means that I can start my shift as soon possible. And that entails getting a head start by knocking out some of the easier parts tonight. You two can leave me here for a few hours. Don't want you two waiting in the car because I don't know how long I'll be. I can give you a ring on the phone at your family's restaurant."
"No, no. Don't worry about that. It's a bit of a drive from here back home."
"Fifteen minutes?"
"A lot can happen in that time." Quang reached over to his side and unbuckled his seatbelt. Selene watched, her eyes quickly narrowing as she became visibly confused.
"What are you scheming now, Quang?"
"We'll just wait inside."
"What?" Vic called out from the back. "I don't want to spend my day in this place!"
"I'll pay for your food."
Vic leaned back in his chair, relaxed. "You make a good offer, I must admit."
"You two are going to try and get me fired, aren't you?" Selene said quietly with eyes that narrowed in on Quang.
"I'd never do that! I'm just here to save on gas. You think I can afford to just drive back and forth with prices being as high as they are?"
"But you can afford to buy Vic a meal?"
"If I didn't, he would have just added it to the never-ending tab he has back at Pho 68."
"It's true!" Vic called out.
Selene sighed. "Fine." She then smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead. "But please. Just promise me you won't make a scene. Either one of you."
Vic leaned forward in his seat, letting his head jut out from between the driver and passenger's chairs to make eye contact with the woman standing outside of the car. "I'd say yes, but I'm inherently against making promises that I can't keep."
"At least you’re honest."
"I'll keep him in line, Selene." Quang gave Vic a soft shove, forcing him to sit back down. "And you know that I can keep my composure. After all we've been through? I think you know how I roll."
"Fine. Fine. If it will make you happy. You can... sit in the dining area." Selene's head took a sharp turn towards the backseat. "And you. There's someone in there that I know you won't get along with."
"Me?" Vic pointed at himself.
"Yes, you. Not going to say names. But if you do see... this person... please just keep to yourself. Don't cause a scene. They're having a hard time as it is. They don't need anybody harassing them over something petty like tastes in music."
With one finger Vic scratched the side of his scalp. "I go back to what I said before. I'm not gonna make any promises that I can't keep."
"You better, Vic. Or else we'll have to start making you pay back that tab you've been running up," Quang said. “And since you don’t have two dimes to rub together, I think you know what that entails.”
Vic shuddered. “Cleaning duty?”
Quang bobbed his head up and down. “Yep. We haven’t had a chance to get to the bathrooms since the last time you were here.”
The man in the back winced. He pinched his fingers together and using an imaginary zipper sealed his lips shut.
“I don’t think he’ll be a problem, Selene,” Quang said.
