Realistic or Modern one and done [matamoja & novacid]

[Araellion]

So all she had to do was smile and look cute. Easy enough. Lord knows Louisa had had plenty of practice doing that. The boss often brought her into meetings with higher management for that reason alone. Distracted men are easier to convince after all.

The fact that Lee would always be in sight was far more comforting than it should be. She still didn't trust this woman. Not by a long shot. But then, she didn't not trust her either. It was so easy to forget how ruthless Lee was. Especially when she was acting so friendly.

Stepping out of the car, Louisa once again tugged at her skirt—something that was quickly becoming a nervous habit. Using the car window as a mirror, she fixed up her hair, making sure it covered as much skin as possible. That was the sole reason why she had left her hair loose in the first place.

Accepting that this outfit would forever remain too revealing, Louisa stopped trying to do anything about it. She demurely trailed after her boss, far less confident than she had been two minutes ago. The doorman barely spared her a glance, for which she was grateful. At least she blended in.

Louisa was slightly surprised that Lee wasn't the manager. But then, she probably had better things to do. Better to outsource where she could. So lost in thoughts about how big this gang was, she let out a surprised squeak when Lee pushed her in front of her. Right into the line of fire, that traitor. "Hi." She let out a nervous laugh along with a wave, hoping it would let her off the hook.

Lee was having far too much fun at her expense. If the entire situation wasn't so absurd then Louisa would be pissed. Or probably not. It was rather funny actually. Bursting into laughter definitely wouldn't do her any favors however, so she kept her mask on.

With a completely deadpan voice and face, Louisa looked at the manager. "I have burnt down my kitchen making cereal. Twice." And god, she wished that was a joke. There was a reason mama had banned her from the kitchen after a while. She thought she had improved enough by the time she moved out, but clearly not.

"If you require a woman in the kitchen, I recommend this one." Louisa pointed at Lee, before hiding behind her. She wasn't even sure whose wrath she was hiding from. "I'd much prefer the company of the men in the bar, thank you very much." It was muttered underneath her breath, but more than loud enough for them both to hear it. Being quiet wasn't exactly Louisa's strong suit.

 

[novacid]

After an abrupt laugh, she shook her head in mock dismay, “I guess I should have known-” Louisa had darted behind her, and Lee straightened her shoulders, trying not to let her childish behavior put her in a good mood, but it was difficult.

She reached behind her and, softly, grabbed a wrist, leading the woman to her side and giving her a quick look, “Behave,” she whispered from the corner of her mouth before turning her attention back to her manager. With deft fingers, she unbuttoned both of her sleeves before rolling them efficiently, “She isn't wrong, though, Davenport, throw me on the line.”

The man's face was a mix of shock and amusement, before settling to horror. Surely this was a jest, and not one he was planning on losing his life over. Flustered and still red, he mumbled many incoherent words before dashing away. Lee, equally confused, was left in the entrance, her offer floating in the air. Shrugging her shoulders, she pushed her sleeves past her elbows and gave Louisa the tiniest of smiles, “I guess now I can keep both eyes on you.”

She gave her new employee a decent tour of the club, but not the secret door leading down to the speakeasy. There were was one blackjack table to mimic the casino Lee owned in Vegas, but other than that, it was tables of varying sizes all gathered around an elaborate stage. A woman currently stood on the polished wooden floor but in street clothes. She sang flawlessly into the tall, floor standing microphone until she got confirmation from a loud voice in the back that she was good to go.

“Hey lady boss, sound good?” the woman called out to Lee.

“Always, Miss Vicky,” she said with a wink, enjoying the small blush that bloomed over Vicky's chest, “This is Louisa-” Lee stood behind her, gently easing her forward, “-she'll be taking covering Sarah's shifts for a few days.”

It was a short introduction, and Lee didn't wait for a response before leading Louisa behind the bar. She poured them each a shot and pushed one of the glasses towards the woman, “Ready for your first night in the criminal life? Doing such...non criminal things?” She paused, “There's a little time before we open...any questions so far?”

 

[Araellion]

Louisa easily let herself get pulled beside her boss, being proud of herself for not jumping at the contact. At least she was finally starting to relax a bit. Slightly chastised, Louisa vowed to behave. At least for a little bit. This had given her an idea after all.

It was pretty disrespectful to embarrass her boss in front of the employees. Could give her a bad reputation or something. Louisa was incredibly curious about how much she would be able to get away with. Especially considering how surprised the manager looked.

Maybe that was one way she would be able to take this gang apart from the inside. Though, she highly doubted that. If anything, it was only an excuse that let Louisa test some boundaries without guilt. She was already working for and with criminals, so might as well have some fun with it.

She was grateful that Lee would be with her. The whole exchange with the manager had soothed her nerves, but she was glad the original plan still stood. So Louisa dutifully followed Lee around the place, idly toying with her gloves and cataloguing all entrances and exits. If anything went wrong, she wanted to get out as fast as possible.

After giving Miss Vicky a wave, Louisa followed Lee with an indignant huff. "One question, I thought I only had to work here one day?" That's what she had assumed, but thinking back Lee had never outright said that.

Pushing the offered glass away, Louisa waited for an answer. All while thinking of ways to avoid any more days here. Not that this place was bad in any way, just on principle. For some reason Louisa felt cheated, which was absurd.

An idea started to form in her mind, and a not so innocent grin spread across her face. "Wait, I don't have to work here anymore if things go south, right? Would be terrible for business." She didn't know if this counted as blackmail or a threat or something like that, but it still made her feel powerful. God, what happened with her original plan of keeping her head down and following orders?

Out of curiosity, Louisa picked up the drink she had pushed aside. Smelling it first, it seemed fine. After a few sips, not so much. Her mouth and throat burned and Louisa tried to cough without spilling the rest of the liquid in the glass. "What is that?" And did they have some water? She was too proud to ask, deciding to deal with the burn without.