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Weiss let her head thump on her desk as she let out a long, heavy sigh. The Vacuo deal had gone poorly, as expected, because her idiot brother failed to oversee proper security on the shipments. Now the Vacuoan’s were pissed, and Weiss was suffering the consequences.
Weiss let out another heavy sigh, reaching under her desk for the bottle of expensive scotch she reserved for occasions like this. Sadly, as she pulled out the bottle, she noticed only a small amount of the amber liquid sloshing at the bottom. Weiss scowled, not remembering how her stash had gotten so depleted, and she downed the small amount with a wince.
I’m not nearly drunk enough to deal with this now.
Weiss rubbed her eyes, stood, and made her way toward the lobby where her assistant, Jessica something-or-another was waiting.
“Jess, call Kline and have a car ready for me in 5 minutes. Make it faster and I might give you a raise.”
Her assistant looked a little started at her boss's appearance, but nodded her head all the same.
“Of course, Ms. Schnee.”
Weiss checked her watch, seeing the numbers 10:46 blinking back her, and let out yet another heavy sigh.
What am I doing?
Her assistant came back into her office to notify her that Kline would be here in three minutes. Weiss made her way to the elevator, and got in, watching people pass below her like ants through the glass walls.
Mindless employees working for a corrupt company, they might as well be ants.
Weiss wasn’t corrupt herself, but it didn’t matter in the long run. Whitley was her higher up, and despite the fact that Weiss did ten times as much as he did, Whitley still controlled who did what, whenever he wanted it done. It infuriated her. It was part of the reason why Weiss decided to go out and de-stress a bit, despite the mountain of paperwork she knew was waiting for her when she returned.
Weiss walked through the overly elegant front doors of the Schnee Corporation building, and made her way to where Kline was waiting.
He opened the door for her, and Weiss slid inside, running her hand across the leather seats.
“Where to, Ms. Schnee?”
“Juniors. And please call me Weiss, you’re the closest thing I have to a friend.”
He let out a hearty chuckle, but glanced back at her with a note of concern in his eyes.
“You should make some friends, Ms. Schnee.”
Weiss stared out the window dejectedly, watching the lit up city buildings pass by.
“I know.”
~~~
Kline pulled up to Juniors, parked and let Weiss out, but caught her arm as she made her way to the bar.
“Please have some fun tonight, Ms. Schnee. I can only imagine how much you need it.”
Weiss gave Kline a genuine smile that she reserved for him.
“Thank you, Kline. I’ll try.”
Weiss turned and walked towards Juniors. The place wasn’t the nicest she could’ve gone to by far, but Weiss was tired of nice places and fancy, civilized people. Besides, the bar made the best Whiskey Sour she had ever tasted, and nobody there ever knew who she was.
Weiss walked in, and was instantly greeted by loud music blasting out of cheap speakers.
I fly like paper, get high like planes
If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name
If you come around here, I make ‘em all day
I get one down in a second if you wait
Weiss didn’t recognize the song, but the beat was catchy and she found herself humming the melody as she took a seat at the bar.
Juniors was crowded, and the bartender was nowhere to be seen. Weiss drummed her fingers impatiently on the counter top, glancing around for a bartender, but they eluded her roaming eyes.
A mop of black hair suddenly popped from behind the counter, startling Weiss. The bartender straightened up, revealing bright, bright silver eyes and a shining smile, hair getting even more tousled as the woman ran a hand through it. Weiss was instantly drawn to this woman’s shoulders, broad and muscled, practically straining through her thin black shirt with the Juniors’ logo on it. A tattoo of a rose peaked out from the sleeve on her right arm, and Weiss found her eyes tracing it, but not before returning her gaze to the woman’s eyes. She’d never seen silver eyes before, certainly not the liquid silver that this woman’s eyes seemed to be. Her shoulder length black hair was dyed red at the tips, framing her face in a very attractive way.
Weiss swallowed, but it did nothing to get rid of the dry feeling in her throat. In the background, another song blasted, and Weiss caught a few lyrics.
I ain’t felt like this in a long time
I ain’t felt like this in a long time
I ain’t have shit in a long time
Just to feel like this it took a long time (yeah)
Just to feel like this it took a long time (yeah)
The lyrics were crude, but Weiss connected with them in a strange way. She’d never been so enraptured with a stranger, scratch that, anyone in a very long time.
“Can I help you?”
Weiss was shaken from her stupor by a high, clear voice, and she looked up to see that the bartender was speaking to her, one eyebrow raised over those perfect silver eyes.
“Um, I’ll uh, I’ll have a Whiskey Sour.”
Weiss cursed herself internally, noting that her voice was unusually husky and unsteady, and her face felt warm.
“One Whiskey Sour coming up!”
The bartender bent over again to retrieve the lemon juice and whiskey, giving Weiss ample opportunity to eye the woman’s well muscled back.
Weiss wasn’t ready from the shaking part of her drink.
As the bartender shook her drink, Weiss stared dumbfounded at the woman’s flexed biceps and shoulder muscles. She felt her mouth go dry again and willed herself to swallow.
Dammit Weiss, pull yourself together! Sit up straight and mind your manners, and quit staring at her shoulders!
Weiss shifted in her seat, tearing her eyes away from the bartender, and tried to focus on anything else. She pulled out her scroll, seeing one notification from her assistant.
Jess: Your brother wishes to meet with you tomorrow at 11:00 am to discuss the trade deal.
Weiss let out a disgusted scoff and set her scroll on the countertop.
“Bad news?”
The bartender had returned with her drink, and was eyeing her with slight concern. Weiss accepted the drink with a small ‘ thank you’ and took a sip.
“My brother is being difficult.”
Weiss wasn’t sure why she was telling the woman this, but she radiated a sense of security and good natured-ness. Or maybe Weiss was just lonely and grabbing at any excuse she could to talk to the attractive bartender.
“Ah, family problems. I hear about them all the time, but I’m lucky that I get along with my sister.”
Weiss ran her finger along a seam in the counter, muttering dejectedly.
“Must be nice.”
Instantly, Weiss was met with apologetic silver eyes.
“Oh I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you.”
The woman ran her hand through her hair again before rubbing her neck bashfully. Her expression was genuinely apologetic, something that Weiss wasn’t used to.
“It’s ok. I’m used to dealing with him.”
The woman opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by a shout from behind the bar.
“Ruby! Can you bring these bottles up to the front for me?”
The woman—Ruby—looked at Weiss with another apologetic glance before disappearing into the back.
~~~
Weiss was drunk. Properly, inhibitions lowered, very, very drunk. Ruby was looking better by the second, and Weiss was finding it harder and harder not to drag Ruby back to her flat and kiss her senseless, maybe a bit more.
After Ruby came back to the bar, Weiss had all but spilled out all her problems to the bartender, to which Ruby decided that Weiss needed many more drinks. A collection of glasses littered her area, but Weiss was too wasted to care. Currently, Ruby was laughing over some dumb joke that Weiss had told, silver eyes shining with humor and something else that Weiss couldn’t read.
The clock above the bar hit 2:00, and Ruby swiftly collected all of Weiss’s glasses and wiped down the counter with a grimy rag. She finally stepped out from behind the counter, revealing sinfully tight jeans and dirty Vans. Weiss swallowed and stumbled off the stool she’d been sitting on, before feeling her legs give out a little and her back hit the counter.
“Careful there Weiss-y. I think you’re a bit more drunk than you realize.”
Ruby was looking at her with concern, but Weiss waved her off and made her way back to her feet. She staggered around a bit before finding her footing, but Ruby grabbed her shoulders to support her.
Weiss looked at her with wide eyes, and Ruby grinned back.
“I don’t think you’re in any shape to get around by yourself. I’ll take you home. Besides, my shift just ended.”
Weiss went to shake her head, but found herself nodding instead.
What am I doing?
Ruby fixed her with a grin, silver eyes sparkling, and gently led Weiss to her car. It was a beat up red little Toyota, certainly not as nice as Weiss was used to, but at the moment she could care less.
“Oh that reminds me, I have to call Kline and tell him not to pick me up.”
Weiss had almost forgotten about her butler in her haste to leave with Ruby.
“Who’s Kline?”
“He’s my…. friend.”
Weiss was hesitant to tell Ruby about her butler, because she really didn’t want the woman to get the impression that she was a stuck up, rich business woman. Even when she was telling her about her troubles with Whitley, Weiss failed to mention that she was the head of the Schnee Corporation.
“Ah, ok. For a second there, I thought he was your boyfriend or something.”
Weiss instantly flushed and had to stop herself from laughing. How had Ruby failed to notice her blatant flirting through tonight?
“No, there’s no boyfriend.”
Ruby’s grin stretched wider, almost into a teasing expression.
“Girlfriend?”
If possible, Weiss went even more red and had to stop herself from spluttering, all the while Ruby looked a little smug.
“I wish.”
Weiss clasped her hands over her mouth in shock, horrified that those words had come out of her mouth.
Shit.
Ruby just laughed, and a wistful expression came over her face.
“Me too.”
Weiss was silent.
“Oh, what’s your address?”
“Weiss?”
Weiss was mulling over the thoughts in her head, trying to decide what to do. The very nice, very attractive bartender was also single and also possibly interested in Weiss, and the alcohol sloshing around in her head wasn’t making this any easier.
“Why don’t we go to your place instead?”
Ruby looked over at Weiss, shock written on her features, but slowly smiling as the implications of her statement hit the woman.
“That sounds like a great idea.”