Chapter Text
Hawke isn't easily impressed. Growing up with twins has exposed her to two lifetimes worth of experiences.
It's not exactly unusual for an applicant to show up in person to hand in their resume, but Hawke has noticed that most people prefer to submit them online. It saves time and if they really had a reason to contact the applicant, then they would.
But when a dark-skinned, dark-haired beauty saunters up to the counter, Hawke has to take a moment to search for her jaw.
Bethany walks past and taps Hawke's chin upwards. Smiling, she turns towards the newcomer and gives her a nod in greeting.
"Hi, how may I help you?" Bethany asks. Her eyes fall to the paper in the woman's hand and Bethany nods again. "Handing in your resume?"
When Hawke recollects herself, she nudges her sister from behind the cafe's display case. Bethany shoots her a smug expression before taking a step back towards the kitchen.
"Sorry about that," Hawke says as she leans over the glass to collect the paper, "That was unprofessional."
"It's no problem," the woman says. Her voice is like honey to Hawke's ears and she has to swallow to ground herself again. "I don't mind getting casual."
"Ah..." As her voice trails off, Hawke manages a smile. "Well. I'm glad, then. Thanks for coming, miss--"
"You can call me Isabela," she cuts in.
"Right. Isabela." It takes all of Hawke's effort not to make a comment on the woman's appearance. Instead, she takes a step away from the display and gestures towards the workspace behind her. "Is there anything else I can get you?"
"A small latte sounds good," Isabela replies. Her full lips are curved in a smug expression and Hawke just knows her gaze lingers on it a little too long.
Dammit. Now Hawke has to hire her, or else she's just going to keep coming back to fluster Hawke until she gives in anyway. A conniving thing to do, certainly, and even worse that Hawke is assuming she'll do it, but-- that smug look is already enough. Hawke knows she's doomed.
"You're doomed," Bethany tells her with a laugh.
They're closing up. The heat in the kitchen has already dissipated, but there's a distant clanging of cupboards opening and closing that tells Hawke her other baker is still in there. Bethany, on the other hand, is slacking off, sitting on the counter as Hawke counts the money for the day.
"I just cleaned that, you know," Hawke huffs, elbowing her sister in an attempt to force her off.
Bethany laughs again. "I'm pretty sure Fenris was the one who cleaned up, not you. You could barely clean your jaw off the floor when that girl waltzed in earlier like she owned the place!"
"Isabela?" Hawke tries not to sound breathless as the woman's name rolls off her tongue. It's clear to her that she only partially succeeded when Bethany adopts a look of disgust and finally removes herself from the counter.
"Listen to yourself, you're already in love! Disgusting." Instead of sitting on the counter, Bethany has elected to lean against it instead. "I know you've been thinking about her all day. You were distracted; that's not like you."
Hawke rolls her eyes. "What's this, ready to switch professions already? Bethany Hawke, the greatest mind reader in all of Thedas. I can see the billboards now." The corners of her lips pull downward despite her efforts to keep her expression neutral. "You're not helping by constantly bringing it up."
"I'm just messing with you. It's so much more fun not be on the butt end of a joke, you know?" Bethany grins and pokes Hawke with a pen. "But, just to make sure you're not going to be biased about it, I'll check her resume, okay?"
"Whatever." Grumbling, Hawke closes the cash register.
"I'm done with the kitchen!"
Hawke turns around to address her other baker - her primary baker being her darling sister Bethany - and offers the woman a smile. "Good to hear, Merrill. You're free to go for the day."
"Ah, oh-- thank you, Hawke," she replies, returning Hawke's smile. "If you need any more help cleaning up, I'd be happy to help!"
"Well, to be honest, we're not doing much in ways of helping," Hawke states, wearing a sheepish expression, "But Fenris hasn't complained so far."
The man in question grunts from the other side of the dining area.
Merrill scampers up to him. Usually she's good with providing personal space, but most of the staff in Bean of Prey like to poke fun at Fenris and his usual grumpiness. She leans in close to his shoulder before jumping back at his not-so-friendly reaction.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Hawke watches as Merrill skips away from Fenris to collect a washcloth from a cupboard behind the counter. The scent of butter catches Hawke's attention as Bethany approaches her side again, waving a croissant in her face. Hawke snatches it easily.
"Business hasn't been terrible, but it could be better," Hawke comments. Bethany leans against Hawke's shoulder as she, too, snacks on a croissant.
"Give it time, sis," Bethany responds, "Even with three pretty girls like us taking the front lines, there can't have been that much publicity in a month." She pauses to take another bite of her food. "Throw in your lady-love and we might get busier."
Hawke groans around her croissant. "For the love of-- Look, I'm going to give the other applicants' resumes a thorough reading. I'm not going to give that woman favour just because she's good looking."
"I'll believe it when I see it."
After a few lacklustre interviews, Hawke calls in Isabela. The entire morning that she's due to come in, Bethany gives Hawke amused looks. Hawke comes close to throwing packets of sugar in her direction several times throughout those hours.
Since Hawke is prepared this time, she keeps her cool in Isabela's presence. Luckily for both women involved, Isabela also manages a professional demeanor that doesn't distract Hawke too much.
It's a pleasant experience all in all.
"Before I go, would it be alright if I tried one of those?" Isabela points to a muffin in the display case, her other hand already fishing in her pocket for her wallet, "It smells absolutely heavenly."
A smile pulls at Hawke's mouth as she reaches for a pair of plastic gloves. "Sure thing. That'll be--"
"Hawke!" Merrill comes shooting out of the kitchen so quickly her shoes squeak against the floor. "Hawke, Bethany just tore open a hole in a bag of flour. It's a mess in there, and I think we need--"
Just as she rushes up to Hawke's side, she notices Hawke's arm extended into the display. Then her eyes dart over to the woman on the other side of the glass.
"Oh," she says, coming to a halt. Her shoulders fall slowly from her ears into a more relaxed position. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were with a customer. I didn't hear the door open, so--"
"It's alright, don't worry about it," Isabela coos. She leans against the glass, her impressive bust pushed higher on her chest thanks to her new, advantageous position. "Whatever predicament you've just described sounds much more pressing than satisfying my craving."
The way the words "satisfy my craving" fall out of Isabela's mouth sends a shiver down Hawke's spine. So much for keeping her cool. One quick glance at Isabela and Hawke knows that Isabela's sultry tone of voice was intentional.
"Oh, I'm sure we can manage." Merrill glances between Hawke and Isabela before offering a sheepish smile. "I'll, ah, I'll just go find Fenris. I could probably get him to fetch a replacement. Sorry about that!" She turns to Isabela and gives her a deep nod. "Enjoy your muffin! Bye!"
Merrill leaves just as quickly as she had arrived. The kitchen doors swing as she reenters, a cloud of flour rising in her wake.
Isabela steps back from the display, her gaze lingering on the doors behind Hawke. "Now that's a bundle of energy if I ever saw one."
"Merrill's something, alright," Hawke replies with a laugh. She finishes up her business by slipping the muffin into a paper bag, then heads over to the cash register. "The store's pretty new, so we're still learning how to deal with each other's dysfunctions. Kind of like a continuous first date where you know they'll never call but you have to see their face every day."
Lifting a brow, Isabela exchanges some coins for her food. "Right. Well, hopefully you'll have to get used to my dysfunctions, too." Winking, she starts to step away from the counter. "See you around, Hawke."
"See you." Hawke gives a little wave despite the fact that Isabela faces away from her. At least now she can stare at Isabela's swaying hips with minimal guilt.
A crash from the kitchen catches Hawke's attention. Fenris bursts from the doors and stalks past Hawke towards the exit.
Right. Now to deal with this mess...