Chapter Nine

Total Win

Draco's POV

What was I so happy about? She had the same conversation with her brothers. Now, this could mean she saw me as annoying and brotherish, which is not bad but not what I'm aiming for. Or it could mean she sees me as someone she has to keep her eye on. I like that one. I fully plan to be a gentleman for a while at least.

Waiting tables is surprisingly easy. You smile at the girls and nod respectfully at the men who accompany them. The girls think you're gay and the men don't do anything to assay that impression.

I didn't care about the girls who I waited on. I cared about my boss.

It's a tricky business, seducing your boss. Not one I'd recomend. Ginny didn't make it any easier.

She made it painfully obvious right from the start that she was only doing this because I had already made friends here and she didn't want an open revolt.

I was fine with that. For now.

I realized, of course, that I had to proceed carefully with her. We had past and not all of it good.

Jeff came out my first day to congradulate me. "Heard you got the job!" he said.

I shrugged. I liked Jeff. He was a triffle more energetic than I my usual buddies but he was a great chef and a nice guy. "It's only a trial right now. Boss-lady wants to be sure I can cut it before she signs me on more permanantly," I said, tying on an apron.

Jeff shook his head. "Don't worry. Ginny may be a little tightly wound but she knows the importance of good workers. You work hard and well and you ain't got nothing to worry about."

I wondered if I should point out his double negative but I'm told friends let these sort of things slide. So I just smiled. "Anthony heading out?"

Jeff nodded. "Ginny came in early today but don't worry. She's working kitchen tonight so she won't have much time to bust your chops."

I managed a laugh. Curiously enough I was nervous about this whole thing. Not so much the actual work part, but the working in close proximity to the girl I liked.

Ginny came out of the kitchen then. "Come on," she said to me."

I raised an eyebrow but followed, waving a wordless goodbye to Jeff.

"You're familiar with all the dinning rooms," she began as we walked away. "Let me show you the rest of the place."

She led me into the main kitchen. "This is the line. You'll punch your orders in over there," she pointed to the computer. "Food will wait on the shelves until you pick them up. Don't be more than two minutes late to pick up. Food will start getting cold and if it has to go upstairs then you're screwed. You'll be working the main floor tonight with Jordan so you don't have to worry about the second floor. Later we might open it. If that's the case, I will expect one of you to run each floor. Got that?"

Seemed pretty straightforward so I said yes.

She gave a curt nod. "Good." She led me back into a small room that I recognized as the dish pit. "This is where you put you dirty dishes. Scrape them off and slide them over." She demonstrated with a clean plate. "These are the glass racks. Empty out your glasses here," she pointed to the corner of the shelf. "Then put them rim down in these racks. There are several different sizes so don't force them. When a rack is full, push it to the other side and say something to the disher."

She demonstrated again.

"Silverware goes in this bucket," she said, kicking the bucket in question lightly. "The dishers will worry about it after that."

She turned and led me out of the kitchen again. "The rest of the kitchen you don't have to worry about. I'll show you the wine cellar."

She led the way out into the hall and indicated a door marked Rathskeller.

"That's Woodrow's domain. He's our solminie. You shouldn't have to worry about wines. Most people don't bother and those that do know about Woodrow and phone ahead. By the same token, if Woodrow hands you a wine and tells you who it's for, don't argue with him. He can be...tempermental."

I decided not to persue that. "What about other drinks? I know we don't have the bar running yet but..."

"I'll show you."

She led me into a smaller dining room. "Here's the basic bar. All three floors have one. When we get the roof bar running you'll be able to order drinks from up there but for now we have the basics stocked here and a quick reference guide for the basics, like gimlets and Bloody Marys."

She stopped and looked at me askance. "You got all that?"

I smiled at her and was pleased to see a tinge of pink dance across her cheeks. "Of course, Ginny."

(A/N: Hope you guys like it! I hope you realize this is like, eight updates today!

Lexicon: Rathskeller- pretty much the same thing as a wine cellar. Most modern rathskellers start life as wine cellars but are later transformed into bars.

Solminie: Wine expert. This person is an expert on pairing wines with foods. I may have spelled this one wrong.