It was early the next afternoon and Kagome was sitting at her kitchen table about ready to pull her hair out. That was the tenth time she was all but laughed at during a phone interview and she was near tears because of it. She had put it off as long as she could, but it was time to actually find a real job and not just the odd ones she picked up here and there, but she was right about her high school transcripts making this a nearly impossible task. She had been at it for over two hours, and she was no closer than she was when she started.

Crossing off yet another job posting in the paper, she went back to scanning the ads. She was looking at a posting for the front desk of a spa when her mother's voice broke into her thoughts, telling her she had a visitor. Looking up from the paper, she blinked when she saw Kouga standing in the doorway, and the very impressed look on her mother's face as she looked at her.

Though she was excited to see him, her mood wouldn't let her show it. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

He just smiled at her. "Missed you."

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Kagome looked at her mother. "Mom, can you give us a minute, please?"

Mrs. Higarashi nodded. "Of course, Dear. I'll be outside if you need anything." Then she turned to the wolf. "It was very nice to meet you, Kouga."

He grinned at her and nodded, and walked over to Kagome when she left the room, dipping his head and pressing his lips to his mate's. When he broke their kiss, he didn't fully pull back, just spoke in a quiet voice. "What's the problem? You got me going nuts, Koi."

Kagome sighed and waved at the table in front of her, indicating the scattered newspaper. "I'm trying to find a job, but like I told you last night, all that back and forth to the past really screwed up my schooling and because of that..." She sighed again and shrugged a shoulder, trailing off, not wanting to finish the statement.

Kouga looked at the table and wrinkled his nose. She had told him about that, but he didn't realize it was THAT bad. Humming in his throat, he stood to his full height and grabbed her hands, pulling her out of her chair. "Come with me."

Groaning and refusing to actually stand up, Kagome shook her head. "I can't. I have to do this."

Kouga snorted. "I have shit to do today, too. But I'm not gonna get a bit of it done with you freaking out like you are. Just shut it and come with me."

Huffing with a glare, Kagome straightened the table and followed Kouga, who refused to tell her where he was taking her, out the door, telling her mother she would be back in while. The last place she ever thought he would take her, however, was a book store. She followed him through the aisles as he hunted for something, but he still wouldn't tell her what. She knew when he found it, though, because there was a triumphant ah-ha and he pulled a book from the the shelf and held it out to her.

She took it and cocked a brow at it. "Seriously?"

Kouga just shrugged. "What? You need a job. I need another bartender. Read it, memorize it, and be at the club no later than five-thirty so Lance can give you a crash course in running the bar."

Kagome made a noise in the back of her throat. "I really appreciate this, Kouga. Really, I do, but I don't think this is a good idea. I don't know anything about bars and I would hate if I screwed up really bad, which I know I will."

Kouga wasn't deterred in the least. He just crossed his arm. "Let me explain something to you about how this thing between us works. You have a problem, I fix it. Trust me, there is nothing you can do at the club that will screw anything up. It's Saturday, and the other bartender called off so lance will be on his own tonight if you refuse. He's a great bartender, but even he's gonna need some backup and I have a huge demonic party coming in tonight, so I can't be back there to help him. Really, you would be doing me the bigger favor. Besides, I won't be able to do anything today with you and your emotions bouncing all over the place like they are."

Looking back at the book in her hand, Kagome scratched her temple and sighed again as she nodded. "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Grinning at his mate, Kouga took the book from her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to him and dipping his head to hers. "Fantastic." After stealing a kiss, he kept his arm around her and went to the register to pay for the 'Bartender's Little Black Book'. Once that was done and they were outside, Kouga went to his car and left Kagome on the sidewalk since they were only two blocks from the shrine. Looking at her over the top of his car, "Wear comfortable shoes and there will be a uniform waiting for you when you get there. Remember, no later than five-thirty. Doors open at six."

Kagome nodded and waved as Kouga pulled away from the curb, wondering what the hell she had just gotten herself into.

*X*

She had spent the rest of the afternoon reading and doing her best to memorize the contents of the book Kouga bought her, but she was positive she was going to mix up the drinks. At four o'clock, she got in the shower to get ready for the night, quizzing herself on the different recipes, hoping she was getting them right, but was pretty sure she wasn't.

She didn't do a lot to dress up since Kouga told her there was a uniform, but she did do her hair in a high ponytail and put on some makeup. After a glance at the clock, she pulled on her sneakers and darted out the door, determined to be at the club earlier than five-thirty to get more than half hour to get prepared for the night. She hoped to be there closer to five, but it was ten after when she pulled her car up to the curb in front of the door. She had no idea why Kouga told her to park there when she texted to ask about parking, but that question was answered when someone walked around to her door and opened it for her with a smile.

"Lady Kagome."

Not knowing what else to do, she smiled back as she climbed out of the car, and handed over her keys when she was asked for them. Valet... that explained that.

When she got to the door, the same bouncer from the night before gave her charming smile as he opened the door for her, dipping his head into a shallow bow as she passed. Before she completely went inside, she turned to the bouncer. "Is Kouga here?"

The bouncer shook his head. "Not yet, My Lady. He doesn't normally arrive until after six."

Giving him a nod, she continued her way inside, looking to the bar when she heard an excited call of her name. Grinning at Lance, she made her way over to him. "Hey, there. Ready to clean up my messes tonight?"

Lance laughed outright and smiled at her. "You'll be fine. I think you are only going to be responsible for keeping the dignitaries happy tonight while I deal with the assholes." He then reached under the bar and grabbed the outfit Kouga dropped off an hour ago and held it out to her. "Get changed and I'll give you the grand tour of the bar, kay?"

Taking her uniform, she pursed her lips and cocked a brow. "Dignitaries?"

Lance grunted and nodded his head. "Yeah, the Lords and Court. They get together once a month to discuss a bunch of crap none of them care about and figure out who of us demons needs financial aid and what can be done to ensure things continue as they are. It's Kouga's turn to host."

That got Kagome's attention. "Kouga's part of a demon court?"

Lance snorted hard. "No, he's not on the court. Kouga is the reigning Eastern Lord. How do you not know this?"

Kagome blinked, her voice flat. "It never came up, apparently."

"Actually..." All eyes turned to the aforementioned demon lord who was walking towards them. "I thought you knew, or I would have told you."

Kagome nodded slowly and licked her lips. "Well, I'm gonna go change." Walking away from the bar to head to the bathroom to change her clothes, Kagome wracked her brain, trying to remember if Kouga had ever told her he was a lord before or not, but honestly couldn't remember. He might have, but it would have been only in passing and not something that was just outright told to her. It was good to know, but it wasn't like it would have mattered either way. So he was a lord. Nothing wrong with that.

Once she was in the bathroom, she held up the top to her uniform and took a look at it. It wasn't anything special. It was a one shoulder strap black beater with the club's logo on the chest and the bottoms were a pair of black skorts. They looked a little short, but when she put them on, they weren't any shorter than the skirts she wore in school. Since there were shorts under the tennis style skirt, it wasn't that bad for moving around behind the bar. The shirt was a little tight, but the kind of shirt it was, would stretch a bit the longer she wore it.

All in all, she thought, it could have been worse. She was just super glad she decided to shave.

She did find it slightly amusing, however, that the strap of her shirt was on the opposite side of the bite mark.

Walking back into the bar, she spun as she moved, holding her arms out to the side. "Does it look alright?"

Kouga turned to look at her when she spoke, nodding his head when he saw it actually fit. He had been slightly worried since he wasn't positive about her size, but it looked good on her and he had to admit, he loved her in black. He turned to lean on the bar when she stopped next to him, lifting a shoulder when she asked why he was already there when she was told he didn't normally arrive until after six. "That fucking meeting tonight. Every time I host it in Osaka, something goes wrong when it's set up and I want to make sure that doesn't happen here and if it does, it's fixed before everyone else shows up. Seriously, you weren't told before?"

Kagome made a face. "I don't know. I might have been, but if I was, it wasn't an out and out admission and would only have been said in passing. He never really talked about himself like that. He was more of a 'in the now' guy, and other than once saying he was the leader of his tribe, I honestly don't recall if he said he was more than that and I never thought to ask."

Kouga nodded slowly. "Huh, alrighty then. Well, I guess now you know." When Kagome nodded, he continued. "All you need to do tonight is keep the fuckers happy and keep their drinks full. If they make you uncomfortable, and they probably will, either let me know, or get a guard and they'll handle it. Do not try and deal with the situation on your one and for Kami's sake, keep your temper and riki in check. They don't know you're a miko yet and I would like it if they didn't find out the hard way. Think you can do that?" When Kagome nodded again, he leaned in, gave her a kiss, and when he pulled away, he smiled at her. "Have fun and listen to Lance. I'll see you in a bit.