A/N: Without any spoilers, I thought I should upload a chapter this week to mourn the ending of a good manga series. Whether or not you liked the ending, I think we can all agree that that one panel was really weird, so we should all wipe that from our collective memories. :'p
We'll Always Have Paradis
Chapter 7
Yesterday, Reiner spent most of the day mopey and hungover. The only consolation he had was the chocolate raspberry crème brulee dusted with powder sugar and sprinkled with gold flakes that waited for him in the fridge. Removing the "Happy Anniversary" placard from the caramelized topping, Reiner eagerly scoped a large helping of the sweet custard only for Annie to swoop in and snag the first bite from him. A mischievous glint played in her eyes as she experienced a moment of schadenfreude from his misery.
The following morning Reiner returned to his normal haughty self. He gave Annie a wide grin as soon as she entered the apartment from her morning jog.
"Ready for your interview?" he asked as he took a bite of cereal.
She didn't answer him. Instead, she joined him on the couch and grabbed a spoonful from the bowl in his hand. Then she stole his mug of coffee and gulped down the hot liquid.
"You didn't have to take my cup. There's more in the kitchen."
Annie ignored him and headed towards the shower. Truth be told, she was anxious. This was her first job interview. Reiner had been giving her pointers and even helped her generate a last-minute resume, which required a lot of fluffing to fill up the page. She was appreciative of him, but her stubbornness and pride prevented her from showing it.
Annie decided to let her hair down for the day as she buttoned up the dress shirt that she bought from the mall. By the time Annie finished readying herself, Reiner was already waiting by the door, tapping his foot impatiently. He ushered her out the door while she zipped up her jacket.
He insisted that they take his car, and for good reason. He had a designated parking spot by the building.
Annie stared at the large windowless two-story white-brick and concrete structure, ironically named Hausfrau. There was a triangle pediment jutting out against the rectangular roof that sat on top ionic columns creating a portico, making this building of sin looking quite stately.
Reiner motioned Annie to follow him through the side entrance. He greeted everyone that they came across and they greeted him back with a surprising level of respect. Surreptitious glances crossed her direction, but her resting bitch face was good deterrent for anyone who tried to approach her. As soon as they rounded a corner, Annie could hear the group gather, shuffling like rats in the dark, gossiping amongst themselves in whispers, not realizing how loudly their voices reverberated against the cement walls. Reiner rolled his eyes as he gave Annie a knowing smirk.
"…Is it just me or does he actually look happy for once?" Annie caught a bit of the conversation before moving further down the hall.
The interior of the building was a lot more colorful and gaudier compared to the pristine outside. A dark red violet coated the walls with black and gold marbling trims. Beams of light placed spaciously apart, one after the other, creating a nauseating strobing effect as you stroll down the red carpeted halls. Every several steps, usually before and after a corner, an accent table with a bowl of something that gave off the appearance of candy buttons sat in front of a slight skewed mirror, which sloped forward against the tall walls. Next to that arrangement was always a giant areca palm tree in a large black stone pot.
It felt like a labyrinth when they turned another corner. Annie felt a little disoriented as she passed by another funhouse mirror. Suddenly, Reiner stopped in front of a set of maroon double doors with gold handles. He knocked the door to a tune.
Annie couldn't tell if it was Reiner being his usual obnoxious self or if it was actually a code for something.
The doors swung open, revealing a smiling rotund man with slick back ginger red hair behind a giant mahogany desk on top of a Persian rug. He looked to be in his early to mid 30's and was dressed like a Silicon Valley CEO—jeans, t-shirt and an open blazer. He doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the décor.
"Reiner, my man!" He exclaimed before noticing Annie standing behind the blond. He stuck his hand out to her, "Flegel Reeves."
The small woman assumed that he wanted her to shake his hand. "Annie Leonhardt," she introduced herself. As soon as she mirrored his motion, he pulled away.
"Too slow!" He laughed like a manic child as if he had made an impressive joke. He then balled his meaty hand into a fist. "Nah, we do fist bumps 'round here." He raised that fist, but Annie left him hanging. Now she realized why Reiner probably gets along with this bastard.
Speaking of, she turned her head to see Reiner, arms crossed, leaning against the wall by the door. She was not expecting her flat mate to stay in the room with her like a parent teacher conference.
The office was very spacious, but it felt cramped due to all the junk in it. In fact, aside from the desk, the room looked more like an arcade than a workspace. A bunch of game cabinets littered throughout the room, including a skee-ball and a DDR machine crammed into a corner. There was even a full liquor bar.
The plump man gestured for Annie to take a seat. He rummaged into his drawer for a pen and a clipboard with her resume attached. Reiner must have prepared it for him in advance. Flegel skimmed through the document looking bored.
"So, what makes you want to work at Hausfrau?" He droned, almost like he was prompted.
"Money." Annie shrugged. She could almost sense Reiner behind her face palming. "It'll be a lie if I told you that the tacky atmosphere had really drawn me in."
Flegel seemed amused. "Trust me, sister. I would not have decorated the building this way if I had a say in things."
Annie rolled her eyes when he called her sister. Then she noticed the basketball net hanging on the wall behind him, right above his stupid full body portrait. The portrait leered down at her, giving off a predator vibe equal to that of her interviewer.
The interview continued for several minutes with very standard questions as the redhead scribbled on the clipboard.
Flegel flipped the resume over as if he expected something to be written in the back. "You're cool with this being a Friday to Sunday gig, right?"
"I'll take what I can get. My options are pretty limited."
"Explain," Flegel demanded as he set the clipboard down to show that he had doodled all over her resume. Specifically, he drew a stick figure riding a dinosaur and a very explicit sketch of a woman's torso.
'Can you file for sexual harassment before you get hired?' Annie thought, somewhat disgusted by the animal in front of her. The real issue was that she really needed this job. 'If he tries anything, I will break his jaw clean off so that he will never eat anything solid again.'
"I just got out of prison. I got arrested for beating up a cop," Annie said it straight, hoping that the man took that as a warning.
He nodded, fingers rubbing his round chin contemplatively like he had been paying attention even though he did not hear a word she had said. "Well, you're kinda hot in certain angles, like the feisty kind, which I dig. You have a bit of a mouth, but some guys like that."
Did Reiner lie to her? What is this job really about? Annie crossed her arms and sank into her seat while the man in front of her eyed her up and down like a piece of meat.
Just as she was about to question the legitimacy of the interview, Flegel finally asked, "Do you have any bartending experience?"
"No."
Before anyone could say another word, Annie felt big warm hands squeezing her shoulders.
"Listen, Annie is a really fast learner," Reiner answered on her behalf. "What she lacks in experience, she makes up for it with diligence." That second part was a half lie. "She's really good. Trust me."
Flegel eyed Reiner and then at Annie, then back at Reiner again. Then he began to giggle. "My man, are you guys…? Is this your…? So that's why you took this week off." He paused, raising his arm in the air, "High five, dude." Reiner humored him.
Annie watched the exchange in confusion. Clearly there was an inside joke there somewhere.
The hefty man stood up from his seat. "She's that good, huh?" he asked as he leered at her like an object. He licked his lower lips before winking at Reiner. "Look, you're my best man here, you know. I'll really consider this. But first," he looked at his phone, "there's something I have to take care of." The ginger left the two blonds in the room as he bolted through the giant doors.
Honestly, after that Annie was perfectly fine if she didn't get this job. She would rather make minimum wage washing dishes at the back alley of a Chinese restaurant than work for that disgusting man. Flegel Reeves, she concluded, was an ugly bastard. If not for his outward appearance, his personality was definitely the worst type of foul.
Reiner had a different experience entirely, "That went pretty well."
If that was considered a good interview, Annie wonders how much worse the bad ones were.
While they waited on Flegel's decision, Reiner took Annie to the front of the building and showed her around. The night staff didn't start until hours later to prep before the club opens its door to the public at 8:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 9:00 p.m. on the weekend starting with Friday. As they made their way through the building, Annie noticed a few doors down the halls. The doors were spaced far enough from one another to indicate a larger room behind them. They were certainly not linen closets as each was secured by a padlock. Perhaps they were conferencing rooms of some sort since the dance floor was located in the front. The place had heavy surveillance; there were cameras around every corner and by every door. There were definitely other things going on here besides dancing.
They finally left the maze through a small unassuming door. They walked through another hallway; this one was a lot wider and painted in a bright ultramarine blue with white trims. Annie looked behind her and noticed the door they exit from was designed to look like a wall panel, hidden in plain sight behind another leafy plant.
Annie nearly bumped into Reiner when she turned back around. Her jaw dropped when she saw the grandeur of the dance space.
Unlike the back rooms, the front was designed with Influencers in mind. A loft-like balcony jutted from one side, creating a mezzanine floor. A platform formed right below for the guest D.J. to perform. An enormous holographic disco ball dropped in the middle of the room, bouncing light off to the blue, white and gray. The floor had pockets of glass where rainbow lights beam through. Stereos scattered throughout the room. Glass walls divided parts of the area for VIPs and bottle service. A bar was located on each corner of the room with a smaller one in the center for beer and premade drinks and another full bar upstairs. There were 2 sets of brightly lit, selfie-friendly restrooms with an attendant situated there the whole night.
Reiner pointed at the bar closest to the front and told Annie that she will be working at that area if she gets hired. A small lobby with a coat check buffered that section from the front entrance.
"What do you think?" he asked with a grin. He knew perfectly well that Annie was impressed by the expression she wore when they entered the room.
"It less of an eye sore compared to the maze in the back." She tried to play it cool as she absorbed her surroundings. Then it dawned on her, "I don't know anything about making drinks."
"Someone will train you. And it'll probably be me." Reiner pinched her cheek laughing. Annie shoved his hand away. "It's not like people come here for the drinks anyways," he noted.
Annie pulled out a cigarette and pursed it between her lips. She flipped her silver lighter, but Reiner stopped her before she could light it.
"You can't smoke in here," he gestured to the sprinklers above them.
Annie clicked her tongue and gave Reiner an annoyed glare as she stuck the cigarette back into the pack. He picked up a lollipop from the candy bowl on the granite counter and handed it to her. She was about to ask what he meant by that when someone barreled through the hidden door.
"Stop him!" A disjointed voice called from behind the wall.
Reiner immediately ran towards the man and tried to tackle him, but the scraggly man dodged from the attack. Instead, he veered towards Annie. Her small stature convinced him that she was an easier target. He wrapped his arm around her neck as he stuck the muzzle of his gun at her temple.
An older plump man, who was balding in the center, pushed through the door. He was dressed in a charcoal suit with a pink dress shirt that matched the handkerchief of his breast pocket, looking like a mafia don. He was definitely more fitting of the setting compared to Flegel, who stood right behind him. The man also had a long, fat scar running across his neck.
"Back off," the gunman screamed, "or I'll blow this bitch's head off."
Annie rolled her eyes. She glanced over to Reiner, who dropped his panicked expression to a clandestine smirk once he caught sight of her calm demeanor when they made eye contact.
Without any hesitation, Annie kicked backwards at the man's ankle while simultaneously pushing his wrist upwards in a swift motion. She ducked forward while grabbing the same wrist, disarming the man as she flipped him to the ground, all in a matter of milliseconds. Reiner took over from that point, placing his foot against the man's neck, pinning him in place.
"See. I told you she's good." Reiner grinned, slapping Annie in the back for a job well done. She actually didn't mind it for once.
"Dad, I interviewed her earlier. I think she'll fit right in." Flegel chimed.
Dimo Reeves, a known mobster with a financial empire spanning through every city of Paradis, rubbed his chin in consideration. He was clearly impressed by Annie's martial art display. Before he had a chance to speak, a younger man with a pompadour appeared out of nowhere and whispered something into the Dimo's ear. The smile dropped from his face.
"Although I did enjoy your artful demonstration, I am not planning on hiring an arsonist at this time."
Annie's blood ran cold, and a dark look crossed her face. "What?" she spat venomously.
"You heard me," Dimo's voice boomed in the large empty room, "Your prison records showed that you were committed for arson and what's worse is that you're a liar." The large man gathered an audience of the early staff.
Reiner's eyes widened, he was completely flabbergasted, "There must be a mistake." The scraggly man on the ground was restrained by some goons as Reiner removed his foot from his neck.
"I got arrested for beating up a rat," she insisted angrily. Now, she will have to take care of another rat she thought, shooting daggers towards the pompadour man. The guy was one tacky Hawaiian shirt away from looking like a 90's TV gangster.
"Are you saying that my trusted employee here made a mistake?" Dimo's voice bellowed as he continued his accusations. This man dominated the conversation, leaving no room for argument. Annie felt like a child again, being reprimanded by her father for something she did not do.
"Yes, but you obviously don't believe me."
Frustrated, Annie stormed off to the coat check for her jacket. Reiner chased after her.
"Where are you going?" His worried brows knitted together.
Annie slipped a cigarette between her lips. "It's too stuffy here. I'm leaving. I'm not going to stand around and let some stranger berate me."
He opened his mouth, but she silenced him with a wave. "Don't worry about me. I know how mass transits work."
She didn't wait for his reply when she walked out the door, lighting her cigarette on the way out. As soon as she crossed the street to the next block, she whipped out her phone, quickly dialing a number with her thumb.
It rang twice before someone picked up on the other end.
"You have some goddamn explaining to do," she bemoaned into the receiver.
A/N: I wonder who that could possibly be? Dun Dun DUUUUNN.
As always, thank you for your support! I made a random reference for a YouTuber who likes to torture his sims.
Editing Note – Made some spelling changes to their names. Leonhart is now spelled Leonhardt. Bertholdt shorten is now Bertl. I am still making changes to the older chapters, so the spelling isn't consistent currently.