CHAPTER 20
She only had one more mandatory day of 'recuperation' left, and she spent all of that morning doing interviews. She ignored the messages Eastment sent, inquiring as to her state of mind – which was accepting the new job the Council had decided to force upon her. She didn't want to accept any new responsibility – and what they were asking – was a huge one. Like she needed more responsibility.
The interviews lasted all morning. Her questions were indirect, meant to gauge the potential to learn – rather than ability. Not a lot of aliens drank coffee – ergo the lack of trained baristas on the Citadel. At the end of the day she settled on an asari, Ossuri O'Nora, and a female krogan, Haka Pugo. Both interviews had been rather interesting.
Rosemary had never encountered a female krogan before. Understandably, before the cure of the genophage, the krogan had kept their females hidden, and safe. Now, it was... different.
It had taken Imitha a long time to make Rosemary's drink. She was still learning Rosemary's recipes – but she was trying hard, and that's what mattered. Rosemary hadn't had her coffee yet, so she had been rather blunt with Haka Pugo, who had been her first interview.
"Why do you need the work," Rosemary asked the female krogan straight out. "I thought you guys were busy making babies."
Haka smiled. Female krogan were slightly smaller than their male counterparts, and far more graceful. Rosemary didn't think she'd encountered anyone – human or not – as graceful. Haka's every movement was purposeful, and surprisingly delicate. Her voice was deep like most krogan, but musical at the same time. Her wide-set eyes were like liquid pools of amber, and her plates were a smooth, olive-green color. "I just gave birth, actually. Over the past year, I produced clutches of almost eight hundred eggs. I need to make a living to support all my children."
Eight hundred...? Rosemary was beyond impressed – she was flabbergasted. Taking care of eight hundred children – all roughly the same age? It wasn't just mind-boggling – it was impossible! "You know we're only offering average wages. This is a small shop."
Haka shrugged. "You have to start somewhere. You can't expect someone to have an impressive resume if they spent most of their lives in hiding."
"Do you have support? Do your children, um... their father...?" Rosemary couldn't think of a delicate way to phrase the question.
"Jogh of the Urdnot clan."
Jogh... the name sounds familiar. "Oh... are you... married," she asked, mostly out of curiosity.
Haka smiled and shook her head. "He's been asking – but he's an arrogant ass. I'm going to let him beg a little more. He's the bodyguard to the Krogan Ambassador, Bakara Urdnot."
"Where are you going to live?"
"In the new development for hybrids. I don't think they've named it yet."
Rosemary was confused. "Oh, but.."
Haka understood her confusion. "No, they're not. But your Councilor is hoping that with us living there, Wrex will deploy more krogans for our security. He's a shrewd human."
Eastment and his manipulations... Rosemary liked Haka, and she also liked the other person she hired, an asari named Ossuri O'Nora.
Ossuri was a pale blue asari with swirling, white tattoos covering every inch of her body. She wore a revealing outfit, baring her toned middle and the glittering purple gem hanging at her belly button. Rosemary knew she'd have to cover up a little, working at Wakey Brews, and Ossuri had assured her that it would not be a problem. The best thing about Ossuri was her honesty.
"So I'll be working the day shift here, but I'll have to leave every day at the same time – no overtime. I've got my other job at Naughty at night to get to."
Rosemary blinked. "The strip club?"
"That's the one."
"You're... a stripper?"
Ossuri grinned at Rosemary's expression. "That won't be a problem, will it?"
Rosemary shook her head. "No, not really. But you do realize... we don't pay nearly as much as you earn stripping. This is a coffee shop. A small coffee shop."
Ossuri appreciated Rosemary's candor. "Oh, I know. It'll just be a little extra pocket credits for me. A friend brought me one of your lattes the other day – I was hooked. I'll get a few free if I work here, right?"
Rosemary didn't know what to think of that. "Well, yes, but... I wouldn't want you to go crazy, though. Maybe one or two free ones a day..."
The asari shrugged. "That'd be perfect. It's basically free coffee – and I'll learn the craft – learn to make the drinks myself. It'll be less of a job, and more of an education."
Rosemary smiled, liking her drive. "That's true."
Ossuri smiled back. "I couldn't get that latte out of my mind. Your drinks are almost better than sex. Almost."
Rosemary hadn't had any qualms about hiring people. Soon, she would be drawing on three salaries, so credits would no longer be a big problem. She was going to take the Administrator job – it wasn't like she had a choice. But she needed time to process... and organize her thoughts.
Time, however, would be something she wouldn't have anymore. She'd be working at C-Sec in the mornings, Wakey Brews in the afternoons, and on the development in the evenings. She'd be completely drained – with no time left over to spend with her family and friends.
She'd had an explosive argument with Veracia over her omni-tool earlier that day. All she'd wanted was for him to hire more clerical help - ! What had Eastment called her position... Oh, right! She was now the Clerical Manager at Citadel Security! Which implied that there should be more than one person with clerical duties at C-Sec! Her argument fell on deaf ears, and ended when Veracia hung up on her.
Seething, she went over his head and found the contact information for the Commander – who laughed in her face when she told him what she wanted. That disgruntled her – Bailey was a respected name throughout C-Sec, and he was laughing at her.
"I've heard about you around the Embassies. Word is you're getting demanding," he drawled.
Rosemary sniffed. "Tough. I've had a lot of demands put on me."
She could almost hear him grin through her omni-tool. "Heh, I hear ya. … Fine. You'll get more people."
"... Can we get offices, too? I mean, I work on a desk near the bathrooms – "
"Don't push it, Fletcher. I'm only human."
XOXOXOXO
That afternoon, green flickers of light were sputtering just under Rosemary's skin. She had no choice – she needed a recharge. She took Oliver and Keeya with her to the sunbathing salon in the Zakera Wards, accompanied by a trio of officers.
In large, the Zakera Wards were still undergoing repair. Rosemary steered Oliver and Keeya away from the places most riddled with bullet holes, and the bits of pavement with patches of dried blood. The sunbathing salon was still open, thankfully, and there were beds available for all three of them.
Two of the officers stood guard outside the stalls that Oliver and Keeya went in, while the third took his position outside Rosemary's. She narrowed her eyes at him. "No peeking," she ordered. He only grinned.
She knew the officer well by now, and knew that he wasn't completely beyond getting a peek of her in the stall – so she checked the lock before laying down on the bed, facing the door. Her clothes were folded neatly on a nearby stand, and she had just gotten in a comfortable position before the artificial sunlight buzzed on.
She would never admit it, but getting naked for sunbathing had always led her mind down arousing paths. She missed Garrus. She missed his company, and definitely the sex. But she realized she missed his company more. He was the ultimate friend with benefits, she thought with a grin. Then she thought about the sex again. That turian had forever spoiled her sex life. She couldn't be with another human again – not after that. It had been... addicting. The talons had been a minor issue, but hey, that's what medi-gel was for, she thought, smirking to herself.
After an hour of sunbathing, the group went home. It had been the perfect relaxing end to a stressful day. Until just after dinner – when Councilor Eastment showed up at her front door. She saw him through the window, with his guards. He rapped on the door.
Rosemary stopped one of her guards from opening it. She did it herself, looked at the Councilor with an arched brow – and politely shut the door in his face. Rosemary's cheer instantly returned. My, that was satisfying!
Tross cleared his throat. "Um... I don't think you're supposed to do that."
