Practically buzzing with giddiness, Dex wiggled in place and sing-songed, “You’re a loser.”
They bared their teeth in a mockery of a smile. “Well, at least I’m a rich loser.”
At work, Cya trained Dex and Rusty on the espresso machine during slow hours, and Zef and Toni even took turns learning the register better.
“Cross-training,” Quin said, hand resting on her growing tummy. “We have some new hires starting next month, but with Gem and Oliver in Greed, we’re stretched a bit thin.”
“We appreciate all your dedication,” Glyma said, arm around Quin’s shoulders, purple tail twined with her red one. “And your patience. I know the transition has been more stressful than we planned.”
“Shit happens,” Toni said with a shrug, and the rest of them nodded.
“We got your backs,” Rusty added, and Glyma simpered, blinking glossy, hot-pink eyes.
“I will be taking maternity leave towards the end of this year, obviously,” Quin said, ignoring the giggled pat Glyma gave her baby bump. “For those who don’t know, Toni will be taking over my responsibilities with the scheduling and back office tasks.”
Grinning smugly, Toni crossed his arms over his puffed out chest. “Yeah, so don’t piss me off, or I’ll fire all your asses.”
“Good to know this promotion won’t go to your head,” Rusty deadpanned, and the Elas flipped him off.
“Anyway,” Quin harrumphed, “we’re bringing on a few more kitchen staff to get trained so Toni can start shadowing me after the summer. Depending on how things go, this may be a permanent change.”
“Congratulations, Toni,” Willow said, and Toni’s fins fluttered in pleasure.
“Eh, it’s no big deal.” He waved a dismissive hand, the pink nail polish on his fingers glittering under the lights. “But also, Toni’s gonna be the big boss, so it’s kind of a big deal.”
“Alright, alright. Big Boss Toni!” Dex high-fived him, then they proceeded to do a complicated handshake that ended in a fratty bro-hug.
Zef raised a light green hand, and when Glyma acknowledged it, they asked, “How many new kitchen employees are we to expect?”
“Well, Abi starts next month, and he’ll be fulltime on the day shift,” Glyma said. “We’re also trying to work out some part-time floaters who can fill in when people are on vacation or sick. I’m in talks with another baker, so the full load of baking doesn’t fall on Willow’s shoulders when the baby comes.”
“Thank you,” Willow said with an air of relief.
Glyma shot her a crinkle-eyed smile, then motioned to Rusty. “Since Rusty’s wanting to cut back to parttime hours, we’re bringing one of the evening shifters, Yve, to the dayshift twice a week.”
“Oh, she’s lovely,” Cya said, and everyone rubbernecked in their direction with matching expressions of surprise, as if them bestowing a compliment on someone else was a magical feat or something—a bit rude, if they were being honest. Or maybe everyone was simply shocked they’d contributed to the conversation when they normally remained silent.
For the sake of their self-worth, they were going with the latter.
“Wait, why are you cutting hours?” Dex asked Rusty, breaking the awkward silence. “What about Mammylion Pep Buds?”
With an amused chuff, Rusty shifted uncomfortably and scratched behind his notched ear. “Uh, my graphic novel is kind of going viral right now. So Jude helped me set it up behind a paywall, but that means I have to keep a publishing schedule and stuff. It’s this whole thing.”
Judging from numerous shocked expressions, Cya wasn’t the only one who hadn’t known that Rusty was writing a graphic novel. They didn’t even know he could draw.
“Whoa, far out!” Dex clapped Rusty on the shoulder.
“That’s wonderful, Rusty,” Willow said.
“I did not know you were so artistically inclined,” Zef said.
“I’m halfway through the first volume, and it’s absolutely amazing,” Glyma said, making the Pyclon duck his head and chitter in embarrassment.
“Still can’t believe you made me a fucking cow,” Toni grumbled.
Rusty threw his hands up in exasperation. “For the last time, I did not model the cow after you.”
The Elas pointed a threatening finger at Rusty. “She has my hair.”
