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"Get it together," he grumbled to himself.
Arden pushed Spooky out of his mind and walked to the bathroom instead. He turned on the shower and let the room fill with steam before he tossed his clothes into the hamper and hopped in. He leaned against the wall and let the water run down his back for what felt like hours before he finally cleaned up and got out. The day didn't wait for anyone.
Grabbing a cup of coffee, he walked out of his quarters to chaos on the floor below. Two of the hosts were at each other's throats.
“It’s not my job!” one of the girls huffed. “You go do it!”
“No fucking way,” the guy snapped back.
"Knock it off!" Arden shouted. He shook his head. "One more fight and I'll toss both of you out. Jesus."
"You're crankier then usual," Eldon said as he joined Arden on his walk to the first floor. "Something bothering you?"
Arden sat his coffee mug on the bar and grabbed the tablet so he could begin checking the inventory. That had always been Jaygen's job before and it was something he enjoyed so much that Arden hadn't had to take it up again in years. Thankfully, the man was so organized it wasn't difficult, but it was just one more task on his long to-do list now.
"This place is a mess," he muttered as he looked up at Eldon. "I need you to get it in order."
Eldon smiled. "Is it because I can't leave during the day? Is that why it's my job?"
Arden leaned on the bar. "No, it's your job now because I'm asking you to help out around the bar."
He chuckled. "Come on, you can smile sometimes you know. I know you miss your old crew, but we'd never let you down." Eldon grabbed a towel and started wiping the bar down. “And I’m happy to take on more.”
Arden watched him work and shook his head. Eldon was covered with tattoos and piercings. He looked like the kind of guy to give you trouble, but he was the most agreeable person at PGD right now. Eldon always tried to help out where he could and Arden could appreciate that.
"Eldon."
"Yeah, boss?" the guy asked as he picked up a glass and examined it closely.
"What do you think of Micha?"
He stopped and sat the glass down gently. "In what way?"
Arden shrugged. "What do you think about him as a person? Sometimes I think he's just an innocent guy, a little weak, but sweet. But other times..." Arden frowned. "I don't know if I can trust him. He acts strange."
Eldon tilted his head. "Huh, I guess I've never noticed. I mean he's a little secretive, but a lot of hosts are," he said with a shrug. "Same thing with hookers and dancers. We all want some distance between our work and our personal life."
"But not you."
Eldon’s shoulders raised then dropped. "I don't have a reason to be distant. Who I am is who I am. There's no reason to hide anything." He put his towel down. "As for Micha, I guess he's okay? I mean I like him personally, but if you're feeling uncertain maybe I don't see something. Or maybe you're paranoid."
The last part fell a little too close to the truth. Growing up the way he had, Arden was used to watching everyone around him closely. In his world, being less than vigilant meant a death sentence was right around the corner and he was too stubborn to die.
"Arden?" Eldon spoke, breaking into Arden's thoughts and clearing away the memories of days gone by. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he said with a nod, clearing his throat before he got back to work. "I'm fine."
"Alright well, I'm going to go in the back and make sure everything is okay. Do you need anything?"
Arden shook his head. "No, I can handle everything out here."
The vampire smiled at him. "Okay."
Arden watched Eldon walk off and his gaze lingered on the man's ass for a little too long. Finally, he drug his eyes away.Off-limits.
What was his problem lately? Arden could appreciate that his hosts looked good from a logical point of view, but this was different. Lately, there were a few that he looked at and couldn't tear his gaze from them. They were anomalies, a divergence from his norm and he needed to get back to who he was.
Arden shook his head and went back to taking care of the bar. Tonight was a new theme which meant the customers would be flocking through his door in droves to see the brand new outfits he had brought for the hosts. Sometimes they wore their own things, but on nights like tonight, Arden went all out to make sure everyone was happy and the guests would bust out their cards and pay two or three times as much.
