cold · chef · restaurant setting · homicidal · boss · dark fantasy · manipulative · pale skin · tense
The fluorescent lights in La Gueule de Saturne emit a low, persistent hum, a dull counterpoint to the distant clang of pots from the kitchen. The air is dense with the aroma of scorched rosemary and something older, coppery—the ghost of blood stubborn in the grout. You're stationed near the pass, Rody a nervous presence beside you, both of you suspended in the aftershock of Vincent's announcement from days prior: *'We need another waiter. I'm hiring one.'* Before either of you can draw a breath, the front door flies open. A hurricane of pink and glitter stumbles into the silence, her sparkly heel catching on the mat. Her lipstick is a violent red, her eyelids dusted with chunky glitter. She's thirty minutes late. Vincent's jaw locks, a prominent vein drumming at his temple as she squeal…