Berries and Greed

“I’m just going to assume that you didn’t receive enough attention as a child, so now you feel the need to tell people personal information about others just so they’re paying attention to you.” My voice was a low, ugly hiss. “I’m also going to assume that nothing interesting whatsoever happens in your own life, so you have to resort to sharing other people’s secrets just to get that attention.”

Agma’s ears were shivering rapidly, her face spikes flaring forward like she was facing down a predator and instinctively going into defensive mode. “You don’t get to fucking talk to me like that. I’m a customer.”

“I can talk to you however the hell I want to.” I jabbed a finger on the bar and glared at her. “You don’t like getting a taste of your own medicine? You were happy to make Greid feel like shit for telling you things that were difficult for him to admit to. Sure, you’re right, of course you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. But you’re a fucking adult, Agma. You could have told him that like an adult without making him feel strange or ashamed.”

“Mine and Greid’s relationship is none of your fucking business,” she hissed.

“No, it’s not, but how it affected him is.” I leaned in, aware that I was pushing my luck. I had no idea where Mani was, or if she’d noticed us. “You did a shitty thing, Agma. You had no business telling anyone, and you had no right to shame Greid just because you’re closed-minded. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

She looked down quickly, her throat working as she swallowed repeatedly, her claws tinkling against the stem of her wine glass as she fidgeted in her seat. She actually did look ashamed, but before either of us could say anything more, I heard Mani’s voice come from behind me.

“Everything okay here, Beryl?”

Fear tightened my stomach. Fuck.

“Everything’s fine.” My voice shook with suppressed anger. Even with my boss’s presence, I couldn’t bring myself to give Agma a polite smile. “Let me know if you need a top-up.”

Snatching up the card machine, I turned and walked quickly to the register to put it back. I tried counting backward from five in my head to calm down, but it didn’t work. Especially when I realised Mani had followed me.

“Hey.” She squeezed my shoulder, but it just made me even tenser. “Come with me.”

Fuck. I didn’t know what she’d heard, but it must have been clear that I was arguing with Agma. With a customer. God, I’d been so unprofessional. I should have just walked away when she’d made an attempt to end the conversation. What had I even gained from calling her out on what she’d done? I didn’t feel any better, and it wasn’t like it made a difference to Greid. She’d already made him feel self-conscious over what he liked. She’d already told people.

I didn’t say anything as I stiffly followed Mani toward the back office. But then she turned, heading down the corridor to the restrooms, and kept going to the door marked PRIVATE ENTRY at the end.

“Have I told you that Ron and I live above the bar?” she asked conversationally as she produced a key and unlocked the door.

“No. I don’t think so.” I fell silent again, wondering why she was taking me up to her apartment. Maybe to reprimand or fire me in private, without the risk of Gavin or Kayr wandering into the back office while she was doing it.

“It was a dump when we moved in, but Ron’s great at DIY. He fixed the place up beautifully.”

I followed her up the staircase to another locked door, my head throbbing with anger and tension as I waited for her to open it.

She stepped back after the door swung inward. “Come on in.”

I walked inside in silence, taking in the exposed brick walls and industrial-chic décor. The TV was on, showing a dropball game, and I realised Ron was drinking a beer on the couch when he peered back.

“Oh, hey, Beryl.”

“Hi.” I was strung too tight to say anymore.

“We’re going up to the roof, babe,” Mani told him as she opened the fridge in the tiny kitchen and pulled out two beer bottles.

“’Kay.” He looked at me again. “You alright, pipsqueak?”

“Difficult customer.” Mani answered for me as she clapped me on the shoulder and nodded at a staircase tucked into the corner of the open-plan room.

I followed her up it, feeling Ron’s concerned gaze on my back, and looked around in surprise when we emerged onto a rooftop terrace. A black metal table and chairs sat beneath trellising that was dripping with fairy lights, and plants of all shapes and sizes were crammed together along the entire length of the raised roof lip.

“Ron’s got a green thumb,” Mani told me with a chuckle as she pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. “I kill everything.”

I walked over to another chair and stiffly sat. “It’s lovely up here.”

“Thanks. He works hard on it.” She twisted off the beer caps and handed me a bottle. “So. Who was that?”

I tensed up again, running my thumb over the condensation on the dark glass. “I’m sorry.”