Dex Restaurant.
Mickey shoved the door open and walked in with an attitude, heading straight for Veronica.
"I need to talk to your boss."
If this had happened before last night, Veronica might actually have worried about Dexter. After all, Mickey's reputation spoke for itself.
But now?
After seeing Dexter's ruthless side—someone who could pull the trigger without blinking—Veronica wasn't worried at all. She casually pointed toward the kitchen.
"The boss is in the kitchen."
Mickey didn't waste words. He headed straight in.
"I need to talk to you."
Dexter was busy working. She glanced at him and smiled.
"Go ahead."
"What you said yesterday—about me coming here to wash dishes—I can do it," Mickey said stiffly, forcing the words out. "But I've got conditions."
What a stubborn, prideful jerk.
Dexter found it amusing and nodded.
"Let's hear them."
"I need flexible hours. And I need you to stop nagging me all the time…" Mickey rattled on. When he finished, he asked, "So? Deal?"
Dexter kept working, her hands never stopping.
"Sounds great. I reject everything."
"????"
Mickey froze. He definitely hadn't expected that answer. After a couple seconds, he snapped, instinctively going hostile.
"The hell are you doing? Are you screwing with me?"
Dexter stopped what she was doing, turned to face him, still smiling.
"Work starts at 9 a.m., ends around 7 p.m. Whether there's work or not. No skipping, no days off—unless someone in your family is literally dying."
"Six days a week. Three thousand dollars a month. You might get extra bonuses depending on your performance. Lunch and dinner are provided."
"No drinking on the job. If you want to smoke, go outside."
"Oh, and get a haircut. Buy six new outfits and six pairs of shoes. Clean yourself up. Keep the receipts—the restaurant reimburses you."
"Any questions?"
"!!!!!!"
Mickey completely lost it. His young face filled with rage.
"Did you hear a damn word I just said?! What kind of bullshit are you talking about?!"
Dexter turned back around and kept frying rice.
"I heard you. I'm just not interested."
"That's the deal. Take it or leave it. If you want the job, do it and try living a different kind of life. If not, the door's right there. You can keep wasting your days and end up just like the rest of the Milkoviches."
Thump.
Terry being shot had hit Mickey hard.
Over the past few days, he'd thought a lot. And no matter how he spun it, one thing scared him more than anything else—
Becoming someone like Terry.
The angry words were right at the tip of his tongue… but he swallowed them back. He just stared at Dexter, jaw clenched, forcing himself to stay silent.
The kitchen fell quiet.
Dexter didn't care. She kept working as if Mickey wasn't even there.
After a while—
The anger faded. The desire to change his life finally beat the urge to storm out and tell Dexter to go to hell.
Mickey blinked and finally spoke again, his tone noticeably softer.
"The bonus you mentioned… how does that work?"
Ha.
This stubborn little pride monster was actually pretty entertaining.
Dexter grinned.
"It depends on the restaurant's profits, how hard you work—and most importantly, whether you change."
Mickey didn't understand the last part.
"What kind of change?"
"Like not robbing people. Not beating folks up for no reason. Not walking around with a gun in your pocket," Dexter replied. "Basically—try living like a normal human being."
This time, Mickey understood. After hesitating a moment, he asked,
"How much are we talking about?"
"Guaranteed one thousand a month. No upper limit."
Mickey was smarter than he looked. He did the math immediately.
That meant at least four thousand dollars a month.
That was real money.
"Alright!"
He made up his mind—he'd try it. If it didn't work out, he'd just quit.
"I start today?"
"Tomorrow," Dexter said calmly. "Use the rest of today to buy clothes and clean yourself up. Be here at 9 a.m. Don't be late."
"Fine," Mickey replied. Dexter's laid-back arrogance irritated him, but he turned and left anyway.
—
Karen drove Lip to the restaurant entrance.
The second Lip saw where they were, he realized what she was doing. His eyes went wide.
"The place you were talking about… is this Dex Restaurant?"
Karen gave him a sly smile.
"Yeah. I heard the food here is amazing. I want to try it."
"!!!!!!"
Lip seriously hated Dexter. Hearing that, his face darkened immediately and he nearly growled.
"Are you kidding me? After what he did to you that day, you still want to eat here?"
Karen already had her excuse prepared.
"Lip, that was partly our fault. And he didn't really do anything to me… I just want to taste the food. It has nothing to do with him."
"Heh," Lip sneered, yanking the car door open.
"Go ahead and eat. I'm not interested."
With that, he got out of the car.
"Lip, don't be like that. You can wait in the car—you don't have to go in," Karen tried to stop him. Then she played her trump card.
"I'll just buy one meal and come right back. Then we'll go find somewhere fun to hang out."
Those words hit their mark.
Lip, who'd taken only two steps, froze.
As a teenage guy addicted to that kind of thing…
His anger instantly wavered.
After a few seconds, he turned back.
"I'm not going in. Hurry up."
Karen smiled sweetly, smug on the inside, and nodded obediently.
"Okay."
Moments later, Karen reached the restaurant door.
Mickey happened to be walking out.
He'd tried to sleep with Karen before, but she found him disgusting and turned him down.
Their eyes met briefly.
"Here to eat?" Mickey asked, still harboring thoughts about sleeping with her.
"Yeah," Karen replied perfunctorily, still clearly repulsed, and walked past him.
Mickey chuckled and pointed at the sign on the door.
"Lunch is already over."
Karen didn't even turn around.
"That's fine."
Mickey didn't bother responding. He just left.
Inside the restaurant—
Veronica was about to tell Karen that lunch service had ended.
Karen beat her to it, smiling.
"Veronica, I need to talk to your boss."
Since they knew each other, Veronica didn't stop her.
"He's in the kitchen."
Karen walked in.
Dexter was genuinely surprised to see her. Then he joked,
"Back to mess with me again?"
Karen immediately put on an Oscar-worthy performance.
"I'm really sorry about last time. That was my fault."
Dexter wasn't buying it for a second. He knew she wouldn't show up without a reason.
"So," he said directly, "what do you want?"
"I want you to treat me to a meal. Is that okay?" Karen said bluntly. Then, with a mischievous tone, she added, "I brought Lip with me. He's waiting outside."
Dexter raised an eyebrow, looking at her.
Interesting.
This green-tea manipulator was sharp.
And smart green-tea girls?
They're dangerous.
After a brief pause, Dexter smiled.
"I'll treat you to thirty meals. Come eat whenever you want—no time limit."
Karen's lips curved slightly.
"Another deal? What do I have to do?"
"Simple," Dexter said. "Get pregnant. I'll cover the abortion costs."
Karen didn't miss a beat.
"Lip's?"
Dexter smiled.
"Of course."
Karen thought it over briefly. Knowing Dexter had money, she pushed for more.
"Add fifteen thousand dollars."
A little money to completely destroy Lip?
Sounds fair.
"Deal."
Last day—can you help me hit 1,000 monthly votes? O(n_n)O haha~