Genevieve Albrecht (thespecialstock) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-07-06 21:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, carolina vane, genevieve albrecht |
Who: Genevieve and Carolina
What: A job interview
Where: The Snuggly Duckling
When: 12:30pm Friday, July 5th
Rating: PG
Status: Complete!
She had done her best to ensure that her afternoon was clear for whenever Ms. Vane found time to stop by. Admittedly, she'd rather not have to hire another bartender, but Evelyn's father had become quite ill as of late, and it was simply unavoidable. It hadn't taken long to obtain the name of a few potential candidates, and after asking around, had decided on Carolina Vane.
A female bartender - especially a rather comely one - tended to bring in more revenue, if only so that the men would foster an excuse to speak with her. It was a rather tiresome trope, but she could not fault the logic behind it. And while it was not simply men who came to the tavern in the evenings to drink, roughly two thirds of her clientele were men. And so, the looks and skill - men, she had found, could forgive a pretty woman a great many things, but an imperfect drink was not among them - of her prospective employee had been a great consideration, but personality had been the greatest. It wouldn't do to put off her female clientele.
From all accounts, Carolina Vane was quite charming and had a way with people. The people who had brought her name forward to Genevieve had assured her that she would be a great fit, and so Genevieve had reached out to her and hired her, completely blind.
If it did not work out, then they would part ways. Business was business, and she did not doubt that this woman would understand that.
Carolina had been surprised when Genevieve Albrecht had contacted her via the network to offer her a job at the Snuggly Duckling. She had decided recently to pursue a second job—the first one paid her expenses, but when she had thought about it, she could see many benefits to working as a bartender a few days a week. A bartender met a great many people and heard a great many things, and it would allow her to not have to lie about her main job as often. Everyone understood what, exactly, a bartender did.
She had done it before, after all. Although she'd always been on her church's payroll, there had been times, mostly in her younger days, when she'd needed to bring in more money on behalf of them all. Bartending had seemed the easy choice. An attractive woman could get a job bartending in cities and towns of any size, and owners of inns and taverns tended to not ask for references or past experiences, as long as she could do the job. Carolina had picked up the needed skills rather quickly, and she called on them periodically, whenever she had need of them.
In the past few weeks, she'd put out some feelers with the bartenders of the establishments she'd frequented over the last nine months. She hadn't expected much to come of it, but she hoped that, should an opening come up, she'd at least hear of it in time to apply. She certainly hadn't expected to be hired over the network.
Genevieve had told her to arrive between 12 and 2, so she stepped through the front door of the tavern at precisely 12:30. She looked around for the owner. Although she'd been to the Snuggly Duckling before, she didn't know much of the proprietress, other than that she was a widowed noblewoman. For this reason, she'd chosen to err on the side of conservative attire. Looking at the bar for the first time from the point of view of a potential employee, this was one of the better bars in the city: clean, in a good part of town, and with a reasonably well-behaved clientele. She would do her best to make a good impression on the Countess.
Genevieve had been behind the bar when the woman walked in. When she looked to the bar rather than taking a seat, Genevieve smiled. This, she thought, must be Ms Vane. Wiping her hands on one of towels they kept behind the counter, she jotted down the last of the alcohol that would need to be ordered. She had been lucky; the festival had all but snuck up on her this year, what with all of the recent events. There had been just enough alcohol in her stores to get them through the week.
Fortunately, the day after a festival was always quiet, and many were nursing pounding heads. The nobility was gearing up for the engagement dinner the next night, which was an event that Genevieve would rather not attend. Such affairs served as nothing more than depressing reminders that despite being free, they were shackled by the expectations of society. Neither Gale nor Altair particularly wished to marry, but such was their lot in life.
Shaking the unhappy thoughts off, she exited the bar area and crossed the floor to where the other woman stood. "Ms Vane," Genevieve greeted. "I am Genevieve. It is a pleasure to meet you."
Carolina smiled when Genevieve came over to her. "Please, call me Carolina," she said in her low, quiet voice. Now that she saw the woman, she realized she had seen her around before. They seemed to be of an age, and the countess had a sort of calm sense of authority about her that appealed to Carolina. "The pleasure is mine, Genevieve. I appreciate this opportunity.
"I've been here quite a few times before, as a customer," Carolina gave voice to her thoughts from earlier. "The staff always seems in good humor."
She looked around a bit more. The tavern was quiet, although she chalked that up to the fact that it was just past noon before remembering the holiday the previous day. The Festival of Lions was a holiday unique to Emillion, it seemed. Carolina had never seen it celebrated anywhere else. It seemed little more than an excuse to drink. Carolina herself was no teetotaler, but she had never been much of a drinker, either. Still, she could understand the appeal.
"As you wish, Carolina," Genevieve replied, voice light and welcoming. Now that she got a good look at the other woman, she recognized her. Aspel had spoken with her one night, nearly a month ago. Genevieve knew very little of their exchange, but knew well enough to know that the two women were not friends. Perhaps acquaintances? It was a thought to pursue another day; should curiosity truly get the better of her, Aspel would likely provide an answer for her.
She gestured towards the bar after a moment. Carolina appeared to be taking in the atmosphere, and Genevieve knew better than to rush things such as this. It was important to get a feel for an establishment before agreeing to work for it, and that this was what Carolina appeared to be doing spoke highly in her favor. She smiled and murmured her thanks at Carolina's note about the staff; Genevieve was highly selective when hiring her staff.
So much of what she did relied upon reputation that she could not afford to do otherwise.
"I'm afraid that we are in the midst of a lull," she said a moment later. "The Lion's Festival has no doubt drained our regular clientele of their energy." And gil, she added silently. It was a rather old trick in promotions, and it never failed to amuse her that people remained blissfully unaware that the promise of a free drink oft had them spending far more than they would normally.
"I don't doubt it has," Carolina murmured, her lips quirking upward in a small, wry smile. From what she'd seen, it appeared that establishments like this one could have done quite well the previous evening, especially if they were run by someone who knew how to capitalize on such things. Carolina had little doubt that Genevieve was one of those people.
When Genevieve indicated the bar, Carolina took that for an invitation to go back there, and she began to make her way toward it. "I assume you would like a demonstration of my skills," she said. It was fairly standard procedure, in Carolina's experience, for a proprietor to ask her to make a cocktail or two, and perhaps pour an ale, just to observe her technique and knowledge. Different tavern owners tended to have different drinks that they considered a good measure of a bartender's skill, and so she would wait to see what exactly Genevieve would have her do.
At the very least, Carolina appeared to be comfortable behind the bar. The set up was quite like any other back bar, with the liquors displayed in the back. Her regular bartender had been left-handed, and Genevieve had moved the cups to the left to accommodate him; when one found someone who excelled at the craft, then she believed others could be the ones to adapt. Fortunately, it hadn't caused any confusion, and so when he had moved to Ordalia, they had kept things the way they were.
When Evelyn had taken over, she hadn't moved anything, and it hadn't occured to Genevieve to return things to how they had been. By now, it was simply normal to reach to the left in order to grab a cup.
"Cups are to your left," Genevieve informed her before deciding which drinks to ask for. "Let us start with an Amaretto Cherry Sour." It wasn't the most popular of drinks, but the few individuals who ordered it were rather particular about how it was made.
An unusual request, but perhaps it was popular here. Carolina had never paid much attention to what the other patrons were drinking, and most of her previous bartending experience had been at what could charitably be called dives.
She spent a few moments figuring out where everything was. It appeared to be a left-handed setup, which Carolina didn't mind. It had been long enough since her last bartending job that she wouldn't have had the location of everything memorized even if it had been exactly the same as before. Otherwise, everything appeared to be in a logical arrangement. There was the cut fruit; the simple syrup and sour mix were labeled; and the bus tub was on a lower shelf.
When Carolina was fairly confident she'd be able to find what she needed, she took a cup and scooped crushed ice into it. Then she poured an ounce of amaretto into it and added sour mix, a little grenadine, and soda. She stirred the drink with a cocktail straw, added a maraschino cherry, and then placed it on a cocktail napkin on the bar in front of Genevieve. "There you go," she said with the easy smile she always wore when working. "Anything else?"
The drink looked adequate and Vivi took a tiny sip. It was the first taste of alcohol she had had in nearly two weeks, and it sat temptingly on her tongue for a moment. "A bit more grenadine next time," she advised, pushing the drink forward. She had been so distracted that she had not thought of what she was going to do with the drinks that Carolina would make, as she would not drink them. Perhaps Colin would enjoy them.
"Next, a Lava Flow." This was quite a popular drink, and was practically a staple. She doubted that Carolina would find it problematic, as it wasn't the most difficult of drinks.
She watched as Carolina went to work, seemingly comfortable behind the bar. Genevieve had already made up her mind, and this drink, and one last drink, were simply formalities at this point.
"Certainly," Carolina said, falling back into the rhythm easily. She blended a banana, coconut cream, and pineapple juice, and then put rum, coconut rum, and strawberries in a tall glass. She stirred them, tossed the stirrer into the bus tub, and poured the blended mixture on top. She added a drinking straw and a wedge of pineapple to the side of the glass, then slid it across the bar to Genevieve. While she waited for Genevieve to try the drink, Carolina wiped everything down.
Carolina had always been somewhat introverted by nature, but by now, her smile was genuine, and she was unsurprised to find that she was enjoying herself. In spite of what people seemed to think, Carolina was rather domestic. She enjoyed serving others and making people happy. If it had been up to her how her life had gone, she suspected she would have liked to go into a service field. She would have gone into nursing, or opened a bakery, or perhaps run a tavern of her own.
"Would you like me to make you something else?" Carolina asked.
She took a tiny sip and nodded. Perfect. "One last drink, if you would humor me," Genevieve said. "We have a regular who does not drink, but rather finds himself fond of sweet drinks. If you could, please make me a Garnet Dagger." Drake always insisted on them being sickeningly sweet, but the rest of the patrons who ordered the drink thought that Drake was, perhaps, a bit odd in that regard.
Carolina smiled a tiny, introspective smile. "I haven't made one of those in quite a long time," she said. She'd never really worked in the sort of place where patrons brought their children, and grown adults rarely ordered such a thing—without vodka in it, anyway, but then that was called a "Dirty Garnet."
Taking out another cup, she filled it with ice, and then added ginger soda. To that, she added grenadine, a straw, and a maraschino cherry. Then, she put it on a napkin and slid it across the bar toward Genevieve, just as she had the others. "I'll put in a little extra grenadine for your regular," she said with a wink.
It was very sweet - sweeter than she preferred her drinks. Still, the drinks were well made, and Carolina had already tidied up the bar, as though it was second nature. Genevieve nodded approvingly. "Did you have any additional questions for me?" she asked.
Colin poked his head out and Vivi waved him over, telling him to take the drinks. The staff, at the very least, would enjoy them, even if Genevieve would not. Sobriety was a rather horrible state, she was coming to realize.
"Yes," Carolina said. She dried her hands, and then went around to the other side, sitting next to Genevieve at the bar. She crossed her legs at the ankle, which felt more comfortable to her than crossing them at the knee, as she did when trying to bait men.
"I have two questions right away," she said once she was settled. "When would I start? And then, what sort of dress code do you have?" Most bars preferred that their bartenders wore black, but many had more specific guidelines as well.
"I would prefer it if you were able to start next weekend," she answered promptly. "The shifts for this weekend have already been covered, and it would be rather short notice. I am not so unreasonable that I do not understand that the people that work for me have lives." She paused, considering the dress code. Generally, she allowed her employees to wear whatever they desired, so long as their top was yellow and their bottoms black. Outside of that, she didn't much care.
However, bartenders often received splashed of liquor upon their clothes, and while most were clear, those that were not would show up quite vividly against the yellow. "Black," she said. Evelyn had worn the usual uniform, but had kept a plain black tunic in the back for when she worked the bar. "If you are more comfortable in trousers or a dress, it matters little to me. I am a rather lenient task mistress."
"All right," Carolina said. It would take her some thought to figure out what she would wear for work at the Snuggly Duckling. She did not typically wear trousers, but her usual long skirts would be too cumbersome for a bartending job.
She thought a moment, and then said, "I believe that is all of the questions I had. Is there anything else you would like me to know?"
"The wages would be 30g plus tips. You would be paid per diem." She tried to think of anything else that Carolina ought to know, but could not come up with anything. The job appeared rather straight forward, and if Carolina did not have any additional questions, then that made Genevieve's job rather simple. "Will you accept the position?"
Ah, yes, the wages. That would have been a good question to ask, if it hadn't slipped Carolina's mind. The pay seemed fair to her for a few hours' worth of work, and she expected to be tipped well, particularly once she'd learned the clientele and figured out how things were done here.
"Yes," Carolina said. "I accept."
Genevieve held out her hand to Carolina. "Then I look forward to getting to know you," she said sincerely. "If you find that you've additional questions, do let me know. I shall introduce you to the staff next week." She didn't much like rotating schedules, and ensured that her employees worked the same days each week. There was some fluctuations with time, but days were rather set.
"Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are in need of something."
Carolina grasped Genevieve's hand. "I quite look forward to getting to know you, too," she said with another genuine smile. They came more easily these days. "I believe I will enjoy working here," she added, and she meant that sincerely, too. For the first time in a while, she felt something other than a sense of duty for how she planned to spend her time.