18. Insight

“Since when have you taken up Muay Thai?” Pepper sounds both curious and interested.
Kai shrugs. “A couple weeks ago. Jet said I should learn how to not get my ass kicked, and he paid Talay to be my trainer. They go to the same gym.”
Mentioning his older brother’s name and hearing all the family talk before makes Kai’s conscious sting. Arguing with Jet had been a mistake, especially out in public. Kai knows he should talk to Jet and try to get him on the same page with regards to OmniVentures, but he’s really not in the mood right now.
Besides, he’s having fun.
He’s stayed behind the bar for almost an hour, mostly to avoid Jet but also to help Pepper. Traffic must be really bad if this Em person is still not here yet. True, he hasn’t really done much but get the glasses Pepper points to, but at least that leaves both Pepper’s hands free to mix the cocktails.
And standing behind the bar, he really can talk to her as much and as long as he likes.
“That’s why your hands look the way they do?” Pepper’s question pulls Kai back to the present.
“What?”
“You’ve got scrapes and bruises on your hands.” Pepper clarifies. “From Muay Thai. Nail’s hands looked like that—”
She bites her lip. Mentioning her brother is not a good idea, but this time Kai lets it go. Mostly.
“Nail was also at the gym tonight.” Kai is almost successful in making his voice sound neutral. “Talay said he was there for some kind of demonstration.”
“Did you believe him?” When Kai doesn’t answer, Pepper decides to push. “Or do you think he went there looking for you and used the demonstration as an excuse?”
“Why would he still be looking for me?” Kai asks the glasses the question, rather than looking at Pepper’s face.
“Because of what you have on your phone, obviously. Unless you deleted it.”
“I can’t.” Now Kai looks at her. “I need to keep it.”
Pepper raises her eyebrows. “To prove Chalam killed your parents?”
“Among other things.” Kai’s jaw clenches. “He ruined my life and the lives of my brother and sister, so I’m going to make him pay for it.”
“Have you shown Jet what’s on your phone, or are you keeping that from him too?” It’s a rhetorical question, but Pepper asks it anyway.
“Not yet,” Kai shakes his head. “He’ll just probably tell me to keep my head down and stay away from OmniVentures and let him handle everything, same as he did tonight.”
“But you’re not going to listen to him.” Pepper makes it a statement, rather than a question.
Kai raises his eyebrows at her. “Stop getting in my head.”
“It’s not that hard to do when every thought shows on your face.” Pepper puts her most recently mixed cocktail on the bar for a patron to pick up. “So you are going back.”
“Monday,” Kai can’t help being aware that Pepper made a statement, rather than asking a question, and that statement was less confrontational than Jet’s had been. “I’m off medical leave, so I can officially finish my internship.”
Pepper cocks her head. “And that won’t be a problem?”
Kai’s conscience gives another little twinge. “Jet can’t tell me what to do.”
“Your brother isn’t the one I’m worried about.” There is genuine concern on Pepper’s face. “Nail knows you’ve already taken something from OmniVentures, so he’ll be watching you more closely. If he sees you doing anything he doesn’t like--”
Kai scoffs. “He’ll have to catch me first.”
“Again.” Pepper adds.
“I’ll be more careful this time,” Kai reassures her. “I promise.”
Pepper shrugs. “It’s not me who needs reassurance.”
“Really?” Kai leans a little closer. “I thought you were worried about me.”
Pepper’s tone is deliberately nonchalant. “Oh? What gave you that idea?”
“I thought Bel only hired two full time bartenders.” The new voice turns their attention to the girl who has just stepped behind the bar. She’s about Pepper’s age, but maybe a little shorter, dressed in a uniform that matches the one Pepper wears. Currently, she’s looking at the both of them with slightly raised eyebrows.
“Sorry,” Kai backs toward the opposite side of the bar, ready to duck back into the patron side. “I mean, I’m not a bartender. I was just covering until you came.”
“You’re not in trouble,” the newcomer reassures him, her brown eyes alight with curiosity. “The traffic really was heinous. I’m Em, by the way.”
Kai nods. “I know.”
Em’s eyebrows rise higher at Kai’s statement. “You know?”
“If Kam said he’s calling Em, and then you show up saying traffic was awful, then it’s not that hard to figure out.” Kai points out. “You’re also Talay’s girlfriend. He talks about you alot. Says he likes having a girlfriend who works at a hospital cause it’s easier for him to get his injuries treated.”
“That sounds exactly like the kind of sentence Talay would say.” Em’s brow furrows, but she looks more amused than annoyed. “How do you know my boyfriend?”
“He’s my Muay Thai trainer.” Kai holds up his bruised knuckles.“ At least for now. My brother Jet asked him to train me since they’re members of the same gym.”
“Oh,” Em’s face clears. “You’re the latest adoptive Manirat? Talay said you’d be one of them sooner or later. They told you how that works, right? Talay and I aren’t exactly adoptive, but we’re pretty close to it. So which of the three original Manirats are you closest to?”
Like Pepper, Em is one of those people who can multitask without missing a single detail. She’s already mixed and served three cocktails by the time she finishes talking, and Kai can only blink at the onslaught of questions and the rapidity with which Em makes and serves the drinks.
“Zone.” This is the third time tonight Kai has been asked this question, and he’s not sure if he should be annoyed or not. “He and I are in the same faculty at uni. We share a dorm room.”
“Kai,” Pepper intervenes before Em can continue her interrogation. “We need more ice. The machine’s in the back corner of the prep table down the hall. Maybe get more limes, too.”
“Right.” Kai picks up the ice bucket, trying hard not to look like this is the excuse to flee he’s been waiting for. “Be right back.”
“Did you shoo him off just because I talk too much?” Em watches him go, but she doesn't exactly look disappointed.
“No,” Pepper is paying more attention to the cocktail shaker than she needs to. “We really do need more ice.”
Em cas ts a sidelong glance at her. “He’s cute.”
“You have a boyfriend.” Pepper keeps her face neutral, but her eyes and the way she plunks the seltzer bottle down on the bar give her away.
“And I’m very happy with him, so that was purely an observational statement.” Em’s eyes twinkle at Pepper. “Besides, Bel is also in a very happy relationship at the moment, so who else am I going to tease?”
Pepper shrugs. “There’s nothing to tease about.”
“Tell that to the ‘he’s mine, back the hell off’ sign you’ve got stamped across your forehead. There’s only one reason you would have an expression like that.” Em smiles. “Relax. I’m not going to steal your crush.”
“Pepper has a new crush? Or is it the same one?” The girls turn to see Luca leaning against the bar. He raises his eyebrows at Em. “You’re late.”
“I’m an on-call employee here, and traffic is bad.” Em flicks an ice chip at him. “Did anyone ever tell you it’s not nice to break into other people’s conversations?”
“Yes,” Luca smirks. “But that never stops me.”
Pepper rolls her eyes. “Don’t you have your own ‘crush’ to pay attention to?”
“About that,” Luca slides a key fob across the bar to Pepper. “I need you to hold on to this, and then drive the car to our place when you get off tonight.”
Em and Pepper give him twin expressions of surprise, but it’s Pepper who asks the question. “Why are you leaving this early?”
“I have something to take care of.” Luca jerks his head in the direction of the shadowy corner where Jet is melting into the chair cushions. Seven empty glasses are spread across the low table in front of him. “I think he said he parked it in the garage, but he’s having a little trouble saying words with more than one syllable at the minute.”
Em raises her eyebrows. “Because you filled him up with vodka?”
“Actually,” Luca corrects her. “He drank all six Black Russians on his own.”
“There are seven empty glasses on that table.” Em points out.
“The Negroni one’s mine.” Luca turns his gaze back to Pepper, tapping the car fob for emphasis. “This is his. Pepper, will you please do me this favor?”
“Did you just say ‘please’?” Now Pepper’s eyebrows are threatening to disappear into her hairline. “And why are you asking me and not Kai?”
“You can tell him if you want,” Luca’s shrug is deliberately casual. “But I doubt Jet would like his younger brother driving his car, and it shouldn’t be left here.”
“And you want Kai to know that Jet left,” Pepper elaborates. “But not in what condition he left in?”
“Something like that.” Luca glances over at the dark corner again. “He needs somewhere to sleep it off, that’s all.”
Em leans forward over the bar. “Just ‘somewhere to sleep it off’, huh?”
“Em,” Luca mimics her posture, playfully tugging at her high gold-brown ponytail. “Don’t make it sound weird.”
“But it is weird,” Em insists, flicking her hair out of Luca’s fingers. “You’re going to take your conquest home and--just let him sleep?”
“Yes,” Luca sounds a little more defensive than he needs to.
Em shoots a skeptical glance in Pepper’s direction. “Are you buying this?”
“I don’t want to,” Pepper slides the car fob into her pocket. “But I guess I have to make an exception.”
“I’m not going to do anything to him.” Luca looks a little defensive.
“Uh-huh,” Pepper is smiling, though whether it’s because she enjoys provoking Luca or because she believes him is unclear. “Kai’s getting ice, so you better get your hot mess of a ‘latest’ out of here before he comes back.”
“Fine,” Luca leans closer to her as Em rolls her eyes and turns back to her cocktail shaker. “I’m in such a good mood tonight I’m going to return your favor by giving you a little insight.”
“Nightshade’s Bad Boy is going to give me an insight?” Pepper’s words are casual, but both of them can hear the buzz of something else underneath.
“About Kai. ” Luca’s answer is blunt, and his face is the most serious it’s been all night. “He’s memorized your work schedule and plants himself at the bar so he can talk to you all night. And he has no experience bartending but volunteered to help you out for the last hour. He’ll probably stay all night whether or not you ask him to.”
“I’m still waiting for the ‘insight’.” Pepper knows perfectly well what Luca means but wants him to say it out loud.
He does. “Kai’s into you. So act on it. Or you’ll lose him.”
“Uh-huh,” Pepper’s playful expression slips just a little bit. “And what romantic drama did you get that line from?”
“I’m serious, Pepper.” Luca winks at her. “Think about it.”
Pepper leans over the bar. “And how would you ‘advise’ me to act on it?”
“Well,” Luca’s tone is only slightly less sarcastic than Pepper’s. “You could offer to help him out with whatever he’s doing at OmniVentures. Because we both know you don’t want to see him looking like he’s been through a meat grinder again. Unless you want to practice your bedside manner, that is?”
Pepper tries to roll her eyes but can’t stop the color that rises to her face. “That’s the ‘insight’ you’re offering?”
“I hope you’ll take it.” Luca gives her a second wink as he goes back over to Jet. “I’ll see you at home.”
“You see?” Em sidles back over to Pepper with a triumphant grin on her face. “I’m not the only one who’s noticed certain things.”
Pepper’s response is a playful shove. “Just mix the cocktails and mind your own business.”
As Luca predicted, Kai has no intention of leaving, so he’s put to work getting ice and fresh garnishes while Em and Pepper focus on the drinks The garnish station and ice machine are just down the hall, so it doesn’t take Kai too long to make these trips, and the only time he pauses is when he needs to slice more fruit or shred more mint or basil leaves--which takes him less than thirty seconds to figure out how to do.
At the bar, Em and Pepper move like a well oiled machine: mixing, pouring and serving in perfect sync. Watching the two of them makes Kai feel like glorified gofer, but the alternative is to go back to the VIP area and get asked questions he doesn’t want to answer, or go back to his dorm and be overtaken by the wave of guilt that insists on living in the pit of his stomach.
Neither option is one that he likes.
Before Em arrived, it had been easy to ignore the dark corner where he had seen his brother retreat, as he needed to keep his back turned to the nightclub while grabbing the correct glasses and ingredients for Pepper. Now that he’s constantly running back and forth between the garnish station and the bar, Kai’s eyes are able to wander, and they keep straying to that corner.
The corner that is now empty.
For some reason, that makes the bubble of guilt expand inside Kai’s gut. Had Jet decided to disappear alone for the rest of the night, or had he left with someone? Was Jet deliberately avoiding Kai just as Kai was deliberately avoiding him? Was Jet going to act on his threat and talk Kit into giving Kai an internship so that he couldn’t return to OmniVentures, or would Kai be able to explain his reason for going without giving too much of his plan away? Not knowing the answer to these questions only tightens the anxious knots in Kai’s brain, making his head throb.
Maybe he really should have just stayed at the gym and let Nail kick his ass.
“Kai,” There's a note of annoyance in Em’s voice, making it clear that she’s said his name more than once. Kai blinks at her, forcing his mind to snap back into focus. Em is holding a large gray bin full of empty glasses, which she jostles slightly as she holds it out to him. “These need to be washed?”
It’s both a question, and a command.
Kai takes the bin, giving Em a sheepish little smile. “Washed. Right. Sorry.”
“The kitchen is at the very end of the hall, past the garnish station, on your left.” Em is smiling at him. “Pepper’s really cute, isn’t she?”
“Um...yeah.” Kai decides it’s better to let Em think he was distracted by Pepper, rather than guilt. “Yeah, she is.”
He bolts back down the hallway to the kitchen before Em can say anything else. Nightshade’s kitchen is tiny, but clearly well-used. The kitchen staff--Kai is sure there’s a kitchen staff, even if he’s never seen anyone--has gone home for the night, so the room is empty, but it still smells like spices, used cooking oil and bleach.
Cleaned pots and pans hang next to the stove, which still has a few sauce splatters and the shredded remnants of herbs or other ingredients that the broom and cleaning cloths had missed. The table in the center of the room is scrubbed completely clean, ready for the next day’s food prep. A tiny sink is squashed into the far corner, with more recently washed dishes in the drying rack, and the last remnants of soap suds gently hissing as they evaporate or disappear down the drain.
Kai carries the bin over to the sink and starts scrubbing, careful to keep his grip tight enough so that the expensive glassware doesn’t slip from his fingers and shatter. It’s highly doubtful he can afford to replace one, even as an adoptive Manirat.
“You don’t have to wash those if you don’t want to,” Pepper is standing in the kitchen doorway. She’s taken the clip out of her hair, and now it frames her face and cascades in dark waves almost to her waist. “We have kitchen staff for that.”
“I don’t mind.” Kai puts the newly washed glass down and picks up another one, forcing himself not to stare. He’s seen Pepper with her hair down before, but tonight she looks particularly sexy, and he’s not exactly sure why that is.
“What?” Pepper has noticed him staring.
“Nothing.” Kai drops his gaze back to the glass, wiping an invisible smudge from the already gleaming surface while he tries to figure out what to say. “I didn’t know Nightshade had kitchen staff.”
Pepper nods. “How else do you think we feed our VIPs?”
“We didn’t get anything.” At least, Kai doesn’t remember anything other than ice buckets and bottles on their table, but he’s been too distracted to notice much of anything.
“They have to request it when they make a reservation.” Pepper explains. “If Bel likes them enough, he’ll even give the VIP access to our secret menu.”
“‘Secret menu’?” Kai raises his eyebrows. “Like what?”
“Dragonfruit, rambutan, durian, mangosteen, things like that. For some reason VIPs like dining on the king and queen of the fruits, so that’s what they’re served. Have you ever tried it?”
“You think I can afford durian and mangosteen on a student budget?” Kai puts down the final clean glass, turning on the water spigot one last time to push the remaining soap suds down the drain. “And is fruit the only thing you have on your ‘secret menu’?”
“No, but those are usually the most popular requests.” Pepper’s voice is a little muffled by the fridge door. “Full meals are for certain VIP parties, and they make snacks for the night owls who come in here for more than a drink. You’re not usually either of those, so why would you know about it?”
“I’m a night owl.” Kai points out.
“You sit at the bar by yourself with your virgin Thaijito and talk to me or Luca all night. That’s not the kind of ‘night owl’ I mean. ” Pepper comes back out of the fridge, carrying a couple of sealed containers. “Hungry?”
Kai’s stomach answers for him, the grumbling sound is unusually loud in the otherwise silent kitchen. “Are we allowed?”
“Actually, Kam and Bel encourage it, if there’s any leftovers.” Pepper puts the containers on the prep table. “It’ll go to waste otherwise, and I’m not taking all of this home on my own.”
Curious to see what’s in the containers, Kai leans forward as Pepper lifts one of the lids. A pungent smell assaults his nostrils, awakening his gag reflex. “What the hell?”
“Open your eyes,” the amusement is clear in Pepper’s voice. “It’s not that bad.”
Kai does as he’s told, squinting against the odor. There is a spoon in Pepper’s hand, held centimeters away from his face. The smell is coming from the white fleshy substance in the cradle of the spoon.
“Now open your mouth.” Pepper moves the spoon closer to Kai’s lips. “Trust me.”
Rather than argue, Kai raises a brow at her and parts his lips enough for the cradle of the spoon to go inside his mouth.
Pepper watches him. “So?”
“It still smells like feet.” Kai looks down in disbelief at the now empty spoon. “But it tastes like…almond custard. Why are you laughing?”
“It’s an interesting combination,” Pepper bites her lips in an effort to suppress another giggle. “Feet and custard, I mean. Have you never tried a durian before?”
Kai gives her a Look. “I don’t voluntarily eat things that smell like that. But I guess you do?”
“Yep.” Pepper answers around her fourth bite. She swallows before continuing. “Bel and Kam know how much I love it, so they save all the leftovers for me. Provided I take it with me when I leave.”
“And how does Luca feel about it?” Kai can’t help asking.
“I have to keep it in an airtight container,” Pepper taps the lid for emphasis. “But if he can bring his conquests home, then I get this. You want to try the mangosteen?”
Kai shakes his head. “Mali’s boyfriend buys her mangosteen all the time, so I eat it about once a week. It’s her favorite.”
“I know ‘Mali’ is for ‘jasmine’, and you told me once that ‘Kai’ is short for ‘Kaineng’.” Pepper cocks her head. “But why do you call your brother ‘Jet’?”
Kai shrugs. “Probably because ‘Lian-Jie’ is his full name, and neither Mali or I could say it growing up. It kept coming out ‘Hia Jet’, so that name stuck.”
“You call him ‘Hia’.” Pepper smiles. “That’s cute.”
“Only Mali does. Kam and Bel take really good care of you.” Kai takes another bite of durian. The smell doesn't bother him so much anymore. “Are you an adoptive Manirat too?”
“I’m happy with my Friend of the Family status.” Pepper says. “It feels a little weird to be an employee and a family member, not with all the work I do for them.”
“You do more than just bartending?” For the second time in as many minutes words come out of Kai’s mouth before he can stop them.
“Actually,” Pepper looks more amused than offended at Kai’s question. “I balance Nightshade’s books.”
“Yeah?” Kai can’t quite keep the surprise out of his voice.
Pepper nods. “That’s what I studied at university. I interned at Manirat Nexus and Kam hired me as soon as he and Bel bought this place.”
“Oh,” Kai isn’t really sure what to say to that. He’s starting to realize that for all the months he’s come to Nightshade, and all the conversations he’s had with Pepper, he really knows nothing about her. Which is something he’s going to fix starting tonight.
Pepper eyebrows shoot toward her hairline. “You thought I was just a pretty bartender?”
“No!” The word comes out louder than Kai wanted it to. “I mean, you’re pretty, but—”
“Kai,” Pepper is smiling. “I’m kidding.”
“I really didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” Kai insists.
“I know.” Pepper reassures him. “You’re really adorable when you flounder around like that.”
Kai’s face is red because he bit down too hard on the spoon, not because of anything Pepper has said. At least, that’s what he tells himself. “Shouldn’t you be doing that instead of feeding me food?”
Pepper shakes her head, snapping the airtight lid back over the durian container. “Not until the end of next month. And don’t tell me if I said yes, you would stick around to watch me. Don’t you want to go home?”
Kai shrugs. Going home means he’s alone, and if he’s alone that means he’ll think about things he’s been trying to shove to the back of his brain all night. Pepper seems to sense what he’s not saying.
“You want to help me check if the VIP rooms are empty of drunken stragglers before you go?”
“There are VIP rooms?” Kai isn’t exactly sure why he’s surprised. If Nightshade has a kitchen, then it makes sense that there would be VIP rooms. “Where?”
Pepper winks at him. “You want to see them?”



"19. Resonance" 

Read from beginning "1. Ignored"