Chapter Text
Shiori grabbed a cleaning rag from a bucket of soapy water and began wiping down the register counter. She had worked part time at the Inkwell since she was a freshman in college and was now a junior.
The Inkwell was a locally owned coffee shop nestled near the heart of the college town. Its modest size along with its dark academia-esque furnishings and aesthetic made it a popular spot for students and writers alike to sit down, relax, and work on projects. She loved the vibes and her coworkers, albeit strange at times, weren’t bad either.
Over the years she’s worked there she’d come to learn the regulars of the cafe. An older woman who came every Thursday morning to order an americano and sit at the table near the window soaking in the sun, a young business man who would quickly order an iced coffee on his way to work every Monday, and a few local authors who came by to work on their latest novel near the back.
Out of all the regulars, there was one that caught her eye from the start. A tall woman, who she knew as Nerissa from her frequent visits every weekday at 7am on the dot. She had wine red eyes and long black hair with striking blue highlights underneath. The woman was always dressed in office attire that, in Shiori’s opinion, bordered on risqué at times thanks to her ‘assets.’ She always came at 7am on the dot every weekday in a shiny black car parked right in front of the shop.
The first time she took Nerissa’s order of a large macchiato with oat milk and six shots of espresso she had to do a double take. Six shots was a lot, sure, but not really unheard of. However as time went on, Nerissa’s order started to increase to seven or eight shots. This was usually paired with a slightly more stressed and disheveled appearance along with “It’s sooo over!” and other complaints about life and work.
Shiori wasn’t one to judge but… that can’t be healthy right? Spending up to $7 on a coffee is rough, sure, but every weekday? Caffeine aside, $30 for drinks is just something her poor college student brain couldn’t comprehend.
Over time they became closer with each morning shift. They had a routine where they’d talk about the goings of life while Shiori made her drink, sometimes with Nerissa staying longer when she wasn’t busy.
Through their talks she learned that the office lady was actually a high ranking individual in a company in the music production industry. She learned that she hated reading through all the paperwork that came her way because of it. She also learned that Nerissa was called a ‘DEO’ or ‘demon executive officer’ by her colleagues because of her strong work ethic and high standards for her employees she called ‘Jailbirds.’
Shiori shared things about herself as well, like how she was double majoring in creative writing and communications at the local university. Shiori grew to love sharing stories and bantering with her. She even found herself laughing at the ‘rizz’ attempts by Nerissa and jokingly flirting back with her.
As she finished cleaning the register and started to move onto the machines, she heard the familiar noise of bells from the front door ringing. Shiori snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see none other than the devil herself walking through the glass doors of the Inkwell.
Today she was wearing black heels with dark pantyhose along with a tight black skirt and a white— Shiori’s eyes slightly widened and immediately shot up towards the approaching woman. She internally fought to avoid looking south at the raven haired woman’s button up shirt that was open, displaying a generous amount of skin.
“ Morning Rissa! Would you like your usual?” She cursed herself as she heard her voice slightly crack as she greeted the tall woman.
“Good morning darling.” Nerissa brought her hand to her mouth as she yawned, “Seven shots today please.”
“Ah.” Shiori looked down at the register and typed the order in, “Something happen at the job?”
The raven haired woman retrieved her phone from her purse and held it to the pin pad to pay and leave a tip. “Eh, something like that…”
“Oh? Something happen?” Shiori asked, partially distracted by a loud truck blasting music drive past the shop.
“Lately I’ve been stressing over some DEO work stuff.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?” Shiori moved to grab a cup and began the coffee making magic.
“Since our communications department is about to have two people retire this month including the head and another employee is about to go on maternity leave I’ve been trying to find someone to move up.” Nerissa moved to sit at one of the stools around the counter that separated the baristas from the customers.
Shiori moved around behind the counter while watching Nerissa fiddle with her necklace. “I imagine it's hard trying to find the perfect one.”
“Kinda, but I guess that’s for the best.” She mused, “There's a few people I have in mind for the head, but I want to find a replacement for the other position before I finalize my choice and then I’d need to get approval and— Argh! This is so stressful!”
Shiori giggled at that. “There there. Your team is lucky to have someone like you who cares so much about them.” She watched the espresso pour into the cup she’d placed below it.
“Thank you my Shiwowi.” Nerissa brushed her fingers through her hair and looked over to the barista. “Anyway enough about me, what's been going on in your world?”
“College crap,” she sighed, “I’ve got two essays due tomorrow for my literature and psychology classes and I’m supposed to be looking for internships.” Thinking about the future was both exciting but also daunting. “Even though working here is great, I’d really like to find a writing job somewhere around here after I graduate, you know?”
Nerissa visibly perked up at that. “Oh yeah! For a second I forgot which year you were in and it reminded me of something.”
“Ha ha way to rub it in, miss office lady with a comfy job.” Shiori joked as she poured some frothed oak milk into the drink.
“Aww you hurt me so!” She feigned offense as she lifted hand up over her forehead. “But seriously hear me out for a second.”
Shiori came over to where Nerissa was sitting with her drink in hand. “You can talk all you want about Astarion but Dimitri is my guy.”
“No no no, not about that,” Nerissa pulled out a business card from her purse. “More like an opportunity… To broaden your job search.”
Shiori exchanged the drink for the card and brought it closer to read it. It was light blue decorated with perforated gold music notes. On the front in fancy navy blue lettering it read ‘Nerissa Ravencroft of Ravencorp Music Productions.’ Right next to it was a circular design with a horn and wing with musical notes and flowers surrounding it and realized she had seen it in her gen ed business class.
Her jaw dropped. “R-ravencroft as in the founders of the Ravencorp? As in one of the largest conglomerates in the country?!” her yellow eyes widened and seemed to glow as the sunlight lit up the cafe through the window.
“Well...yes?” Nerissa tilted her head confused. “I thought you knew? Haven’t you seen my last name before? With how my family named it, it's not really rocket science.” She shrugged as she blew on her drink to cool it.
“You always pay with your phone! If anything I’ve only seen your last initial!”
Nerissa raised her cup and took a sip of her macchiato. “Ope. That is so true.” She pointed towards the smaller girl that was still in shock. “Anyway, would you like to work there too? Since you’re looking for internships and are in the right majors, there’d be no problems”
“Absolutely, I would love the opportunity.”
Nerissa’s smile beamed. “Perfect!" She flipped her card over in Shiori’s hands. "Just give me a call at this number whenever you’re free.”
“Wait! Don’t I need to do something like fill out a form or pass a screening or—”
“Shhh…” Nerissa put her finger toward the shorter one’s mouth. “I’ll make sure to get everything sorted out so don’t stress about it~”
And with that she waved goodbye and walked out leaving Shiori standing behind the counter listening to the ringing of the bells as the doors closed.
Welp, that just happened.
Shiori blinked a few times to clear her head and looked down at the card which showed Nerissa’s contacts and cell number. Shiori put the card in her back pocket carefully so as to not crease it as she let out a small laugh.
“Dang that woman sure is something else.”
-+—+-
After her work shift and classes she was finally back at her dorm. She quietly unlocked her door and entered the room. As she walked towards her desk she looked over to see her roommate near the window sitting on one of their ottomans playing a game on her switch. Bijou, or Beebs as she called her, had been her roommate and best friend since freshman year and was majoring in psychology. She set her backpack down and plopped down on the futon underneath her bed letting out a big sigh.
“Shiori! You’re back!” Her roommate exclaimed as she looked up from her game.
“Hey beebs.” She gave a small wave as she reached in her pocket to grab her phone and pulled out the card Nerissa had given her earlier.
“Ooo what’s that?”
Shiori handed it to Bijou to inspect and let out a laugh as the girl’s face reflected her own from earlier. “It's a business card from a regular at the Inkwell. Said she could hook me up with a job at her company.”
“Oh my gosh! Ravencroft!? This is huge Shiori!” She sat down next to Shiori who had moved over to give her space. “And from that Nerissa you always talk about too! This is like, straight out of those cheesy romance books.”
“I don’t talk about her that much.” She quipped as she looked down at her phone. “Oh shoot! It's almost 5.” Shiori shot up, “I need to call her about her offer. Beebs, could I have that card back?”
Bijou handed the card to Shiori who was making her way to the door. “Ok! See you later, Shiori.”
Shiori thanked her and walked down the hallway towards one of the study spaces on her floor. She scanned her student ID and sat down at the single desk in the glass room. Placing the card on the table she typed in the number on her phone and hit call.
Ring…Ring…Ring…
“Hello this is Nerissa, who am I speaking to?”
“Hi it's Shiori, sorry for calling late. I just got back to my dorm.”
“Shiwowi!" Nerissa's voice rose in excitement. "It's totally fine, don't even worry about it. I would answer anytime if it was you calling.”
Shiori cleared her throat, feeling her face rise a few degrees. “Uhm anyways, about that offer you were talking about this morning…?”
“Oh yeah, the offer!” There were sounds of paper being moved around. “Since Holo University is one of our partners for job internships, I got you a spot with our content writer. As an intern some things you would do is help with her projects, shadow the position, and other small stuff. All you have to do to accept is say so.”
“Are you serious?” Shiori held onto her phone like a lifeline. “Of course I accept!”
“Perfect! We’re pretty flexible regarding orientations, so I just need a date and time that you could come in for yours.”
She pulled up her calendar app and checked her class times and work schedule. “Would Friday at 10 work?”
“Absolutely. I'll see you then Shiorin~”