Immediately Riley got to her apartment, she took out the files and read through them. It was mostly boring stuff — how she had been converted to a CHIS and was no longer a civilian specialist until the job was over.
Then she took the file and clutched it to her chest, her head facing the ceiling as she lay on her back. Tomorrow was the start of a new job, no big deal.
What was actually bugging her was the EG. But like Mrs Miller had told her, the EG was just careful, not dangerous. And careful people could still be exposed.
When she had first been told about this "mission", she had questioned why she had been chosen among many others. There were even police officers who specialised in undercover work. She had easily shrugged it off, assuming it was because of her good performance, but really?
Why was she chosen for this job?
Was it because… no one had accepted it?
What had she gotten herself into?
Or was she just being paranoid?
She couldn't deny the fact that she was a bit excited about the job and couldn't wait for it to start. Her emotions were a mix of fear and anticipation.
Riley decided to check the website for the job application. They had already posted vacancy notices for different house-worker positions. Mrs Miller was right. They did change house-workers like clothes.
What she had to do now was work for a week and memorise the information on her new résumé.
Everything would be set by then.
---
Darryl walked into Nathaniel's office while he was drinking his morning coffee. Not really barged in. More like… strolled.
"I knew I'd find you here," Darryl said, heading for the coffee machine to make one for himself.
"Good morning, by the way. I received a call from your housekeeper saying you didn't return home. She said Melanie was worried."
"I'm sure Melanie knew where I was," Nathaniel finally spoke.
"Still, you should try calling her every day. At least to say goodnight."
Darryl took a sip of the coffee and immediately spat it out.
"This is terrible," he said.
"Just like your idea," Nathaniel replied, giving him a knowing look. "You know I can't afford to get attached."
Darryl wanted to say more but was busy searching for the sugar he had put in the coffee.
"Anyways," he continued, "I think I may have found out why the D.S. visited the company the other day."
---
Riley woke up at her usual time the next morning, went through her usual routine, and was about to step out the door when she remembered she was working somewhere different that day.
Today she would begin work at The Verdant Plate, an elite five-star restaurant.
Her job as a waitress required her to arrive at 9:00 a.m. At the police academy she usually arrived at 6:00 a.m., leaving her house very early before some of her neighbours even woke up.
Maybe that was why a woman in the building had once stopped her and asked if she actually lived there.
It wasn't surprising that most of her neighbours didn't even know she existed, except for the gateman.
She had always been the invisible one.
Riley walked into the restaurant looking completely lost. The man at the door noticed and approached her.
"Can I help you?"
She explained her situation, and he directed her to the staff-only entrance at the back after checking her staff ID.
It was completely empty when she got there.
There were aprons and polo shirts for staff. Riley grabbed a polo and an apron, pulled the polo over her shirt, and tied the apron around her waist.
She had just finished tying it when a lady walked in.
"Hey, you," the lady said, as if she had expected to see Riley there. "What are you doing? Grab a book and a pen and go collect some orders."
"Alright," Riley did as she was told. She had already told herself that today, at this place, she was going to be super friendly and helpful. She wanted this working atmosphere to be different, much more different than her old one.
"Shit, I think I forgot my pen at home," she muttered to herself as she searched her bag.
She looked up to ask the lady for one — and that's when she noticed the lady was busy on her phone.
"Um, hey," The lady looked up from her phone "I don't have a pen,"
The lady rolled her eyes in response and went back to her phone.
Okay…?
''And I was actually hoping someone would show me how things work here," The lady was not even acting like someone was talking to her "It's my first day here,"
The lady finally looked up and noticed Riley still sitting in the same corner, playing with her fingers.
"Hello?" The lady snapped her fingers in Riley's direction. "I thought I told you something."
Riley hesitated. She had promised herself she'd be patient today…But the snapping fingers did it.
"Did you? You were on your phone the whole time—I thought you were talking to it." Riley said instantly. Even though she had wanted to get along with all her co-workers, this one was already getting on her nerves.
The lady stared at Riley like she was speaking gibberish, shook her head, and went back to her phone.
The silence between the two ladies didn't last long.
A man burst in the next minute.
"What the hell!"
Riley glanced at him and noticed he wore the same uniform.
"Would you two get up? We're drowning out there and you're both just sitting here?"
Riley straightened.
"I just resumed," she said, trying to keep her tone calm. "No one's told me what to do yet."
The man frowned. "So you decided to sit?"
Riley met his gaze.
"I decided to wait for proper instructions," she corrected. "I don't want to mess things up on my first day."
He opened his mouth, then paused—slightly thrown off.
Before he could respond, Riley added,
"But if you tell me where I'm needed, I'll help."
There was a brief silence.
The other lady still didn't look up from her phone.
The man exhaled sharply.
"I'm reporting both of you," he muttered. "This is unbelievable."
He turned and walked out.
The door shut behind him.
The other lady finally looked up, laughing. "You did great, I've never seen Harry this speechless before. That was a polite comeback,"
"He's going to report us, and you're laughing? I really don't want to get into trouble on my first day,"
"Well, you should be worried. I am the owner's daughter, so I can't get fired. You, on the other hand…"
Riley's gaze was full of disbelief, but she understood what the lady meant. She wasn't as privileged as the lady.
She opened the door to head out, but someone on the other side beat her to it.
"The manager wants to see the both of you."
Riley took a deep breath, and smoothed the edge of her apron, forcing herself to stay calm.
'Great,' she thought 'Just the kind of trouble I've been looking for,'
---
"So you think these devices might have been used by your grandfather for illegal activities? That's cringe."
"We're talking about my grandfather here. A D'Oro."
"No offence, but I don't trust that man."
"Me neither."