Chapter Text
The opening night of Nadja’s was rapidly approaching and there was still much work to be done. The Guide had planned to hunker down in her office— alone— to ensure everything had been taken care of prior to the grand opening Nadja had planned. She wanted to make sure everything went perfectly for her mistress. But as usual, Nadja had weaseled her way into The Guide’s plans and now they were sitting opposite each other, filling out the last of the paperwork and confirming deliveries and performances. The room was silent except for the scratch of pens on paper and the flutter of pages turning. They had been at this for hours and the air in the room felt oppressive and uncomfortably still.
“I am going to get something to eat,” Nadja said abruptly as she set down her pen. “Would you like anything? I can bring you back a glass.”
“Oh, yes please,” The Guide replied, still laser focused on the task in front of her.
Nadja smiled to herself and chuckled inaudibly. She knew The Guide wouldn’t shift her focus until she had finished the document she was working through. It was endearing. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
The door closed with a low thud as Nadja left the room and The Guide let the pen fall from her hand. She was ready for the night to be over and for the seemingly never ending paperwork to be done. For her life to return back to stasis and to have some time to herself again. When preparations for the nightclub began, Nadja had tasked The Guide with doing all the paperwork—- and there was so much. Business applications and licenses, liquor licenses, contracts for vendors, contracts for the work crew hired for the remodel, insurance, contracts for performers… The list went on and on and on. New documents appearing every night on her already large stack of things to get to.
She let her head fall, resting her forehead on the desk and exhaled. At least the end was in sight. Just one more night of paperwork tomorrow and the next night would be the grand opening. Still, it felt so far away. Doing admin silently across from Nadja felt awkward and the hours seemed to barely crawl by.
Just as she felt herself relax a bit, she heard the faint rattle of the door knob turning. With one swift motion Nadja opened the door and traipsed in, a decanter of blood in one hand and two crystal glasses in the other. The end of her peace. The Guide raised her head from the desk and let her chin rest on the heel of her hand. Nadja had sat down across from her once again and was opening the bottle in front of her. “How much do you want?” she asked.
“Just a little for now, I think,” The Guide mumbled. And watched as the blood trickled down into her glass, wrapping her gloved fingers around the stem of the glass before bringing it to her lips. She drained the glass, not realizing how hungry she had been. “Thank you mistress Nadja.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want my most important employee to burn herself out working too hard.” Nadja raised her own glass and took a sip. The Guide almost smiled at Nadja’s thoughtfulness. “Besides, I needed a break or I was going to start going crazy. I really don’t understand how you can sit still for so long.”
The Guide knew well enough that Nadja rarely did anything selfless or thoughtful out of the goodness of her heart. Still, she had hoped so hard for Nadja to think about her. To notice her. But she never would. The Guide knew well enough that she would only ever be an afterthought to Nadja. “Well, I don’t have much of a choice. If this paperwork isn’t finished in time we can’t open and we all know I’m the only one who will actually do it,” The Guide retorted. Always so unsuccessful at hiding her irritation with Nadja lately. She scolded herself silently for not having the self control to be more agreeable and reached for the decanter to refill her glass.
Brushing past The Guide’s comments, Nadja turned the conversation towards something more lighthearted. “I cannot believe the nightclub is opening in just two nights now,” she exclaimed. A huge grin was now plastered on her face as she looked back at The Guide who seemed uncomfortable now. She watched as The Guide's eyes darted around the room and how she shifted in her chair. “I already have my outfit planned. I have for weeks. Do you know what you’re going to wear yet, Guidey?”
“No, I have no idea,” The Guide admits sheepishly. “I have been so bogged down by all the paperwork I have had to do that it never crossed my mind.” Her wardrobe was mostly practical, plain clothing anyways. She never had much use for flashy attire when every night for as long as she could remember was spent in the Vampiric Council headquarters doing admin. But dressing up for work at the nightclub did seem fun, she had to admit.
“Well, why don’t you come to my house tomorrow night to sleepover and I can help you pick an outfit. Bring some options. Whatever you have, that isn’t so… boring.” Nadja waved a hand dismissively and took another sip from her glass.
“I think I can manage on my own, Nadja,” The Guide grumbled. Of course Nadja thought she was boring. She picked up her pen again and carried on with the paperwork in front of her, hoping Nadja would drop it.
“I know you could, but I want to help you.”
“Really?”
“Yes! Panagia mou. Why do you always have to be so difficult?”
“I-” The Guide scoffed. If anyone was difficult it was Nadja. She could never just leave things alone. She always had to prod at everything. The Guide took a deep breath and gripped the pen in her hand to stop herself from snapping at her boss. No matter what Nadja did or how she irritated her, The Guide wanted nothing more than to be welcomed into Nadja’s circle. It made her feel pathetic to put up with so much. And still… “You’re right, mistress Nadja, it could be fun.”
Nadja smiled, feeling satisfied and clapped. “Oh, yes. It will be very fun.”
The Guide reached for her glass and drained the rest of it. “If you say so.”
“Well, I need to head home now, it’s almost dawn.” Nadja stood and pushed back her chair to leave. “I will see you tomorrow. You can come home with me after we finish everything here.”
The Guide didn’t have a chance to respond before Nadja had turned and all that remained of her presence was the click of her heels down the corridor and the faint trail of perfume she left behind in every room.
Now that she was finally alone, The Guide’s thoughts began to spiral. She hated that Nadja had so much power over her. She hated how much she liked being at Nadja’s mercy. And now she had more to worry about on top of everything left to prepare the nightclub. Her stomach clenched and suddenly her eyelids felt like lead. She decided to call it a night and made her way to her chambers, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes as every humiliating scenario possible played out in her head.