"Good to see we're so busy," I said, as I neared.
She glanced up, and her bright smile flashed. "Yeah. Been meaning to ask if I could get another waiter or two. It's been insane these last couple of days."
"Go ahead. I'm not sure when Ilianna or I are going to be back – things are hectic elsewhere at the moment."
She nodded, obviously unfazed by our absence. Which was one of the reasons we'd singled her out to become our manager. That and the fact she'd passed her business course with honors. "Excellent. I'll get the ad in the paper tomorrow. Oh, and the accountant left a note for you. It's sitting under the till."
"Thanks. Any other problems I need to know about?"
"Jacques wants to change the menu again, because he's bored cooking the same things, but other than that, no."
I smiled. Jacques was our sous-chef, although with what Tao was currently going through, Jacques had all but become our head chef. He was damn good, too – which is why we paid him so well and, subsequently, why he remained, even though he hated cooking burgers. Fancy burgers, but burgers all the same. "Tell him he can change one item to anything he desires, but don't expect a rush of orders. Ninety percent of our clientele are werewolves, and they like their burgers."
She smiled. "I told him that. He doesn't care."
I chuckled softly, and headed over to the till to grab the note. Need to talk to you ASAP about a couple of problems, Mike's bold scrawl read. How about we do so over dinner?
I frowned at the note, trying to decipher the intent behind the invitation. Mike and I had always had an easygoing relationship – mainly because he'd been dating my mom, even if their relationship had never been confirmed or even acknowledged until after her death. I'd never been entirely sure why she'd wanted it kept secret, but had always figured it had something to do with the fact it would probably be considered unethical for Mike to be in a relationship with one of his clients.
What I didn't understand was why in the hell he'd want to meet me for dinner, when up until now we'd only ever talked at his office or mine.
Or was this merely an extension of his need to keep an eye on me for my mother's sake? It probably was, but it nevertheless made me uneasy.
Of course, just about everything was making me uneasy these days.
I glanced at my watch. I couldn't ring him now – Mike had said in the past he was an early riser and liked getting into the office closer to eight rather than nine, but given that it was barely five a.m., I doubted even he'd be up. I folded the note and shoved it in my pocket as I headed into the kitchen. I'd deal with Mike later. Right now, I needed to grab something to eat, before my reaper started hassling me again. Besides, who knew when I'd get another chance – especially given Mirri had fewer than twenty-four hours left before the rope around her neck began to tighten.
Tao still hadn't arrived home by the time we got back there, and the worry that sat like a weight in the back of my mind ratcheted up another notch. As much as I kept telling myself he'd be okay, that we'd get him through this, the longer he remained unfound – the longer the fire elemental remained in control of his body – the harder it would be for us to pull Tao's spirit back. That's presuming the fire spirit was in control, and Tao hadn't just decided to follow in my recent footsteps, and drink himself into oblivion.