VIBE

【3】【6】

Nikki uses her key to let herself into the club, knowing that Brynn is already somewhere in the building hard at work.

"Welcome back, stranger! How are you doing?" Nikki smiles as she walks towards her friend and they hug.

"I'm good, B. Can we may be head to your office and have a chat? I need to run a few things by you and would prefer to do it in private."

"Please, tell me that you're not quitting! I already had to fire Donovan and I don't want to have to interview more incompetents."

Nikki chuckles, "Was Donovan the guy who was supposed to be my replacement?"

Brynn roles her eyes and nods, "You know full well that no one can fully replace you; he was simply a fill in. The fact that he was straight and lied about it to get the job didn't bother me so much as the fact that he overpoured and gave away a bunch of drinks to his friends."

"We're all guilty of overpouring and giving away drinks, so, tell me, what really set you off?"

"He hurt Ian's feelings by telling him that if he saw him on Tinder that he would definitely swipe left. Ian went full diva and I had to have Naomi work his station for the remainder of the shift. It was a nightmare! We had a couple of larger groups come in and weren't able to keep up on everything. On top of that we had to call the police to intervene when an argument got physical outside and they were as usual, slow to respond. It scared off a bunch of people in the lineup and hurt our bottom line for the night."

"Damn, I take a few days off and this place goes to hell!"

Brynn rolls her eyes, "So, what do you need to speak with me about?"

Nikki takes a deep breath, "I broke up with Kristie, I'm going back to school and I'm planning on making a comeback; so, I'm going to need your help with a little flexibility in my scheduling."

"Wait! What? You broke up with Kristie??"

Nikki nods, "I'm hoping it's more like a time out than a full on break up, but, yeah. Turns out that she's a professional soccer player for Gotham FC which is also the team that Paigey works for. The two of them decided to keep that information from me, assuming, probably rightfully so, that the information would hurt me."

"You don't sound like you're hurting."

Nikki shakes her head, "Had the same thing happened to me before the situation with Mr. Scott took place and I finally unleashed on him, I probably would have been a lost cause. I think the fact that I've started to process and let go of the hurt from my past, has allowed me to be able to remember that it wasn't all bad, all the time and to carry those positive thoughts and feelings with me towards what I hope will be a much better and brighter future. I'm now better equipped to be able to handle and process things and see that not everyone or everything is out to hurt me. When I was younger, I dreamed of being a pro soccer player, but also of designing spaces and buildings. I love working here and being a mixologist, but it's not my dream, B. I'm going to be checking out NYU and seeing what steps are required in order for me to get back on track towards finishing my degree in architecture and while I'm at it, I'm also going to be looking into getting a personal trainer and getting my ass back into shape in order to maybe try out for a soccer team."

Brynn smiles and wipes at tears, "Okay, pardon me while I have a proud sister/ friend moment. Now, I know why Piper was grinning like the Cheshire cat after speaking with Paige earlier, she knew this conversation was coming and knew that I'd have no choice but to say, ABOUT FUCKING TIME YOU GOT YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS!!"

Nikki bursts out laughing, "Paige has always been the smarter sister, or so she says, so it makes sense that I'd take a bit longer to get there."

Brynn jumps up from her chair and moves to hug Nikki. "I'm assuming that you'll keep me in the loop and let me know when and where we need to make allowances for your scheduling."