“This is it.”

Skye pulled over a few metres down the street from a small steel gate. A tall white stone wall surrounded the entire property obscuring everything inside from view. A copper plaque near to the gate told them this was the Disablot, the estate of Kriemhilde von Leere. They got out and made their way up to the security station where an intercom guarded the entrance.

Scarlett leant on her shoulder, “This is it?”

Indie double checked the card.

“That name’s familiar,” Scarlett lit up a cigarette.

Skye glared at them, snatching the card to check herself. It didn’t have the name - Indie had researched that herself - just the name of the estate and the address.

“I’ve never heard of her.”

Indie shrugged off Scarlett’s arm, the internet hadn’t said much about them either. Whoever Kriemhilde von Leere was, they were phenomenally wealthy.

Scarlett puffed, “How many rich people do you know?”

Skye was still glaring at the cigarette.

“Elgian Heights is the real rich suburb. Look at these places.”

Everything around them, everything they’d driven past to get here, was marble and white stone and massive houses. The Disablot looked particularly expensive through the steel gate. It was so wealthy it didn’t even have a drive-way - they probably had a palanquin they were carried around on.

Indie sighed, one last look at her phone before tucking it into her pocket, “Let’s get this over with.”

Scarlett put out their cigarette and Skye pressed the buzzer. Nothing happened for several minutes until eventually the gates opened with a soft whir. Skye and Scarlett lead the way inside and up the stone path. Inside a large willow tree took up most of the yard, surrounded by a pond with koi. The path wound around the tree, to the left of which was a large series of other paths branching off into gardens.

The path curved back around to the front of a house. A smooth, earthen walled house made up of several large blocks. The terracotta house had three levels, plants overhanging from the roofs. Glass and aluminium broke up the earthen walls and greenery.

“Wow,” Scarlett hugged on Skye as they made their way up to the front door.

The front door opened as they approached, the Blonde stood in the entrance with a warm smile, “Welcome! Come in, you’re just in time for lunch.”

They followed the woman inside. The interior was amazing, modern and minimalist with almost no walls, space divided up by stylish wooden partitions. The hall way they were standing in ran through the entire house down to the glass doors at the back. A large buddha statue sat in the centre with a large reflection pool at its feet.

“I’m Kriem,” the Blonde finally introduced themselves.

Indie gestured to her sister, “This is Skye,” then to her friend, “and Scarlett.”

Kriem smiled warmly, offering their hand for them both to shake - they both did with confident, unwavering hands.

“And you?”

Indie blushed, she hadn’t told them her name had she…

“Indigo - I’m uh, Indie.”

Kriem offered up their hand, Indie took it in her trembling fingers and shook it - awkwardly.

“Indigo, that’s a lovely name. What do you girls want for lunch?”

Kriem lead them past the statue and the pool, towards the back of the hall and to the left. The second break in the partitions served as the door to the kitchen. A square room with a square section cordoned off by a long counter, one half facing the partitions with the other at a right angle to them. A dining table just off to one side, all the amenities of a modern kitchen and a series of square bar stools nestled up against the counter.

Kriem made her way around towards the large polished steel fridge.

“Do you girls like Sushi?”

Indie blanched, she really didn’t. Scarlett nodded, “Yeah.”

Skye nodded as well, but looked at Indie, “We’re not really here for lunch.”

Kriem moved around the counter opposite them and leant in, “We can’t have a job interview without lunch. I’ll order whatever you want. Anything at all.”

“Thai,” Scarlett sat down at the counter.

“Scarlett!” Skye chided, “Indie?”

“Burger… and fries.”

“Indie…” Skye sighed, taking a seat, “I’ll have Thai, thank you.”

Kriem pulled their phone up from the counter where it had been resting, “It’s no fuss,” they tapped the screen a few times, “Already ordered.”

Indie sat down between Scarlett and Skye, pulled her own phone from her pocket.

“So Indie,” Kriem asked, “I’m converting to a smart house, so I need a few things installed and all the code checked.”

Indie stared down at her phone, “I… I can do the installation, but I don’t know what kind of code you want.”

“I work from home, so network security on my main servers, then make me as hack proof as you can.”

Indie smirked, her eyes still on her phone screen, “You can’t make a system hack proof, but… I can do that.”

Kriem tapped their phone some more, “Alright, I want to make sure you can - so, after lunch I’ll go get a laptop and see what you can do.”

“A-alright.”

Kriem tapped their phone for a few minutes, communicating with someone, before looking up at Skye, “I’m going to say, you are the lawyer.”

Skye nodded, “I’m a lawyer.”

“Do you do zoning, or contract law?”

“I’m an intern… b-but the company I work for enforces patents.”

Kriem smirked, looked back down at their phone, then up again to Skye, “You work for a patent troll, nice.”

Skye turned red, “I don’t work for a patent troll.”

“If you can do contract law, then I have a job for you.”

Skye looked straight into their eyes, “I majored in contract law.”

“Good! While Indie is working on that laptop, I’ll grab a few forms I need worked on.”

Scarlett examined the kitchen, leaning back on the stool, “You’re giving us all tests, I’m a bartender, you gonna get me to make drinks?”

Kriem shrugged, “If you want,” they showed Scarlett their phone’s screen, “I’ve already got your CV.”

“How?”

Kriem stood, “You already work for me, I own the Selene. Hell, I own a third of the city and I’m friends with the people that own the rest.”

They made their way from behind the counter and had already left the kitchen by the time the doorbell rang.

Skye leant over to whisper something to Scarlett, the two conversed to each other for a moment before Skye turned to her. Kriem’s return stopped them, who came back around the counter and placed several bags down in front of them.

“Let’s eat.”

***

The lunch had gone well, then the tests afterwards had been just as easy. Despite what should be, Kriem was fairly easy to talk to. Skye sat at the kitchen counter going over forms, most of it was fairly standard stuff. Her sister had been set up with a laptop at the dining room table and given what sounded like an impossible task. Scarlett sat on the stool beside her talking with their host.

The tall, leggy blonde with long hair and wide hips squeezed into a white sun-dress that seemed too casual for a goddess. Skye had given them more than a glance. Something about full-bodied blondes just got to her, almost as much as flirty bartenders sleeping on her couch.

Scarlett brushed back their black locks, already working their seductress’ magic on the Blonde. The green curry wasn’t sitting well, it had been delicious but her heart burned.

She tried to focus on the jargon, the dense delicately worded contract before her. As standard boiler plate as it was, it had to have a hole somewhere - Kriem had told her this was the contract a local business had been using to unlawfully fire workers.

“Done.”

She looked up, Indie had finished.

“Really?” Kriem stood up and made their way over, “It’s been twenty minutes.”

“You gave me garbage code to break,” Indie looked at the floor, “you should change… all of it.”

“Can you write this stuff?” Kriem leaned in to check their work, “If you can, I can pay you.”

“I don’t… I don’t write the code, I break it. I can try.”

Kriem stood up, smiled at them, “Do you want a job breaking code for me?”

Indie nodded, still not looking them in the eyes, “I’ll need my own stuff to do it properly.”

“Of course, any equipment, we can negotiate prices later. Your sister can write up the contract.”

Skye ignored them, trying to focus. It was dense, but she had spent the last year scrying for loopholes in patents to swindle people. This was honest work at least.

“Come have a drink.”

Indie followed, sitting down next to Scarlett, who wrapped an arm around them.

“Actually, I think that means we should be breaking out the hard stuff. Come with me Scarlett.”

Kriem lead Scarlett from the room, off into the hall. Indie laid their head against the stone counter.

“You did well Ind.”

Indie mumbled, “Thanks.”

***

“This is where the magic happens.”

The Bar was across the hall from the kitchen, a large room with a lounge feel. Chairs were scattered about the room and a single large counter stood in one corner flanked by two sets of doors - one marked with a bathroom sign and the other a glass door which lead into a stairwell. The dark wood counter hid a treasure trove of bottles, glasses of all kinds hung from racks above or were tucked away in cupboards. Every kind of liquor was there. When Kriem lead her around to look at the selection she almost wet herself in excitement. They had extremely good taste.

“How is it?”

They watched her, Scarlett ran her hand over the counter, it was perfect height. She caressed a bottle of absinthe left on the bench just behind the counter.

“You entertain a lot.”

“I used to,” Kriem stepped out to take a seat at the bar, “Make us a few drinks, whatever you like.”

Scarlett grabbed two glasses and a few bottles, mixing up a cocktail to appease them. She wasn’t even sure why, they’d literally said they weren’t looking for a bartender.

“Indie told me you were looking for a bartender.”

Kriem shrugged, “I found one.”

She placed their drink up in front of them.

“You studied business didn’t you?”

Scarlett picked up her own glass, “Yeah.”

“But you’re working as a bartender,” they sipped their drink, “not that I’m complaining.”

Scarlett drank from her own glass, she could feel a chill in her bones like someone was about to offer her a job. She emptied her glass.

“Says here,” they pulled their phone out, “you worked as middle management for three months before you were let go.”

“Culture differences.”

Kriem smirked, sipped their drink, “You were caught having sex with a co-worker in the bathroom.”

Scarlett poured herself another drink.

“A friend of mine acquired that business earlier this year, there were a lot of complaints. I’m sure you know though, you filed four complaints against your boss.”

Scarlett remembered each in detail, “He was an arsehole.”

“What happened?”

Scarlett waved it off, “It’s in the past.”

“Well I’m looking for a manager for my next nightclub. You’ve got all the credentials, and no-one will fire you if you fuck a few colleagues,” they winked.

“Is that the catch?”

Kriem tapped their phone, “What, having fun? I’d encourage it, but it isn’t required.”

“No… I mean-“

They finished their drink and offered it to her, “No strings, you’ve got everything I’m looking for in a manager.”

She took the glass, “You want me to manage a night-club?”

“Sure, unless you don’t want to.”

Scarlett poured them a fresh drink, “No, I want to.”

Kriem beamed, grabbing the drink, “Then lets drink to new friends and new employment.”

Scarlett lifted her glass and they clinked glasses loudly, “Cheers.”