•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

1.9k words

"Your first love never dies, but your true love can bury it alive."

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

My body was pushed to exhaustion, so falling asleep last night—after spending quality time with Connor—was the easiest thing I've done in months. All those long, late night hours working with agent Kenobi finally caught up to me.

My slumber was so deep you would think I was past the point of waking up for at least a couple more hours. But unfortunately, the sound of a phone blaring in the room jolted my body awake and I shot my tired eyes open.

I groaned in annoyance as I rolled out of my husbands hold, and faced my nightstand where I could see the time on the digital clock.

𝟷𝟸:𝟺𝟼𝚙𝚖

My eyes widened, it was noon, which means- I rushed to grab the phone that rang and vibrated along the wooden stand, knowing who it could be. But to my annoyance, I undershot the distance from where I was to the nightstand and fell to the floor with a loud thud. Connor shot up from the bed in surprise as the sheets pulled away from him and fell with me, locking me in
a tangled mess of fabric.

"Are you okay?" He asked with slight worry, but I could hear the laugh he was suppressing at the edge of his throat when he saw me fighting with the bed sheets.

"I'm good!" I assured him as I reached up for the phone while still lying on the floor. I smacked the top of the wood a few times with my palm before finally finding what I was looking for.

As soon as the device was in my grasp, I pulled it down and checked the caller ID. Just as I suspected, it was the manager from the club, Firmus Piett. I took a moment to calm my racing heart before sliding my thumb along the green button and pressing the cold screen against my ear and cheek.

"Hello?" I answered, trying to hide the nervous tone that resided in the back of my throat. I'm praying the background check went well just as my superiors said it would.

"(Y/n), so everything checked out fine," He informed me and I released a quiet exhale of relief, "I'm going to need you here today at about four pm, is that good?" He asked, although the question felt like it was only being asked out of curtesy; saying no was definitely not an option.

I untangled myself from the blankets and got up from the floor. I sat at the edge of the bed with my back facing my husband, "Yes four is perfect, I'll be there."

"Good, see you then." And with that, he hung up and I brought down the unfamiliar phone and locked the screen before setting it back on the nightstand. It was a different phone than what I'm used to, but Kenobi insisted on giving me a phone that's under the alias of (y/n) Winters; he was taking no chances when it came to keeping my identity hidden. He claimed this was his only shot at taking Anakin down, that nothing else has worked; so I guess you can say that I was his only hope at this point.

And I was not going to disappoint him.

"Do you have to go already?" Connor's tired voice echoed in the room and I could feel his fingertips lightly stroking my back.

I turned my head to look at him with a smile, "No, not yet." I laid back down and scooted myself into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me.

I have to call agent Kenobi to give him an update and I also plan to get settled into the new apartment before going to my new job. But I wanted to be here with Connor; just for a little longer.

❦

"And to conclude our tour," Piett paused in front of a black door that resided in a red carpeted secluded hallway on the second floor. It's isolated enough so no guests would easily stumble into it, but also not hard to find if you know which turns to make - I made sure to take mental notes, "This is Mr.Skywalker's office, the club owner, and he's very strict about people going in here, he likes his privacy. So don't go inside unless you're asked to by either him or me, are we clear?" He spoke with authority, and I made another mental note on the fact that I'm allowed to enter if he says it's okay, meaning Skywalker trusts him.

So maybe he's not just a typical club manager, but his right hand man as well.

I eyed the door, noticing a wooden carved butterfly in the center, surrounded by carved vines and flowers. None of the other doors in the building had designs, so this one stood out, "Yes, crystal clear," I nodded, following Piett as we left the hallway and made our way back to the main area.

"I know this place is big, but finding your way around won't be too difficult," He spoke as he descended down the staircase and I followed behind him, my heels clicking against the metal steps, "You'll spend most of your time around the bar area anyway, and occasionally you'll deliver drinks to the VIP sections or maybe even the boss's office if I'm too busy to, but always knock and wait for a response before opening his door." He continued throwing piles of information at me as he led me towards the bar, "But nine times out of ten he comes down and gets his own, he likes making sure the place is running smoothly. So don't dilly dally while he's here, he doesn't hesitate to fire anyone who has a work performance of anything less than excellent."

"Is he here now?" I asked curiously, hoping I didn't sound too eager for information.

Piett walked around the bar while glancing down at his watch, "It's four thirty, so," He mumbled to himself, "I doubt it, but he'll be here soon."

"And is he here every night?" I questioned and his eyes slowly looked up to meet mine. I got the feeling I was beginning to ask too many questions if you count the ones from earlier in the tour, "I'm only asking 'cause you make him sound a little intimidating and I tend to get nervous under pressure unless I have time to mentally prepare myself." I came up with an excuse on the spot and he dropped his guard as he smiled.

"Don't worry, he's not a mean guy, just a little strict sometimes. But judging by your experience in this field, you'll do fine," He assured me as he began stocking up the alcohol behind him, "But the answer is yes, it's rare that he isn't here when we're open."

I nodded slowly while cleaning a few glasses and sticking them under the bar for easy access, "So I'm not the only bartender tonight right?" I asked with a nervous chuckle, deciding to switch the topic to the actual job rather than Skywalker. I couldn't seem too eager to know more about him, Piett seems trained enough to spot out anything that may seem like suspicious behavior - which feeds well into my right hand man theory, "I'm good, but I'm not that good." I added with a laugh.

"No, don't worry," He joined in my laughter, "I'll be here to help out and we have another coming in, Aaron, he's a student like you so you should get along fine."

"Was a student," Another voice bounced off the walls, catching our attention. A latino man about my age, maybe a little younger, was walking towards us with a wide grin, "I dropped out remember? I much prefer spending my time here with you." He winked at Piett who rolled his eyes in response.

"For the last time, I don't bat for your team Aaron." Piett sighed as he grabbed a few empty bottles and carried them away, "Please finish putting away the cups (y/n)." He demanded before disappearing from my view.

"Oh but I pray for the day," The young man joked loud enough for Piett to hear, and tossed his backpack underneath the bar before standing up and facing me with a smile, "Pleased to meet you mi'lady, I'm Aaron." He held his hand out to me, which I accepted.

"Nice to meet you Aaron, I'm (y/n)," I shook his hand before dropping it back down to my side, and continued putting the glass cups away as Piett requested.

He eyed me up and down, "You must be new new, you look well-rested, that'll go away pretty fast." He spun around and grabbed a rag to begin cleaning the glass counter, making it shine.

I grimaced and almost dropped a cup but luckily I caught it with my quick reflexes, "It's my first day and you're already making me nervous," I joked, casually putting the cup away like nothing happened, "It can't be that bad."

"It's just a time consumer, especially now with the short-staffing. It's one of the reasons I dropped out of school, it was all too much to handle. But I liked being here more than there anyway, plus this place pays well." He smirked as he rubbed his fingers together.

Of course it does, it's a front. Skywalker is making much more behind closed doors doing whatever it is I'm here to uncover.

"That it does, it's more than enough to pay for my tuition." I agreed quietly, putting the last of the cups away and taking a deep breath. Tonight is going to be difficult, I can already feel it. The only setting I've been in was in a room full of my superiors as I made drink after drink until they felt I was ready.

But I have yet to have drunken people in my face, demanding their alcohol. It's going to take all of my willpower not to give sass; sass runs in my blood. Or so my husband claims.

The sound of footsteps and a low creak drew my attention away from my thoughts and I glanced up, my eyes following where the noise came from. They trailed upwards towards the second floor that I could see most of from where I was, there was a balcony like railing with couches and tables placed behind it, it was the VIP section.

I scanned the area, but the only thing I could see was a silhouette, disappearing around a corner before I could see who they were. I already had a feeling on who it was though.

I smiled, and so it begins.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
Hope you liked it and I have the next one already planned out and I hope to get that out to you tomorrow! Then, for those of you reading my other works, Fractured Sanity is next❤️ I just got a little carried away with this story hehe😊 I'm so excited for it!
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•