»Of Godhuman Nature« [Five Nights At Freddy's]

Chapter II - Capsized

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And when the storm came
and the light was vanishing;
grew cold until there was no feeling.

[ Darkher - Foregone ]

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" Take a seat, please! " Afton pulled up a chair as they entered his office & positioned it right in front of his desk, opposite from where he sat. Lily tilted her head for a thankful nod, letting her eyes wander around the room once before sitting down. He himself wouldn't sit down just yet but walk up to another table beside the window to her left, adorned with several cups, a kettle, some bottles of what looked like sparkling water & a rather fancy coffee machine.

" Perhaps I can interest you in a glass of water, or some tea? "

She turned her head to peer over her shoulder, smiling faintly.
" I'm all good, thank you. "

" If you change your mind, don't hesitate to ask~", he said, the coffee machine came to life with a buzz as he went to prepare one for himself, quietly humming along to the rhythm of the machine. Soon the scent of freshly brewed coffee drew across the room, an invisible cloud of one of the most appealing smells in the entire world circling her head & flooding her nose; if only she could say the same about the taste...
If anything, she was a cappuccino & woodruff soda person. Everyone's obsession with coffee was a mystery to her still.

" May I ask how long you have been in Hurricane, Miss Aalefjær? " The coffee machine fell silent the moment his voice stirred the air, a draft striking the back of her neck as he drew past her to get around the desk.

" Next month it will be two full years, " Lily replied, meeting his genuinely intrigued gaze from across the table through a cone of hot steam ascending from his cup. " I could have sworn I put that into my resume... "

" Perhaps you did. I wouldn't know. I never read your resume. " He smiled at his own remark like he had just shared a hilarious joke with her, or most likely he was just quite amused by Lily's thoroughly baffled expression.

" Oh... You didn't..? "
This was a first for sure. Usually resumes & past experiences were everything people in higher positions cared about, especially when it came to hiring new employees for their business. Knowing little to nothing about her previous occupations & records, how could he possibly judge whether or not she was a good choice for a restaurant as popular & successful as his?

" I'm afraid not. All I know about you is your name, where you come from, & that you've been a great help in my restaurant for the past three months. And honestly, that is all that matters to me ~ " Afton flashed yet another gentle smile before he raised his cup to take a sip of his coffee. Meanwhile the young woman in front of him had lowered her eyes toward the floor, both hands folded in her lap where she nervously brushed her thumbs against each other in thought. She was not uncomfortable or afraid, for compared to job interviews from her past this right here was perhaps the most pleasant one, yet something felt out of place... & not necessarily in a bad way.

" I'm relieved to hear that... I haven't had much experience in the restaurant business when I got started, let alone in customer service. But the people working here are very helpful & understanding, always willing to help me out. " She paused briefly upon realizing just how intently Mr. Afton looked at her, his eyes literally glued to hers as though he was trying to read her mind, to see through her; she could've sworn she spotted a subtle twitch in the left corner of his mouth, the lighthearted smile from earlier fleeing his features within seconds, & for some odd reason Lily chose to hold his gaze instead of averting her own. Whatever psychological tricks he was intending to pull, she'd make sure to gracefully ward them off.