Gold Rush - I don't like that falling feels like falling til the bone crush
Bloody hell.
That was Louis' response to this. He stared down at the Dom Perignon that had been knocked off the shelf by one of his new bartenders. These bottles have been here for years, hidden in the back untouched until today. A businessman's assistant called in and asked for the best, and now they are shattered on the black and white tile, while a misty puddle slowly inches towards the counters. He squatted down and picked up the larger shards of the bottle. Great. Just fucking great. One of his employees walked in with a mop and broom, helping mop up hundreds of dollars. It was painful to watch between the both of them, but it's better than staring at the champagne on the floor. The lack of silence in the bar provided a small amount of comfort for Louis, considering he wouldn't have to stress too deeply about the loss of money. But he did have to panic about the lack of the alcohol he had ready down for the man.
It was 7 P.M. and he had approximately half an hour to figure out what to do. He had to find the best wine in the bar. He found a bottle of Louis Roederer; though it's not what he wanted, its what he had. "It'll have to do, I s'pose." He went back to his cellar to find another bottle or two, carefully grabbing them off the shelf and putting them in an ice bucket and dragging it behind him to the front. He unlocked the reservation room, turning on lights and putting the ice bucket in the corner. He turned on a quiet but still slightly noticeable volume of his favorite band Oasis, whilst he did a quick sweep of the room. He wiped down tables, turned on the other lights, and brought out glasses. He was finishing cleaning up the main bar area whilst serving other customers when about twenty men, dressed in dress pants and button ups, some with suit jackets over their arms and others still wearing them walked in. Louis straightened his tie up and walked over to the group. "Good evening gentlemen, are any of you Mr...." He drew on as he checked his iPad, "Styles?"
A taller man stepped forward, his suit neat, clean and still complete, with a numb facial expression. "That's me." Louis nodded, looking back towards his other manager, double checking to be sure he could step away for a moment to lead the group to their room.
"If you'll just follow me, I'll take you to your private room."
A minute or two had passed once they all got situated and Louis got one of his better bartenders to help serve them. Louis himself decided to handle the wine, to keep any other accidents from occurring. It was all fine until he heard a voice from next to him. "Pardon, but I asked for Dom Perignon. That appears to be Cristal."
Louis, still turned around, cringed to himself. Shit. He'd almost made it past them. He wasn't going to charge any more than the price of the Cristal. The Dom Perignon was a few years older, hence the price of it. "Yes, sir you did. One of my new employees was foolish and wasn't careful. I had to painfully clean up three bottles of my finest today." Here it comes, he's going to get another angry customer because someone he has warned more times than not to watch what he's fucking doing didn't listen.
But it didn't come. There was no screaming, or yelling, or any anger at all. Just a simple sentence. "Oh, I see, that must have been dreadful."
Louis turned back towards the men, most of them oblivious to the conversation. "Don't worry sir, you aren't being charged for the Dom. Just the price of the Cristal. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. This won't happen again. The bartender no longer works here. Too many close calls until today."
"It's alright. I do quite enjoy Cristal from time to time, but you and I both know nothing is better than a beautiful bottle of Dom Perignon." He smiled at Louis sincerely, taking a glass that had already been poured, taking a delicate sip and walking off. No animosity was within him, or if there was, it was buried quite, quite deep. He watched as he walked towards a group of who he assumed were his employees or colleagues. After Louis explained his instructions to the other bartender, he returned to his office to place an order for more champagne. He'd meant to do it last week, but he was too busy dealing with new employees to remember. This bar meant everything to Louis. He bought it when he was 22, spent 2 years renovating it and coming up with every minute detail. The cocktails, the logo, the bar, the seating area, the menu. It was perfect, and he'd spent so much time making it that way. He was now one of the most popular bars in London. He was proud of himself, and he hoped his mum would be too. She saw his dream, she told him not to stop, so he didn't. He kept going. Even when everything fell apart. Even two years ago when his sister Felicite died. He almost closed the bar, but his sister Lottie told him that he can't throw it away now. And she was right, per usual.
It was December. Christmas was always difficult, but this year he hoped it would be different. He wanted things to not suck. He had his son Freddie for Christmas this year and he was absolutely buzzing. He was only five, almost six, but it felt like time passed far too quickly. Freddie was Louis' light, no doubt about it. He bought him a skateboard, because that was his new obsession out in LA. Louis couldn't wait until he got here. Briana and him didn't get along behind closed doors, but if Freddie was with them, they would nod and smile as best they could. He and Bri never dated, it was an accident, but a good one at that. Louis had always been with girls until then, but he realized it just wasn't for him. But the rest of the story is for another time. Leaving the keys with his manager for the night, he grabbed his coat and his gloves, and walked out of the door. He felt very different than he had this morning. Like something was gonna completely change soon. He pushed it away. Nothing ever changes for the better. Not completely anyway.
