Unexpected breakfast company

Juliet was happy to have left Carl's office and escape back into her car. The audio tapes hadn't provided her with as much insight as she had been hopping. She hadn't expected them to be of the best quality since whoever had sent them had taken them secretly. With the voices being so low however, even though she was certain at least one of them sounded familiar, there was no way for her to be fully certain who it was.

Juliet had strained her ears for over half an hour listening to the tape over and over again in hopes that it would make something click in her mind that would help to remember where she heard the voice but to no avail. She had to admit that the pressure of Carl loom over and being in uncomfortably close proximity to her didn't help with her focus, especially as she was certain his attention was more focused on her than listening to was being discussed in the records.

The only thing that she couldn't deny was that there definitely appeared that someone was using Roses & Whips to get away with doing drug deals. She could narrow down the fact that it was most likely taking place in the back rooms where only the VIP were involved as they were the only place in the club that didn't require audio/video surveillance It would seem. With it only being in the first week of her being on the job and not having much to go on, it wasn't like she could petition with Carl to hire a third party to help with weak spots and surveillance. She knew he would immediately shoot her down as he never liked to spend money unnecessarily until all other avenues and resources that they had at their disposal had been used.

The sudden grumbling of Juliet's stomach took her mind off her current dilemma as she remembered that due to waking up late that morning, she had ended up skipping breakfast. Now however, she was going to have find something to eat before she could her focus back on to her job at hand. Carl had given her a week to provide something more solid for him by coming up with some leads and getting a better feel for the club and who some of the VIPs were that might of interest. It wasn't going to be impossible to do, but as one person, she wasn't sure that part of her time being spent working with Richard at the club that she would get enough time to get to know some of the regulars at the club.

Looking at her watch she saw that it was a quarter to eleven. This meant that some of the places she preferred to eat at wouldn't quite be open yet nor would Maria be able to take her lunch yet so she could have someone to keep her company while she tried to figure everything out in her mind.

Starting her car with a sigh, Juliet decided that she would just have to go to one of her favorite family dinners on her own. The food would still be good even if she didn't have company with her, she reminded herself though this thought didn't do much to lift her current mood.

Vegas Family Kitchen was only a fifteen-minute drive from where the office was located which meant that she wouldn't have to deal with her stomach grumbling for too long before she could eat. Being before the normal lunch rush as it meant that it shouldn't be too packed either.

Juliet managed to find a parking spot that as not to far away from the entrance of the diner and from what she could tell by looking through the glass front doors. Getting out of the car, she had made sure she had her wallet on her before locking the doors and slipping the key in her pocket. She was going to be thankful for the coffee.

Stepping into the diner she was met with the familiar sounds and smells that she loved about the place. Most of the music that was played inside was classical or other instrumental music which Juliet didn't usually like, but here it was always somehow soothing to her as where the familiar black and brown booth seats she loved to sit in. The reasonable price of the food was another one of the perks to eating here.

She hadn't been seated long before one of the familiar waitresses came over bring her glass of water and get ready to take her order.

"Hey Sam." Juliet greeted the other with a smile that was returned. Sam was one of the older waitresses that worked at the diner, but she was always sweet and had a great sense of humor that could cheer almost anyone up if they were having a bad day.

"Fancy seeing you here today. I am used to you coming around later with one or two of those friends of yours." Sam commented as put the glass down and took out her notepad to get ready to take her order. "I am guessing you're eating alone today then?"

"Actually, if it is alright with her, we'd be happy to join this table." Juliet and Sam both turned their heads to look over at the stranger who had spoken up. She probably didn't do a good job of hiding her shock at seeing Daniel standing there with a Woman, a smile on his face. She wasn't sure how to respond to his request. Compared to the professional look she had seen the night before, he appeared far more casual in his dark blue polo and jeans.

"I guess not." Was all that Juliet could manage to say. She had never expected she would see someone like him at such a homely diner as this one.

"Thank you for letting me intrude." Daniel replied as he and the other woman took the booth seats across form her. Sam seemed a bit confused by the sudden change of event as well but quickly regained her composure.

"Do you already know what you want to order, or would you like me to bring back your water first to give you some extra time to decide?" Sam asked. The woman sitting next to Daniel was the one to speak up in response to this question.

"We're ready to order. I will have the sausage and omelet with toast, and he'll be having the hash browns and scrambled eggs with cheese. Two cups of coffee as well if that wouldn't be asking too much." She offered the waitress a polite soft smile after she was done. After she finished writing down their order she turned to look at Juliet.

"Egg sandwich with toast and oatmeal please and of course you know I am going to want coffee as well." Juliet replied. Once Sam was done taking their order, she assured them that the food would be out as quick as possible, and she would be right back with their water and coffee.

"Ember was it?" Daniel asked once they were on their own. For a second she had forgotten that was how Richard had introduced her to him.

"That's right." Replied with a slight nod of head this. Somehow it felt awkward interacting with him in such a setting. Sam came back with their glasses of water and coffee which Melissa thanked her for.

"Is this Richard's girl that you were telling me about?" She asked glancing at Daniel before turning her attention to Juliet who tried hard not to choke on her coffee when she said this.

"She's not Richard's girl as far as I am aware, I just know that she's the one he's considering working with." Daniel replied with a slight laugh.

"I see." Was Melissa's reply. "I suppose I should give a proper introduction since it seems like we might be getting to see each other more if you intend to work at the club. The name' Melissa and I am this here fellow's partner. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, it's nice to meet you as well. Does that mean that you're joint owner of the club then?" Juliet had hoped her question didn't come across a rude or suspicious.

"Oh goodness no, that's Daniel's pet project that he got up off the ground before we got together. I work elsewhere but I'm a frequent guest at the club since he works late so many nights." Melissa replied waving her off. "Now though, considering this food looks to be on it's way and work talk is so boring, and I spend a lot of time hearing nothing but work-related talk, let's give it a break and have a more casual conversation while we're here." Daniel offered Juliet a small smile before Sam came over with the food. Juliet wasn't yet sure if she was happy for the company or if this made her late breakfast less peaceful than she was hoping for.