Elle (as Eli)
I’ve gotten good at the voice. Low, clipped, not sounding too eager. If I tilt my chin just right and keep my chest hidden under the stiff lines of a black button-down, no one questions me. Not in the dim gold wash of this bar. The lighting does half the work.
I’m just Eli here. One of three bartenders. Fast with a shaker, quiet with the regulars and polite with the drunks. I was invisible in the best way.
Until him.
He came in like he owned the place, though I knew he didn’t. The real owner never left his penthouse. But this guy made the air tighten when he walked through the door with his expensive coat, crisp stubble, and a face like sin carved into stone. He didn’t smile. He looked around as he walked.
And then he sat directly in front of me.
“Whiskey. Neat.” His v
