Peyton's first month of work was not what she expected. She had barely put her things down on her first day when Alex called for all hands-on-deck to sort out a massive shipment that had just arrived. All the items were split amongst them based on their specialities. Grace took the books, Reece was sorting the artwork, and Alex was in charge of making sure the delivery room didn’t get too full.  

Alex gave Peyton the job of cataloguing and sorting the ritualistic items, as it related the most to what she was there to do. At first, she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to do it right, but she quickly learnt that everything was logged on the system, so she just needed to tag it accordingly and then take it to its corresponding nook. Out of the four of them, she was actually the first to finish, so she was able to help Grace with the books.  

Grace was an interesting individual and was not afraid to talk about herself. It turned out she started to work there when she was a student in Oxford. She sold some fake manuscripts to someone working under Adriana, and when they found out that it was false, they threatened to turn her into the police. But apparently, Adriana was impressed with both her guts that she tried to pull it off and the quality of the fake, so she offered a job as an alternative.  

Peyton didn’t see much of the guys during that time, though. As soon as she had committed to helping out Grace, she felt like she didn’t even have time to use the bathroom. There was no end to books. Not to mention the fact that many of them required handling with such tedious care that Peyton was afraid that they would turn to dust if she so much as looked at them funny.   

Thankfully, by day three, they had worked out a system of letting Grace deal with the delicate while Peyton handled the easy-to-handle volumes. Even then, it took nearly three weeks to get the piles down, and by the end of it, a few people from other areas had come up to join them in stacking the shelves.  

They had just cleared the last trolley of books when the guys finally decided to join them, and Peyton realised that they must have been going at a deliberate pace, so they didn’t have to help.  

"You know, your timing never ceases to amaze me." Grace called sarcastically when they came through the doors.  

"You wound me, Grace." Reece answered while feigning hurt. "And to think Alex and I were going to invite you both out to dinner to celebrate."  

It was the first time Peyton had seen Reece the whole time she had been there so far, and she had only spoken to him briefly on the phone a couple of times while there due to something getting mixed up while they were sorting. He was a tall guy. Good looking too, if he was your type. He was wearing a light-coloured suit, which complimented his dark skin perfectly and looked like he wouldn’t have been out of place at a fashion show, not working at an archive.  

"Hey, Peyton. It's nice to put a face to the voice. I hope Grace hasn’t been driving you crazy. " He said as he walked over and stuck out his hand.  

"You too." She took his hand, "To be honest, I think I would be crazier if she wasn’t here."  

Grace beamed at Peyton, then pouted. "Tell me where you’re taking us and I’ll think about forgiving you."  

"Gregor’s." Alex answered. "And we are going to be late if we don’t get moving in the next 5."  

"Why didn’t you open with that." Grace answered excitedly and hurried to collect her things.  

Peyton checked her watch at that and was shocked to see that it was almost eleven. When did it get so late? She thought to herself as she looked up at the skylight above. It was a clear night, and somehow, through the light pollution of the city, she was able to see a few stars tinkling.  

"Isn't it a little late? Don’t restaurants usually close around now?" she asked. They gave her a puzzled look and then laughed.  

"Don’t worry Gregor’s is open till like three, so we’ll be good." Alex told her as he grabbed his coat from a hangar at the door. "It is unfortunately reservation-based, so we need to move now, people. They won’t hold our table."  

The others muttered agreement and started to collect their things. Peyton followed suit, grabbing her jacket and bag, then sent a quick text to Ann to say she was going to be back late. They left as a group and got a ride from Alex in his shiny electric car. They chatted about nothing of importance as they drove and when they arrived at a non-descript building a ten-minute drive from work.   

They had all barely gotten out of the car when a valet appeared and took the car. Peyton hadn’t been to this area of the city before and was starting to feel a little uneasy looking out into the dark, without a quick method of escape. She found herself starting to take a step away from the group when Grace looped her arm through hers.   

"Gregor's is the one with the blue door." Grace said, pulling Peyton along.  

Peyton looked at the street, surprised. There were stores on the street, but she couldn’t see any sign of a restaurant. Alex and Reece had already gone through the door, Grace indicated, so trusting that the others knew what they were doing and assuming that Alex didn’t just let someone steal his car, she let Grace guide her along.  

The inside was stunning. A mirrored hallway led to a small waiting area with a hostess stand in front of a door. There were a few people waiting, mostly they looked like socialites on a night out, but there was a couple seated alone that gave Peyton the willies as she looked at them for a reason she couldn’t pin down. Grace was already pulling her along before she could get a second look, as the guys had already been led through the door.  

Shaking it off as just paranoia, Peyton tried to push it from her mind as she took in the extravagance of the restaurant. To one side was a sprawling bar, filled with people socialising and drinking. On the other side were multiple booths with low lights and a small fire in the middle. The lighting was strange too, as everything was black, but it was lit well enough that it was classy rather than dingy.  

Once they were all seated, they were informed that it was a set menu with no substitutions and that the food would be out shortly. Peyton just went with it as the others had been there before. The others started chatting about what they had last time, and Peyton just politely nodded along.   

She was beginning to wonder if prices would bankrupt her when she noticed that the weird couple from before had also been shown in. She was sure they were looking at her and was about to ask the others if she was being paranoid when a waiter arrived with drinks. When she looked back, they were gone.  

"Peyton, you’re going to love this. It’s a specialty of this place. So, the drinks give you the buzz of like 5 shots of tequila but no hangover." Grace said, handing her one as she sipped hers.  

To Peyton's surprise, there was no distinct alcohol taste, and as she had a little more, she was surprised that she could feel herself already getting a little buzz.  

"Ok, that is smooth. What’s in it?" Peyton asked. stopping herself from downing the rest.  

"No one knows." Grace answered.  

"I heard that some celebrity approached them to sell it commercially and the owner refused." Alex added.  

"Which is a shame because I would buy this by the truckload."  

"Who’s the owner?" Peyton asked.  

"No one knows." Grace said, finishing her drink. "And after that, they are super exculsive about letting people in. You need to be invited. " 

"No offence, but how did we get in." Peyton had already picked the drink back up and was finishing it as well.  

"The boss gets invites all the time and never comes. Every month a different department gets hers, and this month is us." Reece said as he flagged down the waiter for more drinks after noticing the two women had finished theirs. "The best part is she pays for it too."  

"Which is great because it costs more than two houses to eat here." Grace added.  

The next round of drinks came with the food, a startingly five-course meal that ended in a strange aroma infusion for dessert. It was all delicious, and when they were done, they moved over to a couch on the bar side. They were all just lounging there, too full to have any real conversation, but they were all content with it. It also helped that Alex said that they could have the next two days off.   

As Peyton sat there, she realised that she hadn’t felt that good in months. With school and the attack, she hadn’t really had time to relax. She was just contemplating another drink when she spotted a familiar face at the bar. Rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, she spotted Ann drinking at the bar with a man she had never seen before.   

She could have sworn she managed to catch her eye, so she stood up to go talk. But a waiter blocked her way just as she was on her way, and when she looked again, it was a different woman with the man. Deciding she had too much to drink, she turned to others and told them that she should probably be heading home, not that she knew how. Thankfully, Grace decided to call it a night, so after saying good bye to the guys, they split a cab. 

When Peyton got in, she was a little surprised to find Ann asleep. She shrugged with the confirmation that it was just a stranger she saw in the club. She quietly got changed and washed up before slipping into bed and falling asleep the quickest she had in months.