Meeting James Morgan (Part 2).

Morgan drank the expensive blue label scotch like it was cheap booze and set the glass aside. I took it back and washed it while Luke continued talking.

“Diana, Mr. Morgan was here last week, do you remember?” he asked her.

“I believe I do,” Diana said. Well, the man stood out because was alone, after all.

“I was supposed to meet him that day, but I had to attend to urgent business. Sir, did you try her cocktails?” Luke asked Morgan.

“I did not,” the man answered. “I kept the other kid busy instead.”

“Ah, Dylan. What did you think of him?”

“Rough around the edges and too much of a showboat for my taste, but he has potential. Good find.”

“Well, Diana’s cocktails are what I really want you to try.”

“Okay, then. What drinks are you confident in, miss?” Morgan asked Diana.

“I can make whatever it is you wish, sir,” Diana said with calm, cold confidence.

“Mmm… How about something South American? Make me a pisco sour.”

“Chilean or Peruvian?” Diana asked back, making Morgan blink.

Luke laughed. “We carry both Chilean and Peruvian pisco. Everything Diana needs here, she gets.”

I couldn’t help the small, proud smile that crossed my lips. I think Morgan tried to catch Diana off guard with something obscure, but he clearly underestimates her passion.

“Um… Chilean,” he decided.

“I’ll have the same, please,” Luke added.

“Pisco is a spirit with an interesting story,” Diana began as she easily found the bottle on the shelf behind us. “Distilled from fermented grapes, the countries of Chile and Peru have a long history of bickering over its origins. Both claim it as theirs, and pisco sour is by far the most popular cocktail there. That said, their standards and techniques for the elaboration process differ, which is why Chilean and Peruvian pisco are treated as different products.”

She added pisco and simple syrup to a shaker, then I noticed her going for lemon juice instead of the usual lime. She skillfully broke an egg with a single hand before adding only the egg white. She shook the drink first without ice, then with ice until chilled. She poured the frothy, greenish drink into a couple of flute glasses and garnished the white tops with three red drops of Angostura bitters before gently sliding the drinks closer to the customers.

“Please enjoy. Chilean pisco sour.”

Both Luke and Morgan watch on with amusement, but when their drinks were in front of them, they grabbed them with anticipation. Then, after a single yet thorough sip…

Morgan sighed in resignation. “Very well, I admit it. You win,” he told Luke. “It was worth coming here again.”

“Thank you very much, sir,” Diana said with a short bow.

“Our head bartender, our head chef and Oliver with his skills…” Luke raised his glass with a bright smile. “This city has given me three of the things I desired most. This hotel might just be a small luxury, but it has brought me great satisfaction. Do you see now why I decided to move here?” he asked Morgan.

“No, I still don’t,” the man admitted, shifting his gaze to me. “You hosts of these Higher Spirits… You’re all mad, letting base desires control your lives.”

Luke simply smiled. “Not any more than the average billionaire who loses touch with reality and begins to see the world and its people as numbers. At least for us there is fulfillment at the end of the search.”

I turned to look at Diana, and in her I also saw the other girls. Mila, Grace, Sarah, Alice and Noelle. At the end of the search, satisfaction and fulfillment longlasting. I wouldn’t trade these girls for all the wealth in the world. Wouldn’t sell Frey either, for that matter.

“I feel pretty sane, actually,” I said, “Living day to day with purpose.”

“Are you sure that’s because of the spirit and not despite it?” Diana said, smiling teasingly at me.

“I’m… not allowed to speculate,” I said. Don’t wanna piss off Frey.

“Well, whether or not you’re mad, or if that’s even a bad thing to begin with, you and Luke have the abilities to do what’s beyond human limits and the drive to get them done. I respect that.”

“Um, if I may… Aren’t you richer than Mr. Allen? And without magic powers?” I asked.

Luke laughed. “Ouch, Oliver.”

Morgan sighed and shook his head. “That I don’t have powers of my own doesn’t mean I haven’t used magic to get ahead. The world has more people like you than you think. Well, maybe not like you. The strong and specialized are rare enough for people to kill for, but even a bit of power can make a difference. No, Luke is different from me. He climbed up his own way, despite all my sage advice that he should trample over everyone that got in his way.”

Luke smiled with eyes closed. “As much as I respect you and thank you for all you did for me, I have no intention of following in your footsteps, Mr. Morgan. It is not my way.”

“And you, kid? What are your biggest goals and dreams?” Morgan asked, finishing his drink with one last swig. “What does the world look like for a man who can have any woman he wants?”

“...” I didn’t want to humor this question, but he was Luke’s benefactor and dismissing him would’ve been rude. “My eyes are set on the things that my powers can’t solve for me. A career in music, my personal growth, the family I might have in the future…”

“Your powers can give you all that, if you use your head,” he said. “In fact, you don’t even have to be that smart.”

“And I’d rather die a bedroom guitarrist that fuck my way to fame,” I said. “And I don’t see these powers being very useful in raising children.”

Morgan snickered and shook his head. “I thought you said the kid was shy and soft-spoken. What’s with him talking back to his elders?” he asked Luke.

Luke smiled approvingly, keeping his eyes on his drink. “It’s what you get when you ask questions on what people care about the most. We defend them and take nothing from anybody, not even the third richest person in the world.”

Morgan clicked his tongue. “No wonder you took a liking to this kid. You’re both alike.”

I can’t lie. Hearing Luke have my back like that, made me appreciate him a lot more.

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