A few days later, during the week, Fiona tapped her finger at the kiosk. She was fighting the urge to fall asleep from a severe lack of coffee. She had been up too late at the public library, trying to research her mark, and to no avail. Even Bonnie still hadn’t come up with anything. Luckily, nothing else related to Greg's dysfunctional and criminal family had come up. She hoped that problem would come a'knocking anytime soon, but she knew that nothing was ever easy.

A tap at the counter when her eyes dimmed startled her, and she snapped back to attention. “Fiona’s emporium, how can I help–oh, Hi Darla!” she called out when she saw that lovely she-devil grinning, a coffee in hand for the early afternoon. “Are you here on business, or…personal pleasures?”

“Hah, a little bit of column A, a little bit of column B. Greg mentioned the store had some unwelcome visitors. I know how to whip guys into shape, if anyone ever finds them,” she added as she pulled an imaginary whip taut. Her expression softened, and she offered the drink to Fiona in a mug, still steaming warm. “Here, it looks like you could use this. I missed you the past couple of days, have you been busy?”

“Yeah, work stuff. I'm annoyed that some dumdums are making me jumpy. And the scarecrow over there looks even more stiff than usual!” she called out to Greg, already attending to a customer.

“Snark and elven mischief outside the break room earns you a gold coin in the box, pay up,” he responded without even breaking composure. His customer was looking at a small device on the display. Fiona frowned, and threw a coin in the box from her purse. The nerve of this guy, trying to train her to be more professional! She was quite professional enough.

Darla peered back and forth between the two of them, wearing that toothy grin of hers. “Greg, I need to get you a stronger espresso! You’re so stiff! I’ll talk to a gal I know! Guaranteed to mellow you out for hours!” Darla called out to him, and he gave a gentle ‘thumbs-up’ while showing the small emergency healing item to a mother, looking to equip her son as an apprentice adventurer.

Darla turned back to her, and leaned in on the counter. “Anyway, I might have a proposal for ya, Fiona. And, before I ask…” her golden eyes dimmed. “You’re still a cutie, you know that?”

“Ah, I’m fine, Darla. You’re still a blast to hang out with. You might have to invite the boy toy along sometime,” she added with a flourish.

“I worry he might enjoy that too much,” Darla uttered with a light gnashing of her teeth. “Alright, next question is strictly a business proposition, not personal.”

“Oh? Whatcha got, shark tooth?” she teased, and Darla smiled as she leaned into it.

“Well, you remember me mentioning I was looking to expand? I think the new girl is doing quite well, and I have a reliable supply guy. My costs are actually quite low, but I need more volume. The spot I’m at is okay, but it’s not a main-through. Your place, however, is quite popular. And you guys have room to spare, by my guess.”

That little heart was fluttering like a hummingbird on her wrist–and likely matching cadence with her own heartbeat. “Oh, well, um…I’d have to consult–you know what, heck with it. There’s no way Bonnie and Greg would say no,” she said as she felt the blush spread on her face. Darla knew it, and gave her that sly smile.

“Oh, you’re not the only person that can woo people with lavish looks and adoring charm,” Darla said, practically purring while slinking her head lower to the counter.

“True, but, you’re a little bit more…prickly…than I am,” Fiona responded as Darla gently tapped a horn, and chuckled heartily.

“Haha. prickly on the outside, soft and melty on the inside, I always say. Alright, now that I’ve bought your attention with coffee, here’s what I’m thinking,” she announced as Fiona made sure the kiosk was closed, and kept an eye out on the store.

She took note that Kali was busy setting up a mounting for a crystalline lens–the precursor of their security system, but in a very subtle location that most people wouldn’t notice. She didn’t like the idea, but it was probably a necessity, given Kali’s ease of access, and the prior weeks’ kerfuffle.

Darla waved a hand to an open space, just by the opening and across from Bonnie’s little setup. “I’d place the kiosk right here, right by the entryway. People come in, they see the displays, and they see a warm, healthy greeting. A lot of places, lot of mom and pop stores in town? They do the same thing. Customers come in, they grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast, they hang out. It’s a great addition to the space.”

“And, it builds upon our reputation as not just offering services for adventurers, but as a supplemental business. People can walk in, and have something to experience, even if they’re not looking to lay–I mean slay some dragons.” She glared at Darla as more than a few pointy teeth emerged from her face. “That was a misspeak.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened to Douglas the Red? He was a bad dragon, and you had to beat him up, if you know what I mean?” she added with her tail swishing back and forth, almost energetically. Fiona stammered at that.

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“I will get my hammer, my favorite prickly coffee girl. It’s right in the shop rules.”

“Haha, I’d love to see ya try,” Darla challenged with a haughty laugh. Fiona folded her arms and tried to not look embarrassed. “Alright, alright, back to real talk. So, you like the idea of the kiosk?”

“I like it. But, is it separate, in the way that Bonnie’s stuff is still technically independent?”

Darla snapped her fingers, and pointed at Fiona lightly. “Glad you asked that! Alright, so, here’s what I’m thinking. It can go one of a couple of ways. First way: independent. People pay for their coffee, they mill around, maybe we set up a few tables. People who linger here longer, are more likely to buy stuff,” Darla said with a wave towards the row of items nearby. “Think about it. The difference between a person who browses, and a person who buys, is just exposure time. By and large.”

“Oh, no need to pitch dear, I know exactly where you’re going with this. I like it. But you had a second idea?” she asked, arms folded and arching forward toward Darla.

“Alright, option two: I offer the coffee for free, it might get more customers, and this place becomes a community hangout. I get a small cut of your guys' revenues, which could put me ahead, but I eat the up front costs of coffee and baked goodies. And no, this doesn’t mean a perpetual supply of snacks for elves named Fiona,” she added with a wag of her finger.

Fiona frowned and weighed the options. “You know if we do business, we can’t, uh…”

“It means, I don’t get a slice of Fiona to take home?” she teased. Fiona felt the heat rush to her cheeks again. “Haha, yeah I get that. I’m really good at keeping business and personal stuff split apart. I mean, you are quite a cutie. But my guy friend stepped up his game. I was surprised, actually,” she added as an aside. Fiona raised an eyebrow in response. “I know, right?”

“Bah, lotta sharks in the ocean,” Fiona added as a quip, and Darla smiled evilly at that. “We’re still on for the harvest festival at the end of next week, Bonnie, myself and Greg will be there. Now, as for the kiosk…hmm…What are your estimated costs a week for supplies?”

Darla put a finger to her lips, and she frowned. “Hmm, probably something like, a hundred and fifty gold a week or so, total?”

“And how much do you make?” Fiona pressed as she did numbers, while that winged heart was fluttering and sending a tingling down her arm. She was doing mental math on this, on overhead, variability in market, and had a rough idea of…the worth of Darla?

Wait. how do you put a value on that? Barista girl runs a really lean ship and does very well for herself! I’d date her, and not just for free coffee, either!

Man you are a weird power. It wasn’t the fact that she did this in a split second, but that she felt so sure of the answer. Five-fifty gold? She must be savvy. Darla answered a second later.

“About…five-sixty gold,” she answered. . Which was remarkably close to the answer that Fiona had gotten through this strange, magical intuition. She blinked in surprise, and Darla smiled. “I’m good with my money, honey.”

“Alright. I’ll make a proposal. A fixed amount to cover costs, and a percent cut. Given the size of the place…three percent? We’ll cover the overhead costs,” Fiona proposed. Bonnie leaned in from her booth, eyes lit up with amazement.

“Are we getting shark girl here? Oooh, and free, unfettered access to coffee?!” she asked, and she was almost bouncing on the pads of her feet, tail swishing excitedly. “Yes, yes, please say yes!”

“Three percent? Hmph…doing the math here…that could be quite generous,” Darla mused with a grin. "What do you think, Bon-bon? Is she taking me for a ride, or are we about to make this place a scene and a half?”

“It is, but with the way business has been going, I think it’s swingable. Greg would have to do the math,” Bonnie replied, looking very confident as she extracted a baked rune from the oven, the arcane script glowing brightly. “Fi, this is too good an idea, isn’t this like that place you ran before?”

“Kinda? Though, bigger, and with magical fox girls and prickly shark girls,” Fiona added with a grin from ear to pointy ear. She thrust out her hand to Darla, who gave her a firm handshake. “Well Darla, when can you set up shop?”

“About a week? I’d have to do a little construction job here. I’ll take care of that part, I’ve got some money saved for the expansion project, anyway.”

“Whee! Coffee girl has joined the roster! The emporium of friends expands!” Bonnie exclaimed as she bounded up to Darla and gave her a hug–and had to reach up a bit, because Darla was so tall. Greg had just finished with his customer, with the young man and his mother skipping out the store, looking excited, and also walked over.

“I had a feeling this might be coming, Darla. Welcome to the team,” He congratulated as he put out a hand to shake hers–then got pulled into the bear hug, and made a slight squeaky sound. Fiona joined in, and she heard him wheeze–this boy needed to be a bit more durable for hugs! Darla and Fiona did relinquish and he adjusted his tie afterward. “Well, looks like we’ll have some more work ahead of us.”

“Indeed,” Darla said with a smile, and glanced at the door, with a raised eyebrow. “Looks like someone came here prepared for a battle of wits.”

Fiona turned and saw the otterkin Mister Levy walking in the door, with a tall, composed man wearing a hat with a feather sticking through the brim, and their long black hair was just visible. Levy looked confident, as did his counterpart. “Miss Swiftheart, I have returned! And I do believe, I am winning this small wager of ours!”

“Well, business calls. I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit.” She straightened her tie and walked on over to give them a firm handshake.