Lesson 117- It’s good to save your money, just in case.

I head out to the bar to find Torin. He’s sitting in his usual seat and he looks… A little anxious if I’m being totally honest. He seems deep in thought and doesn’t notice me approaching. He jerks in surprise when I tap him on the shoulder, but when he realises it’s me, and after he’s checked my face to make sure I’m not suddenly angry again, he seems more cheerful.
“Hey Tori, I have a question.” I start. Torin nods and gestures for me to sit next to him. I hop onto the barstool, open my banking app and show it to him.
“How the hell do I have this much money? What have you been paying me?” I ask. I know I’ve been working a lot, but I’ve still been paying rent for my actual place, plus my phone bill and the internet shopping I’ve been doing. The numbers just don’t add up. Torin shrugs nonchalantly.
“I pay you the same amount I pay Laura and Catcher for working here. I pay better than most, it’s the only way to tempt people to work for a demon in the first place.” He adds. I stare at the number and the transactions. It still doesn’t check out.
“There is still way more money than there should be.” I point out and Torin nods.
“That’s because I wasn’t just putting in your pay for working here. There were a few extras I felt like I should include.” He says casually. I narrow my eyes suspiciously.
“Extras? What do you mean extras?” I question. Torin looks away awkwardly, clearly concerned that he might upset me again.
“Well… I added enough to cover your rent since it’s my fault you’re not there to use your home. Also your phone and internet stuff since I was keeping it from you. It seemed wrong that you should be spending money on something you couldn’t use. I also added a sort of… Living allowance? To cover some of the things you’ve been ordering to make yourself more comfortable here.” He explains and I just sit with my mouth open.
“Tori! Why would you do that? Any of that? It’s crazy? And how did you even know how much I spend on those things?” I add as an afterthought. Torin shrugs.
“I guessed. And I did it because I messed up the rest of your life, I didn’t want to mess up your finances too. I figured you might need the money someday.” He answers. I consider what he’s just told me. I still think it’s INSANE that he’s been putting so much money in my account, and either he vastly overestimated how much I pay for my bills OR he has been putting a ridiculous amount in the account for ‘living expenses.’ On the bright side, the fact that Torin has been worrying that I might need my money one day sort of implies that he was planning on letting me leave here one day. Even if he was sort of denying it a bit, he’s been planning for me to have a future. Still, he can’t keep doing this.
“Tori, you’re overdoing it. By a lot. You don’t need to keep sending me extra money.” I say awkwardly. Why is talking about money always so weird? Torin nods.
“I know, now that you have your phone back I’ll stop paying for that.” He agrees. I think he might be missing the point here.
“Torin, this is STILL way too much.” I insist and he shakes his head.
“It’s not.” He says firmly. I sigh.
“Okay, how much are you actually paying me?” I question.
“Well, The base rate for the bartenders, then I increased your pay when I made you responsible for the ward. Plus every time you worked the bar alone during the busy hours I paid double. You do two people’s work, so I figured you should have two people’s pay. Plus your tips and any extra you make with your ‘asshole tax’ gets added to your tips as well.” He explains. Huh, well that explains SOME of it.
“Do you pay the others double when they work alone?” I ask, just to be sure. If he’s giving me special treatment I might have to throw a fit about it.
“Yes. For a while I was giving Laura nearly triple. That was before you started here. She was working so many nights in a row I just added it as overtime.” He says with a nod.
“Tori… Are you aware that you pay your staff ridiculously well?” I comment and he nods.
“Yes. If they leave it would be nearly impossible to find anyone to replace them. Not many people would be willing to work for me.” He reminds me. I shrug.
“That might have been true once, but I don’t think it’s quite as true now. Still, I think it’s good that you treat everyone well here.” I say positively and Torin cracks a small smile.

I spend a few minutes arguing with Torin about my pay. I never thought I’d argue with someone about paying me LESS but here I am. Eventually we negotiate to a more reasonable number which I still think is high but he insists that I’ve been making a ton in tips, particularly from the vampires and the money is definitely mine. This is crazy. I’ve never had so much money before. Am I actually… Financially stable? What the hell is that? And why do I suddenly feel the need to go online and buy a bunch of stuff I don’t need, just to prove that I can. I actually don’t have to worry so much now about what I’ll do when I eventually get out of here. I wouldn’t have to keep working here if I didn’t want to because I actually have savings. Although I think I probably still would. Although maybe not quite so many hours. Being awake at night all the time would probably be harder if I actually had reasons to go out during the day sometimes.

An arm suddenly loops around my shoulder and I jump.
“Huh?” I whirl around while simultaneously shoving the arm off and come face to face with Eli. He pouts and takes a step back, holding his arms up.
“Aww, I was just saying hi.” He complains and I roll my eyes.
“Hey Eli.” I greet him, but he’s actually looking at Torin with a grin. Why does it feel like his greeting to me was actually a greeting for Torin? Still, he isn’t using his magic on me or anything so I don’t really mind it. He’s just teasing anyway. Eli opens his mouth as if he’s about to say something, but then he gets completely derailed when he sees my phone on the bar in front of me.
“Ooh, you’ve rejoined the modern age of technology? Gimmie, I want your number.” He demands and I laugh.
“Sure Eli.” I end up handing him my phone so he can just enter his number. I figure I can just text him so he has mine. Eli enters his number, but doesn’t give the phone back. He just turns to the rest of the room.
“HEY WHO WANTS TO GIVE RINA THEIR NUMBER?” He calls out loudly. A few of the regulars volunteer and call out their numbers which Eli enters along with weird selfies that he takes with them. By the time he gives it back I have several new numbers saved AND he’s gone ahead and texted them all so they have mine. I’m not sure why he thinks I need everyone’s phone numbers, but they’re all decent people so I don’t really mind. Several new messages come through to my phone. I check the name and they’re all from ‘Loverboy’ who I can only assume is Eli. I roll my eyes and check the messages. He’s sent me MORE phone numbers. Pretty much all the numbers of the other bar regulars I get along with. Steph, Jackson, Anat and even the vampires. The only person I could possibly think of that he might be missing is Lindy. I ask if he has her number but apparently not. I suppose that makes sense. Eli might be charming enough to get the numbers of everyone in the bar, but that doesn’t apply to someone who just straight up avoids everyone. It’s weird, but I’m actually excited for everyone to have my number. It makes me feel included. When they come here, they don’t really have any choice but to put up with me. But no one MADE them share their numbers with me. I turn to Torin, smiling and wanting to share my good mood, but he looks less than thrilled. I tuck my phone in my pocket to check in on him.