The Poor Little God of Misfortune is supposed to have long black hair... but this beautiful woman right here is a blonde...
Dexter took a moment to collect himself, then decided he needed to be sure. "Vivian, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, ask away," Vivian replied with a smile.
"Are you always, like, super broke?" Dexter cut straight to the chase.
Vivian's face immediately fell into an expression of distress. "Yes, I'm always broke. I'm always losing money. If I have more than two hundred bucks on me, I definitely lose it."
"Boss, how did you know that?"
Dexter: "..."
How did I know?
Lady, I know you way too well!
The core issue was confirmed. Did he really need any further proof?
"I guessed," Dexter said with a forced smile. "So, where are you living right now, and what do you usually eat?"
Vivian found the question a bit odd but didn't pay much attention to it. "I just moved to Chicago about six months ago. I got a clerical job, and that company provided room and board, but it went bankrupt a few days ago. I'm still temporarily living in the apartment they provided..."
Vivian answered in one breath, then blinked. "Boss, I wanted to ask, do you also provide room and board here?"
Dexter: "..."
Her last company went bankrupt?
And now you want me to provide room and board?
Dexter's smile became even more strained.
At this point, he didn't need to confirm anything else. The beautiful woman in front of him was absolutely the Poor Little God of Misfortune.
Instantly, his rational mind told Dexter he should immediately send her away.
But his heart had other ideas...
The Poor Little God of Misfortune is genuinely pitiful... having made it through eons of time to reach this point, she seemed to be doing relatively okay in this current phase... This kind of stable life was quite rare for her.
Dexter could imagine that if he sent the Poor Little God of Misfortune away right now, it probably wouldn't be long before she was miserable again... at least, she'd be down on her luck until she found her next job.
'I have the System, can I handle the Poor God's power?'
Dexter paused, weighing his options carefully. "We can talk about the room and board thing later. I wanted to ask, I don't think you actually submitted a resume to me, did you?"
Vivian gave an apologetic smile. "That's right. My roommate submitted the resume. You called her this morning and asked her to come in for an interview."
"Then she had an emergency and couldn't make it, so she asked me to come instead. So, here I am."
"Please don't mind."
Had an emergency and couldn't make it?
More like she used an excuse to get rid of the Poor Little God of Misfortune.
"Is your roommate about to go broke?" Dexter couldn't help but ask.
Vivian was slightly surprised. "Boss, you're so accurate with your guesses."
Dexter: "..."
I'd better be accurate.
Dexter raised a hand and rubbed his forehead. He couldn't help but think that Vivian should go to Washington D.C. and work at the White House.
He was sure that if Vivian worked in the White House for just a little while, even if she did nothing, the American government would collapse.
'Too bad I don't have the pull to send her there.'
Dexter mused distractedly.
Then, Vivian spoke up again. "Boss, can I work here?"
Can she?
Dexter took a deep breath and decided to try it.
Money, after all, didn't mean that much to him. If it was gone, he could just earn more merit and open more treasure chests, right?
What was there to be afraid of?
Besides, this was Vivian!
What an incredible opportunity to get to know her and hang out!
"Yes, you're hired," Dexter said. Having made his decision, he bit the bullet and didn't bother overthinking it.
Hearing that, Vivian was ecstatic and smiled brilliantly. "Thank you! So, Boss, is it room and board? I'm not picky; I just need a place to stay, and I'll eat anything."
---
Food wasn't a problem; this was a restaurant, and the waitresses would eat their meals here during their shifts.
As for room and board...
Dexter hadn't actually considered it before.
But, thinking about Vivian's unique nature...
"Yes, you can eat at the restaurant. As for housing, I'll find you a place nearby," Dexter said. Renting a place wouldn't cost much, and he didn't mind.
"That's great!" Vivian cheered. "So, Boss, can I negotiate one more thing with you?"
"Go on."
"Can you hold on to my salary and any tips I earn for me? When I need money, I can just ask you for a little bit, okay? Otherwise, I'll just lose all of it," Vivian said with a completely serious expression.
Dexter chuckled. "If I go broke, the money you stored with me will be gone."
Vivian wasn't stupid; she knew that. She smiled charmingly. "I guess there's nothing we can do about that. I won't blame you. We can go look for jobs together then."
Dexter: "..."
Way to go!
Truly the Poor Little God of Misfortune.
Her attitude was unbelievably good.
"I hope that day never comes," was all Dexter could say.
"Me too," Vivian chirped, nodding repeatedly. She then asked, "So, when can I start working?"
"The restaurant's permits are still being processed. I'll give you a call..." As he spoke, Dexter realized an issue. "Do you have a cell phone?"
Vivian looked helpless. "I lost it."
Yep, that makes perfect sense.
"Then write down my phone number," Dexter said.
"Okay, tell me," Vivian nodded obediently.
Dexter gave her his number.
Vivian silently repeated it to herself. "I memorized it."
Dexter looked at Vivian, thought for a moment, and highly suspected that if he didn't arrange a place for her to stay soon, she might be sleeping on the streets tomorrow. "How long can you stay where you are now?"
"Until tomorrow," Vivian said with resignation.
Dexter wasn't too surprised. "Alright, here's the deal. Come over tomorrow, and I'll arrange your housing. You can stay nearby while we wait for the restaurant to open."
"Okay, thank you so much!"
"Then we'll wrap it up for today. By the way, do you have money for bus fare to get home?" Dexter had to ask.
Vivian nodded. "I do, I have a little bit left."
"That's good."
"Okay, Boss, I'm heading out now. See you tomorrow," Vivian said happily. She got up, took a couple of steps, and then suddenly realized something. She turned back and asked Dexter, "Boss, what's your name? I still don't know it."
"Dexter."
"I'll remember it. Dexter, you're a good person. I won't forget you," Vivian said, then smiled and walked away.
Dexter sat on the stool.
He couldn't explain why, but he felt an uncontrollable sense of being cold... so cold!
---
That afternoon, Fiona was busy looking for work.
Fiona was young and pretty, so finding part-time work wasn't hard.
It didn't take too long.
Some of the jobs she had quit earlier, which hadn't been filled by anyone else yet, were back in Fiona's hands.
Fiona felt nothing but bitterness about this.
Just then, her phone rang. It was Veronica.
"Fiona, I gotta ask you something," Veronica said as soon as the call connected. "Are you really not going to work for Dexter?"
Fiona felt even more bitter hearing that. She shook her head weakly. "No, I can't go."
"Ugh," Veronica sighed, unsure what to say. "Well, I'm just telling you, Dexter told Kevin a little while ago that if I'm willing to take it, the job is mine... Do you have a problem with that?"
Fiona: "????"