THE MOMENT
"How hard could it be?" Minerva giggled as she reminded her husband of the attitude that led to them opening the 'Ruined Veil' nightclub restaurant. "After all, we successfully managed an inn, a nightclub won't be that different...," she added his fateful words, then continued with her own thought. "...not at all taking other people into account," she said.
"You're right," Ruin nodded. He was taller than his 8 ft wife, as well as muscular and pale; he was the only one of them who was a vampire; but, there were no secrets in their marriage. Minerva had more of a business background than Ruin, and technically she was the one that officially managed the inn before he was interested in opening a club. But, she was supportive and confident their relationship could withstand any of the troubles unforeseen by him. It helped that he was always willing to admit when he was wrong. "I just didn't expect it to be such a pain...," he grumbled. The two were in bed sharing their days when the sensitive topic came up. Minerva brought it up, because it needed his attention.
"Dear, I love you," Minerva smiled and lovingly bumped her shoulder against his. "How could you not see this coming? Not everyone is like us; not like you. There are going to be risks in operating any restaurant, especially one run by vampires for vampires."
"I know," Ruin nodded. "I thought I knew....," he sighed. "Of course, I expected an occasional missing person. But, I had no idea it would be this much."
"It's a good thing you're handsome," Minerva giggled. Then, she leaned over and kissed his pale cheek. "Don't ever change though. So, what're you gonna do?" she asked after the quick peck.
"I guess there's only one thing to do, right? I have to be a responsible business owner."
"Do you want me to?" Minerva asked. He wasn't incapable; but, she genuinely wanted to preserve his naivety as much as possible.
"No, no. I said I wanted to run the club, and this is part of that. I got to do all the fun stuff like getting permits and licenses, I need to do the hard stuff too," Ruin said. "I'll take care of it tomorrow."
"Okay. But, if you change your mind at the last minute, let me know," she said. "Don't think about their families."
"Oh.. right...," Ruin sighed again. He'd forgotten that minor detail.
"Don't feel guilty, you pay very well!" Minerva was quick to remind him he was a fair boss. "If those workers didn't consider their families when they started stealing people from storage, then it's not your job to worry about their families either. You run a club, not a soup kitchen, and you're more generous than you should be with comping their meals," she was in full support mode now; it bothered her to see him unsure. "You said it yourself. You went through all the trouble of getting the appropriate permits to serve vampires and stock humans. They're lucky to only be losing their jobs and not being charged with theft."