BCD03
[BRANCH] ASTORIA
[SERVER] EMPLOYEE NO. 71
[DATE] 9/4/22
[INDEX ID] BCD03
[SECURITY] DINER
Mm… let’s not be too hasty, No. 26. I understand you served quite a cup of coffee in the Second Cafe, but—and I mean no disrespect to No. 1—it wasn’t the same coffee we served in the First Cafe. My point is, we shouldn’t dirty our hands with this problem personally. I have more than enough connections close to Padre who’d be happy to tell us what we need to know. I get your frustration—if I’d shared a sandwich with Padre, I’d be frustrated with his rule as well. But let’s not tip our hand too soon.
As far as Padre is concerned, the Cafe has lost its touch. He just watched us spend a whole month sitting on our hands, letting him do whatever he pleased. Admittedly, that wasn’t entirely our intention, but we can turn this perceived handicap into a strategy. We shouldn’t suddenly go from uninvolved and uninterested to banging on his front door demanding answers. That would only tip Padre off to our return to business as usual, and we can’t afford that just yet.
Let me make some calls, grab a few cups of coffee, and work my connections first. Of course, I can’t stop you from conferring with your contractor—that’s your right. But I caution against rushing into anything. And as you’ve already pointed out, Padre isn’t exactly on the best terms with you two at the moment. In fact, I’d imagine your own connection to the lowest region of Ottawa probably irks him in some way. As we’ve all just seen, Padre had to build everything he has, brick by brick. His sister lucked into her position, and now your daughter holds that luck.