It wasn't often that she was surprised, a benefit of their species being heightened senses and a general awareness of what was going on around them. On occasion, the untimely pop of her toaster or catching the movement of her cat out of her peripheral would make her heart skip a beat, but this was the last time in recent memory that someone had made her leap out of her own skin by sneaking up on her. Intentional or not. Perhaps that is what caused her reaction to be even more amplified from normal and letting slip a twang that was usually much more controlled. Southern roots ran deep, but enough time spent away from her home had faded it from her voice except on certain occasions when it slipped through, and those she might choose to use it for her own benefit. Still perhaps it was for the better as it seemed to instantly break the tension that might have been present in their first meeting since his begrudging acceptance of her employment months ago, setting them both perhaps a bit off balance.

She returned his mild smile with one of her own as he rolled his shoulders slightly good naturedly, calming as her heart beat began to slow steadily and she leaned against the bar. Perhaps he wasn't as intimidating as she remembered, but there was more behind those emerald pools she was sure. It didn't take more than a gesture from him to have her pulling the deliciously scented bag towards her, the promise of sweets irresistible to her, unable to resist commenting on the effectiveness of such bribery as she pulled one of the still warm morsels out. She already had a piece popped into her mouth as his soft sound of amusement, but her lips still curled upward at the fact that she had made him laugh at all. She nodded in agreement however, "Solving the world's problems, one chocolate chip at a time." Raising the remnants of that cookie in a mock toast before mentioning her only half-joking plan of sinking his safe into the bathtub. His plan was none the less effective. "Anchors are good too, I wouldn't even be fond of jumping in that water." Smiling she savored another bite of that cookie before he asked how things had been going, catching a glimpse of what she gathered to be a rare smile unable to keep herself from thinking he should wear one more often.

A part of her wondered if he took this much interest in everyone who worked as a bar hand, but she didn't mind at all; getting to know her employer couldn't be a bad thing. She was pleased to let him know that things seemed to have been going very well, at least from her perspective, and she was vastly thankful for the friendships she was beginning to form with her coworkers and for everything else it had afforded her. She chuckled at his commissary that his first week here was no picnic either, he didn't seem like the type to ever be flummoxed at anything and the thought was intriguing. "That sounds like a fun story, but looks like you've come quite a ways since then." One eyebrow raised inquisitively, she didn't know much about him, or how long it had taken but he was running the place now and that seemed like no mean feat.

While she was under no misguided notion regarding the perhaps morally gray fibers of what held this place together the people, at least the ones she had met so far, were more genuine that most she had known and it was something she appreciated more than she had expected. This prompted her unplanned expression of gratitude, though it was no less sincere despite being unexpected. Perhaps her admittance of just how much she appreciated it was a little out of place, a thought that concerned her briefly as the dark-haired man across from her seemed to fall silent for several moments. The soft music came back into focus around them as she studied the still waters of his face and wondered just how deep they ran. He seemed to reach some sort of conclusion regarding her and the entire situation as he reclined backward and accepted her gratitude. It felt like some weight had been lifted that made breathing around him a little easier now. His next question however settled more like a rock in her stomach.

Sighing quietly her eyes raised to the balcony overhead she ran a hand through the tousled curls that hung tied together at her neck before meeting his eyes once more, her long fingers drumming on the counters surface. How exactly did one tell their boss about the time they had tried to steal in their establishment? It seemed like another life. "It was, a necklace... or a talisman of some sort?" She motioned to the area around her neck as if he needed the indicator to understand what she was talking about. "It was a wolf figurine from the drawing I was shown, though it was Tobias who was wearing it that night." The memory of him so casually being willing to toss her off the top of the ship still audible in her mind. She met his gaze once more, unsure of exactly how to move forward and while she knew the deal she had made so long ago was with a dangerous person she couldn't help but feel the same about Aiden, kind as she expected he might be the reputation of the ark spoke to his dark contrasts as well.