by Claire Adams
“So, do you think I should ask Eric out on a date?”
“You can’t be serious,” I laugh. “He’s got to be one of the most unrefined people I’ve ever met. You should hear the way he talks to his crew when he thinks we’re out of earshot.”
“Oh, I’ve heard him,” Linda says. “I don’t know if it’s the whole gruff male thing or the fact that I’ve got some pretty serious daddy issues, but hearing him go off on those guys makes me think I should start bringing a towel to work.”
“A towel?” I ask, but instantly I regret the question.
“Yeah, so I can have something between my legs so customers don’t slip on the—”
“Got it,” I interrupt. “Like I said, though, at least until they’re done working here, there’s a hands-off policy regarding the crew.”
“Hands-off?” Linda asks. “So that means I could still use my—”
“There’s no way to end that sentence that’s going to get anything but a ‘no’ out of me,” I interrupt again.
“And, by the way, when you first hired them, you said that I could do whatever I wanted as long as it wasn’t during store hours. I’m starting to get the feeling that you might have a little crush yourself,” Linda teases.
“That is absolutely the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” I tell her.
“Shh,” Linda says, far too loud to be discreet.
I look up and Eric is walking over to me.
“Hey,” he says, “can we talk a minute?”
“Sure,” I answer, forcing a smile.
We’ve had a number of talks throughout the last few weeks, and not one of them has been something that I wanted to hear.
Still, though, it can’t always be a negative thing. At least that’s what I tell myself so I don’t claw my own eyes out every time he says those six words.
We get back to my office and he closes the door behind him.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting over the last little while. The day that I got this job, I—well, the reasons don’t really matter. You were right when you said that I was being unprofessional, and I’d like to make it up to you.”
“What did you have in mind?” I ask.
“How about dinner?” he asks. “I’m buying.”
“So,” I sigh, “you wanted to come in here and apologize for being unprofessional by asking me out on a date?”
“Kind of,” he says, “yeah.”
“You really don’t know women very well, do you?” I ask.
“I’m sure there’s more than a little truth to that statement,” he says, “but I’m not suggesting anything salacious. Just the two of us over some good food in a situation that might just help us get along better. I’m not asking you to move in or anything.”
“I don’t know,” I tell him. “Dinner sounds a little familiar to me.”
“All right,” he says, “lunch, then. Me and the guys are set to knock off at noon, we could grab a hot dog or something.”
“I don’t eat hot dogs,” I tell him, “but thanks for the offer.”
“Well, what do you eat?” he asks. “I’m sure we can find something that’ll fit the bill.”
I’m a bit suspicious, but he does seem to be trying to make a nice gesture.
“It’s not a date,” I tell him.
“That’s fine,” he says.
“It’s just two people who work together going to grab some lunch.”
“All right,” he says. “I’ll go tell the guys they can go on break, and we can go get something to eat.”
“All right,” I tell him. “Let me get my things and I’ll meet you in the front.”
That was a mistake, as I can already see the faces Linda’s going to pull when she sees me walk out the door with the man I just got done telling her was so unrefined. Maybe she’ll understand that we’re just trying to bury the hatchet.
Okay, that’s just a pipe dream, but I’m sure it won’t be that bad.
Eric goes and tells his crew whatever he tells them, and I grab my jacket and walk out to meet him.
Linda’s chatting him up, no doubt using her signature set of single-entendres to try to convince him that she’s what he should be drilling.
“Ready to go?” I ask as I reach the counter.
“Yep,” he says. “Where’d you decide to eat?”
“You two are going to lunch together?” Linda asks.
“Yeah,” Eric says. “Why?”
“Oh, no reason,” Linda says. “I just found it interesting, that’s all.”
She turns to me and very conspicuously winks.
“Are you going to be able to handle the front?” I ask.
“Look around,” she says.
I do and realize that the people I thought were customers were just my salespeople.
“We’re screwed, aren’t we?” I ask.
“Pinned to the floor without any lube,” Linda says. “Enjoy your lunch.”
Well, at least she didn’t try to invite herself along.
“Where are you going?” she asks.
“I thought we might stop and get a quick bite at Carver’s,” I answer.
“Ooh, romantic,” Linda coos.
“It’s a work lunch,” I snap, and she puts her palms up toward me.
“Have fun,” she says. “Try not to eat any baby kittens on your way there, boss.”
“Why haven’t I fired you yet?” I ask.
“Because you couldn’t live without me,” Linda smiles.
“That’s right,” I tell her. “I might need you to remind me of that every once in a while.”
“Sure thing, boss,” she says, and goes back to whatever she was doing on her phone.
Eric and I leave the store and start walking.
“So, tell me about yourself,” he says.
“Oh, not much to tell,” I answer. “I moved here a few years back. When I got to Lady Bits, well, first off, it wasn’t called that at the time. It was actually a hipster warehouse.”
He laughs. “That sounds pretty dreary,” he says.
“Oh, it was,” I answer. “Nothing but black plastic glasses as far as the eye could see. I’m pretty sure that most of them didn’t have prescriptions in them.”
“So what made you decide to go into women’s clothing?” he asks.
It’s an obvious question that should have an obvious answer, but I find myself grasping for anything with which to respond.
“I don’t know,” I tell him. “I guess I’ve always said that I wanted to provide women of all sizes an option in clothing where they could still get designer clothes without the designer price tag, but really, I think it comes down to the fact that I don’t really know how to run any other kind of store.”
It’s small talk, sure, but it’s kind of nice seeing a side of him that’s not such an asshat.
“What about you?” I ask. “What got you into contracting?”
“It’s a family business,” he says. “My grandfather started this company about 50 years ago. My father worked here, all my brothers worked here. It was just kind of inevitable, I guess.”
“How many brothers?” I ask.
“Four,” he says.
I can’t help but cringe. “I’m sorry,” I tell him.
“Yeah,” he laughs, “me too. Hey, I didn’t think of this, but does this Carver’s place have a dress code? I don’t think what I’m wearing really qualifies as formalwear.”
“No, it’s just a bistro,” I tell him. “I’ve seen people show up looking almost as grungy as you, so I think it’ll be fine.”
“Gee, thanks,” he says. “Like I was telling you,” he goes on, “I really do apologize for the way I’ve been acting. I let my personal life bleed into my work, and I want you to know that’s not how I usually do business, and I just wanted to let you know that I’m glad to be working with you, and I think we’re going to end up with something really great.”
“Yeah?”
“I was wondering if there was any way we could extend the window a little bit farther than we talked. I know you guys have already cut out the frame for what we’d already discussed, but as I was walking in today, it really struck me that people coming from that direction on the sidewalk could see what we have so much easier if the window went just a little bit farther.”
“How much farther are you thinking?” he asks.
“Only like three, four feet or so,” I answer.
He takes a deep breath to calm himself.
“If it’s going to be a problem—”
“It shouldn’t be a problem,” he says. “It’s just that we’ve already got everything set up for what we had initially talked about, you know, what we decided on after what we decided on during the initial discussion.”
He’s a bit curt, but it’s dialed way back from what it has been, so I let it slide.
“I know,” I tell him, “but I really think it would add something unique to our store and could really help bring in the foot traffic.”
“You’re the boss,” he says. “That’s going to push our timetable back a little bit, though. We’ll have to cut out more of that wall and make sure everything’s reinforced, after that, we have to do the moldings and—”
“I’m sorry. Could you excuse me for a minute?” I ask, and pull the vibrating phone out of my pocket. “Hello?”
“Jessica, it’s Mom. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great, Mom,” I answer with my usual false cheer. “How are you?”
“Listen, are you busy right now? There’s something that I need to talk to you about.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“This isn’t really something I want to tell you on the phone,” she says. “Is there any way you could come see me after you’re off work today?”
“I’m pretty busy with everything. What’s going on?” I ask.
“I really think it would be best if we talked in person, dear,” she says and I’m starting to get a little nervous.
“Is it Dad?” I ask. “I’ve been telling him that he needs to listen to the doctor and start exercising more, but he won’t listen to me about it.”
“It’s not your father, sweetheart,” she says, and now I’m really worried. Mom only drops the word “sweetheart” when something really bad has happened.
“What’s going on?” I ask again.
“Why don’t you come up here for dinner?” she asks. “I’d say we’d come see you, but your sister’s got the car right now, and I don’t think she’ll be back with it until later tonight.”
“Mom, she has her own car,” I tell her. “She just wants to use yours because she knows you’ll fill the tank.”
“Dear, it’s really important.”
“Just tell me what’s going on,” I start. “I have a lot going on right now, and I don’t know if I can conceivably—”
“I just got back from the doctor, sweetheart,” she says. “I have chondrosarcoma.”
“I don’t know what the first part means, but sarcoma is a kind of—”
“Cancer,” she says. “Yes, dear.”
I stop walking. I’m shaking and I can’t breathe.
“What did the doctor say?” I ask. “Is it treatable?”
“It’s a treatable cancer,” she says, “but I’ve had it for a while. About 80 percent of patients live five years or longer with it, but they’ve got to do some more tests to see exactly how advanced it is and how far it’s spread.”
“I’m on my way,” I tell her, and hang up the phone. “Eric, I’m sorry, but—”
“Whatever it is,” he says, “it sounds like you need to go. Just go. We can do this another time.”
“Thank you,” I tell him and I start running.
Chapter Four
Blowing off Steam
Eric
“I hope she’s going to be okay,” Linda, the cashier from Lady Bits, says. “Did she tell you what was going on?”
“No,” I tell her. “Whatever it was, though, it sounded pretty bad.”
“I bet it’s something to do with her father,” Linda says. “He had a heart attack a couple of years ago, and from what Jessica says, he hasn’t really been taking care of himself.”
“I don’t think it was him,” I answer. “She asked about that, but it didn’t seem like that’s what was going on.”
“What do you think we should do?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I tell her. “Me and the guys can keep working whether she’s in the store or not, but I don’t know how her absence affects the rest of you.”
“I think we should close up,” Linda says. “Nobody’s coming in anyway, and I don’t think I can really focus on what I’m doing right now.”
“Who runs the shop when she’s not here?” I ask.
“That’s a really good question,” Linda says. “The only time she ever leaves during business hours are for the occasional lunch, and then it’s only for like 15 minutes, and while she’s gone, we all just kind of take care of our own stuff.”
“Maybe you should stay open until you hear from her,” I say. “I wouldn’t want you and your coworkers to get in any trouble.”
Linda’s been giving me the juicy eye since I came in to place a bid, and from the way she’s looking at me now and the way her fingers are running through the ends of her dark hair, I’d say she has something specific planned for her prospective early day.
Still, I’m not so sure I want to rock the boat when Jessica and I are just barely trying to make some inroads.
“You know,” Linda says, leaning forward over the counter, her elbows in just the right position to press her breasts together as the front of her shirt falls open a little, “I don’t think I can be alone right now.”
Really, I’m not sure that Jessica and I are ever really going to see eye to eye. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to cut out a little early. Still, the rational part of my mind is just edging out a small lead.
“I don’t know,” I tell her. “If it’s something serious and she comes back to find everyone’s abandoned the store, she’s probably not going to be too happy about it.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Linda says. “Let me give her a call and see what she thinks we should do. That way, everyone’s covered.”
That’s perfectly reasonable.
“Even if it does mean I have to stand over here all by myself, trying to occupy myself with whatever comes to mind, being completely unable to do anything about it.”
My rational mind takes a body blow, but it’s still technically in control.
“Let’s just see what she says,” I tell her, and I go back to work.
“Everything cool, boss?” Ian asks.
“I have no idea,” I tell them. “Oh, and it looks like we’re going to have another change to our plans.”
José’s the only one that doesn’t groan. Even the new guy, Derek or Dylan or whatever his name is, rolls his eyes.
“We’re never going to get this thing done if she keeps changing everything on us,” Alec says. “Maybe you should have a talk to her about it.”
“I’ve talked to her about it pretty much every day since we started,” I tell him. “I think we just need to realize that this is her store and what she says goes. She’s been good about bumping up the payment cap whenever we need to make a change, so it’s not that big of a deal.”
“Yeah, but do you know how this looks to people on the outside?” Ian asks. “They see us come in here for a quick remodel and we’re already here almost a month, hardly closer to finishing than when we started.”
“Everyone’s had a client who changes their mind,” I tell him. “Besides, maybe we should stop thinking about what potential clients think and start worrying more about what our actual client
—our only actual client, I might add—thinks.”
“You’re getting soft, boss,” Alec jeers.
“Not too soft, I hope,” Linda says from somewhere behind me. “I just got off the phone with Jessica,” she says. “She said that we can all take the rest of the day. I don’t know what you guys want to do, but I’m going to close up.”
“What do you think?” I ask my crew.
“I’ll stay,” José says quickly, putting a lot of pressure on the rest of the guys. Unfortunately, it’s not quite enough.
“I think we should probably go when they go,” Alec says.
“Yeah,” Ian assents, and Drake—that’s his name—nods, too.
“All right,” I tell them. “You guys can take the rest of the day, but I want everyone here an hour early tomorrow, and I do mean everyone.”
José shakes his head a bit. When I decide to give up the company, it’s definitely going to him. He is, by far, the best worker in the crew; he never complains, he’s always early, and always hardworking. If he was at all approachable regarding anything other than work, I think he and I would probably be better friends than Alec and me.
The guys put their tools up and cover the work area, making sure to put up the grating that we’re using to keep the store secure while we’re working on the windows. I help where I can, but they’ve pretty much got it taken care of.
“So,” Linda says, “you wanna get out of here?”
“Did you really call Jessica?” I ask.
She seems offended. “Of course I did,” she says. “I wouldn’t just capitalize on my boss’s life problems. She said that there wasn’t any point keeping the store open when people aren’t coming in as it is. To be honest, I’m starting to wonder why we’re open at all while you guys are doing your work.”
“When a project takes this long,” I tell her, “closing down shop ends up costing a lot of money.”
“Sure, but why doesn’t she just have you come in at night?” Linda asks, but waves off her own question. “It doesn’t matter,” she says. “Do you drive?”
“Yeah,” I tell her. “It’s a company truck, but it’s not so bad.”
“Great,” Linda says. “Let me grab my things.”
An hour later, we’re at her place and I’m hardly through the door when her hands grip my shirt and pull me toward her.