My heart started beating even faster when I heard someone say my name. I jumped and let go of Mark’s hand. I turned around and saw someone in the store’s uniform staring at us. She was beautiful with chestnut-colored hair, light brown eyes, and full, pouty lips. She stepped closer, and I noticed she had freckles on each cheek.
“Hi, Vanessa, I’m Maya,” she greeted as she came to me with her hand extended. She looked at Mark with a sexy smile. “Hey, Mark. It’s good to see you back.”
“Hey, Maya,” he responded. He looked a little nervous as he slowly ran a hand through his hair. I guess Simone was onto something about Mark and Maya.
“We'd better go inside and get ready. It’s going to be a busy day,” she said to me.
“Okay. See you later, Mark,” I said.
He waved as I walked off with Maya. I turned around, and he was still standing in the same spot. I turned around, knowing I needed to focus on my first day of work.
***
The first day of training was filled with me learning a lot of procedures as Maya filled me in on what I'd be doing throughout the day. From counting our till to processing bills, it was like I was an office manager as well as a cashier, which made me wonder what the hell Rosario did.
As I was tending to a customer, I felt someone staring at me. I looked up and saw a handsome older gentleman looking at me. His mocha skin was smooth, and his hair had a bit of waves. I quickly looked away as he approached the counter. He wore a tantalizing smile as I looked into his brown eyes. I returned his smile, and he brought his hands together.
“You're the new employee. Might I add, you are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I replied quickly then went back to looking at the employees’ manual.
“I’m Cliff, and I'm one of Suds’ biggest clients.”
I glanced at him again and smiled. “That’s good. I’m sure they do a great job and treat you like a VIP.”
“They certainly do, especially when they hire beautiful women like yourself. Nothing would make me happier than to know you’re free later tonight.”
“That’s sweet, but I don’t think that would be right. There’s a policy regarding employees dating customers,” I stressed. Honestly, I didn't know if that was true, but I wasn’t trying to find out. I glanced at Maya, who mouthed, “go for it.” She was probably encouraging me to do it since she had a thing for Mark. That was evident because she eyed him every time he walked in the lobby. The feeling wasn’t mutual, though, because he made eyes at me every time.
“I’m sure there's not a policy against me taking you out to dinner or just a drink,” he said as he tried taking my hand, but I jerked it away from him.
“I see you’re an uptight bitch, aren't you?” he uttered.
“Excuse me, Vanessa, but is Mr. Carter bothering you?” Mark asked, glaring at him
“It’s okay, Mark. I think Mr. Carter was going to go check on his car, right Mr. Carter?”
He nodded. “I’m definitely am. I won't bother you again.”
“Thank you, and come again,” I said brightly as he went to the door.
I turned to look at Maya, who was looking at us, like she wondered what was going on.
I looked at Mark and smiled. “You didn't have to do that.”
“Please, that man has been a customer for years and still does the same shit. He hits on every woman who works here. And I’m sure his wife doesn't appreciate that.”
“Of course,” I mumbled.
“But I see you’re making quite an impression already.”
“I guess so. I didn’t think this place was the hot spot for hook ups.”
“Anything is possible here, honey,” Maya said and chuckled. “Right, Mark?”
Mark gave Maya a weird look then turned to me. I glanced at him with a look that asked if he and Maya ever hooked up. He gave me a look reading, “We’ll talk later.”
Maya interrupted. “As you can see, Mark, we’re in the middle of training. Don’t you have some cars to tend to?”
“Actually, I’m on break, Maya.”
“Well, can you take it somewhere else besides the counter, please?”
He put his hands up and smirked. “Whatever you say, queen bee.”
She rolled her eyes then turned to look at me. “If you even thinking about talking to him, don't. Other than the policy we have here, he’s just not relationship material.”
“Why would you think I want to talk to him?”
“Please; I see how you’re looking at him. He may be easy on the eyes, but he just doesn’t do relationships well.”
“And how would you know?”
She smirked. “We had a brief relationship back in the day. Of course, no one knew about it, but it was when I first started working here. He was sort of the bad boy who wanted to rebel against his dad, so he hooked up with practically any woman who walked through those doors. He even banged some of the girls from detail. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
“Wow, and you still want him?”
“Evidently, you do too.”
I turned my head, and she sighed loudly. “I mean, if you want to date him, then go for it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Sure.”
She turned her nose up before announcing that she was going to the restroom. I shook my head; I was too old for this shit.
Mark
Since I was kicked out of the lobby, I was walking to the back of the car wash, trying to find an area to relax, when Maya approached me. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what was about to happen.
Maya and I did hook up a few times when she first started working at the boutique. Even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn’t resist. She was gorgeous. But those few times of pleasure turned into a nightmare when she wanted more than I could give her. At that time, I wasn’t ready for a relationship, especially with someone I worked with. Besides, there were rumors that she was involved with Avery. To me, that’s even lower than Dominic.
“Why are you bothering me, Maya? You kicked me out of the lobby, remember.”
She came closer to me with a smile. “I only did that because of Vanessa. You already have a thing for her.”
“And why is that a concern of yours? We’re not together.”
“That was your decision, not mine.”
“Because I knew what we were doing was wrong. We shouldn’t have gotten involved with each other.”
“Yet, you’re looking at some bougie girl who will probably up and quit once a new opportunity comes along.”
“It will be wonderful if she did. At least she wouldn’t be tied down for eight years like some people here.”
Maya smirked. “Despite me being here, I’ve done pretty well for myself. I don’t have a daddy I can run to when there’s a problem or I need work. It’s just me, myself, and I. You’re 29, Mark, and you still don’t have a clue what you want. I thought that you would have it together by now.”
“I do know what I want. I always have.”
“Then why are you here? And if you think for a second that she would fall for you, then you are seriously delusional. I know her type; she's just like the customers who come in here. She’ll probably sleep with you, but she won’t commit to you.”
I changed the subject. “Aren't you on the clock? You shouldn’t be back here harassing me, Avery might see you.”
Her eyes grew wide when I gave her a look letting her know I knew about them. She turned her nose up and headed back to the lobby. I shook my head; she would never change. And I’m sure Avery's paying her bills.
I pulled out my phone to see if I had any messages. My father had texted me, reminding me about his proposal. I deleted the text, not wanting to think about it. Another message had come from my business partner, Victor Ortega. We're in the beginning stages of opening a business together, but I haven’t told anyone about it yet. That was the real reason I was back in town. Even though I did want to help my dad, my business was the most important
factor for me.
I read the text; Victor was letting me know that he'd been able to secure a meeting with our bank this afternoon. We had the majority of the start-up cost but needed a small loan to tie everything together. I just hoped I could leave early enough to make it to the meeting.
I put my phone back into my pocket and got up. It was time to get back to work.
Vanessa
Even though Maya had left me alone to defend myself, I was actually able to handle everything on my own. I caught on pretty quickly with the register and even with selling some of the products. The job wasn't hard to do, but I already knew I wouldn’t stay here long. I’m still searching for a consultant position; once I secured one, I’d quit.
Avery came behind the counter to grab a ticket book. He gave me a warm smile as he walked back to the other side.
“Maya is heading back; once she does, I need to see you in the office.”
I nodded, not knowing what was going on. I'd already sensed a weird vibe from him during the interview, so I definitely didn’t want to be alone with him.
“Can't we just talk out here?”
“I'd rather talk to you in the office,” he insisted, quickly looking at the cameras. Both Maya and Simone mentioned there were cameras throughout the entire store. I still had to figure out when they were rolling, just in case anything went down.
Maya came back to her register with a flustered face, and I could tell she was upset. She looked over at me with an attitude, which I simply ignored. I don’t have time for petty shit.
Avery gestured for me to follow him; Maya folded her arms across her chest and side-eyed me. I rolled my eyes at her and continued walking. If there was anything going on with those two, she didn't have to worry about me. I definitely didn’t want Avery.
I walked inside the office, and Avery closed the door. I looked at the lobby camera and saw Maya texting away on her phone. Probably telling whoever she despises me. Whatever.
I was seated in a chair in front of the desk, and Avery sat in the chair next to mine. I leaned back and scooted my chair over so he wouldn’t be so close to me.
“So, how do you like the job so far?” he asked. “I know it’s not a management position, but it’s a job.”
“You’re right. And it’s fine, I’m learning a lot. Maya has been very helpful.”
“That’s good to hear. Actually, when Rosario mentioned that she wanted Maya to train you, I was a bit skeptical. She doesn’t like to train people she knows who will be a threat to her.”
“I see,” I said. Trust me, I don’t want her job.
“So, how are you? Is everyone treating you well?” he asked, trying to move closer to me. I scooted my chair over more as he inched his way over to me. When I tried to get up, he gently grabbed my wrist.
“Is everything okay? You seemed a bit jumpy.”
“I’m perfectly fine. Now, can I get back to work? What you’re asking me could have been asked out in the lobby.”
“I just wanted to see how your first day was going. Nothing wrong with that, right?” he asked while his hand slowly went up my arm. He tried to go under my shirt, and I shoved his hand away. I wanted to knee him in the balls, but I figured I would lose my job.
“You do know that if you pull this again, I will tell the owner as well as file a claim with EEOC. I will also sue your ass for sexual harassment. I’m not these other girls here who'll take your bs.”
“Oh, you're feisty, are you? You’ll be an even bigger challenge,” Avery taunted as I went to the door.
I quickly opened it and saw that Mark was about to knock. He looked at me, sensing something was wrong. I shook my head, letting him know everything was fine, then I went to the lobby. I just wanted this day to be over with.
***
Once I was done with my shift, I was the first one out the door. With everything that had happened on my first day, I didn’t know if I wanted to come back. But when I looked and saw that my gas tank almost on E, I realized I didn’t have a choice.
Surprisingly, the traffic was light. I exited the freeway to go to the gas station. I had a little change that would get me enough gas to get me to Simone’s. I would just have to borrow some money from her later.
As I pulled up to one of the pumps, I noticed a gray BMW with the license plate 4U. I took a deep breath, knowing only one person with that car and that license plate. I could've gone to another gas station, but the closest one was three miles away, so my car wouldn’t make it.
I slowly got out of my car and saw Hamilton looking directly at me. He smirked, taking in my uniform.
“Suds, huh? You know, that place has done a terrible job with my car, but I’ll go back just to see you.”
“I’m not in the mood, Hamilton.”
“You were a management consultant; why haven't you found a job in your field?”
“I wonder the same thing. Do you have something to do with that?”
Hamilton raised an eyebrow. “What are you trying to say?”
“I have gone on countless interviews, and I always get the same answers: either I’m overqualified, or they’re suddenly not looking for a consultant when clearly, there was a position available.”
“Do you really think I'd sabotage your chances of getting a job?”
“I don’t know how your mind works, Hamilton! I wouldn’t agree to your advances, so you made my life miserable.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“I even applied for manager positions, and they said I was overqualified. That, I can understand, but there was one job that was going to hire me, but they called me back, saying they couldn’t due to my reference from my previous employer. I didn’t even put you down as a reference.”
“Oh, Zafeman Group. Yeah, I know the owner, so I gave him the reference.”
I shook my head. “Son of a bitch.”
“I did you a favor. That company was about to file for bankruptcy.”
“It doesn’t matter! You’re interfering with me getting a job!”
“I’m looking out for you.”
“I don’t need you to. You’re the one who put me in this predicament.”
“I did what was necessary –”
“To save your ass!”
"So you're just going to work at a car wash?”
“What choice to do I have? My bills are not going to pay themselves. I lost my condo because I was two months behind on rent. I can barely afford my car. My savings are gone since unemployment took so long, and I don’t even have money for gas. So yes, I’m working at a car wash. If you have a problem with that, that’s too damn bad.”
“Vanessa, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you in anyway.”
I scoffed. “It’s too late for your apologies. But there is one thing you can do: If you have been trying to blacklist me, you can undo everything so I can get a job.” I said then turned to go inside to pay. I'd wasted enough time with him.
I was heading to the door when he stepped in front of me. “Move, Hamilton.”
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“What do you think? I have to pay.”
“Let me pay for your gas.”
“I don’t want anything from you.”
“Please.”
I sighed as he pulled out his AMEX card. He grabbed the pump from the handle and began pumping my gas. I looked around the station and even at the street at the cars driving by. I did everything I could to avoid looking at him.
When he finished, he put the pump back on the handle and turned to me. “Let me take you out, V.”
“Thank you for the gas, Hamilton,” I said and got into my car.
“You know I’ll come to Simone’s to see you.”
“I won’t be there,” I said, letting my window up.
I pulled out of the lot and headed to Simone’s. I hit the steering wheel with my fist, upset that this man still got to me. But for some reason, I was still letting him.
Vanessa
/>
After what happened with Hamilton, I really wanted to be alone, but I forgot that Simone and I were having our girls' night in. I didn’t want to hear Simone go on and on about him being a jerk and why I gave him the time of day at the gas station. That, I could agree with, but the man’s persistent.
I was driving down the street when I noticed Mark’s truck parked in the driveway. I became nervous, wondering what he was doing at the house. I rolled down my window and waved at him before opening the garage. He waited until I parked before getting out of his truck.
Into You Page 5