by Shawn Keys
Rick shook his head in disdain. “Do you? Enjoy your last few minutes on the floor, Trevor. Try not to steal anything while you’re here. I’d love to see Carl track you down, but you might be drinking through a straw for the rest of your life.” Leaving him with that happy image, Rick strode out of the sales area and headed for the back rooms. He was going to ignore any last pleas that Trevor made. Oddly, the salesman didn’t even try. Maybe he’s going to get a running head start, Rick smirked inwardly.
He found the on-watch manager’s office and knocked on the door. “Mr. Jacoby, Sir?”
Sylvester “Sly” Jacoby was perusing some work assignments at his desk. The office wasn’t personalized; it was shared between both the day and evening managers who handled the problems that crept up during the day and reported to the branch manager. Jacoby was a little over fifty, comfortable in his role, and knew the store inside and out. He was the sort that wasn’t going anywhere, but was too good at keeping things under control to fire. Rick didn’t always see eye-to-eye with him, but he had never had a real problem with the man either. Sly squinted at him, “What is it, Angelo? Aren’t you almost done for the day?”
Rick entered. “Can I sit down?” Once Sly gestured for him to take a seat, Rick claimed one of the chairs and settled into it. “I’m not one to cause trouble, Sir. You know that. I’ve always been happy working here. But I just saw Trevor Henderson stealing from a customer. I’m not about to abide stuff like that.”
Sly grimaced, his eyes starting to dart quickly left and right. “Hmm, that’s troubling. What exactly did you see?”
Rick explained the situation. “Fortunately, the customer was willing to let us handle him rather than calling in the police or anything.”
Sly shrugged, tapping a pen on the desk. “I’m certainly glad she didn’t. That could have been embarrassing for the company. Neither of you have any proof of any crime whatsoever. The police would have censured us for wasting their time.”
Rick gawked at him. “Ahh, umm, excuse me?”
Sly leaned forward, irritation on his face. “Let me get this straight. A customer was using a perfectly valid card, given to him by its owner, to make a purchase. Three purchases, in fact. From their conversation, perhaps there was going to be a gift exchange between two rational adults. Our employees are not forbidden from making purchases here or owning store-bought merchandise. In fact, we encourage it.”
Aghast at the strained interpretation of the events, Rick blurted out, “It was a flat-out bribe so Henderson would look the other way!”
Sly continued, his scowl deepening, “…Then, you admit you riled up one of the customers by driving a wedge between her and her significant other, and probably cost us her business for the foreseeable future. Do I have that all right?”
Rick was dumbfounded. “You can’t be serious! This was clearly fraud. Even if the details could sound suspicious, I heard them talking!”
Sly stepped in using his best authoritative voice. He planted his palms down on the table, using them to stand upward and loom over Rick a little. “What you did was senselessly accuse a co-worker of a crime that you aren’t qualified to convict him of right in front of a client, costing this company business.”
Rick struggled to wrap his brain around what was happening. Until, he recognized the exceptional watch dangling around Sly’s wrist. It wasn’t the same model that Paul had been about to buy for Trevor, but it still had a $700 price tag. Gritting his teeth, Rick growled, “Carl was there, too.”
Sly grew a little more cautious. “Did he see this incident happen?”
All I have to do it lie. Carl would back me up. He might demand I buy him a few dozen beers afterward, but I know he would say whatever I needed him to say. But it wasn’t in Rick to do that. He shook his head. “No. He showed up after. But he heard the customer complain and plainly say she had no intention of buying any of that stuff.”
“Buyer’s remorse is what I’m hearing. You called her on the carpet, and she was too embarrassed to admit that she was the sugar-momma for that guy.”
Rick’s eyes flickered to Sly’s watch. “He’s slipping you a few things as kick-backs, isn’t he? That’s why you’re protecting him.”
It was stupid to say that. Rick knew it instantly. Sly’s face darkened like a thundercloud. “You should be careful before accusing people so cavalierly, Mr. Angelo!”
Rick cursed himself. Because this time, Sly was right. That had been nothing but a pissed-off guess. Didn’t matter if it was right or not. It was careless, and it had kicked him firmly off the high-ground.
Sly shook his head mournfully and settled back into his chair. “We’re a family here at Sally North, Mr. Angelo. Those larger department chains and specialty shops are waiting to eat us alive. Chasing away customers and failing to act like team players are the actions of someone who isn’t getting what we’re trying to do here. Which means, I’m going to have to let you go.”
Rick’s mouth clicked open a little. “You’re firing me?”
Sly scoffed. “Once again, you’re making a mountain out of a mole-hill. We’re re-structuring, and unfortunately your position is being phased out. I’ll pull your contract and make sure the negotiated severance package is administered within the next two weeks. But I’m afraid today will be the last time we’ll be offering you paid hours.”
Rick was caught off-guard by this move. I didn’t see this coming. I should have, as soon as I realized he was in on this whole thing. He’s trying to bury it by burying me. And I’ve got nothing.
Strictly businesslike, Sly added, “Need I remind you that you are still under an NDA regarding any proprietary technologies, business practices, and sensitive documentation to which you may have been exposed during you time here?”
Rick stood abruptly. “Taking the low path, eh Sly?” He dropped the honorifics. “Well, too bad. I’m not going to slug you like I should for insulting me like that. If I did, you wouldn’t have to pay me the two months’ worth of hours you’re going to owe me. So, go to hell. I have a feeling I’m going to turn on the news someday soon and see you hauled away in hand-cuffs. When that happens, I’m going to be watching and laughing my ass off.”
He strode around the chair and stalked out of the room. He was shaking his head at himself the whole way. Stupid. I played that whole thing so stupid. Of course, Trevor had top-cover! He’d been acting too openly about the whole thing. He hadn’t been all that worried about anyone catching him on camera because the damned on-watch manager is the one watching the screens!
Rick didn’t know what to do with himself. He didn’t have an office to clean out. He never kept anything in the tiny locker they had assigned him. He didn’t want to go into the computer control lab and explain why he’d just been canned. Thomas, his co-worker, would probably sympathize and nod and tell him how much that sucked. Then, the guy would shrug and dive back into troubleshooting. Thomas didn’t know what a soap box was, much less have the energy to get up on one and rant. Fight the power? Yeah, no. Not Thomas.
Rick stood in the middle of the corridor. He chewed at his inner lip and kicked himself mentally a few times.
Damnit.
Standing there rethinking, regretting, and beating himself up about this wasn’t doing anything.
Neither was imagining twisting Trevor into a pretzel or any number of other horrible fates he could devise if he decided to just snap and go nuts.
Fuck it.
He tossed the few tools he had in his pockets onto a nearby display table. Thomas could fetch them later. He was done with this. Let the whole chain of stores go under. If they were going to hire short-sighted hustlers like those two onto their payroll, the chain deserved whatever it got.
Walking out into the open store area, he marched to one of the crossroads. He caught sight of Trevor, who was leaning casually inside his sales station. He gave Rick another of those cocky grins.
Rick wanted to walk over and take a parting shot. All he had to do wa
s walk on over and power cycle the cash register right in front of Trevor’s stupidly-grinning face. That would clear the short-term memory, as well as all the transactions he hadn’t finished porting over to the main servers. They would all be lost.
Yeah, that’d be sweet to see him break down sobbing as hundreds of dollars in commissions went right down the toilet drain. He savored that idea for a tad longer.
But in the end, Rick didn’t care enough. The two-bit hustlers weren’t worth getting worked into some sort of bitter revenge. Knowing Sly, the manager would leverage that into a reason not to pay him severance. Rick wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. Let Trevor lord his small little victory. It was only a matter of time before a petty con-man like him reached too far and got caught.
Determined to take the high road, Rick marched for the escalator. If he stayed, he was going to lose his resolve. He needed to get out of there. He was on the upper floor, and he was parked in the underground parking garage off the basement level. He rode down the first escalator to the main floor, then stepped around to hop on the next one heading down.
The rapid click of heels on the store tiles approached him from behind. Rick glanced up to see Yukiko pushing the boundaries of proper decorum as she caught up to him.
“Excuse me!” She called. “Hello? Excuse me, can we talk for a second?”
Rick paused the ten seconds necessary for her to join him at the top of the moving stairs heading down. He wasn’t sure this was an overly good idea, considering what had just happened. But he didn’t read any distress in her intense eyes, nor any anger on her lovely face. Spending a few more seconds hearing what she had to say didn’t seem all that risky. Not to mention, he liked the idea of standing near enough to her petite-yet-strong body to catch the pleasant scent of orange zest, jasmine and coconut milk. “Umm, sure. I’m sorry for what happened back there. If I was out of line –”
Yukiko broke in, “– please, no apologies. I was being…” She brought a pair of fingers to her forehead, as if fighting off a headache. “… umm, I guess... you could say I was being willfully blind. Normally, I’m not like that. I guess I was hoping this part of my life could be uncomplicated. On the surface it seemed so easy. So smooth. He never asked for anything. Never demanded anything. I should have known it was too good to be true.”
Rick accepted her self-assessment, not knowing her well enough to doubt it. He wasn’t in the mood to soothe the ego of a stranger, even one as beautiful as her. “Fair enough. We all have our moments. What did you see in him, anyway?”
They were halfway down the escalator. She looked like she was considering how much more to talk to him about. “He has the right family name and the right people speaking highly of him. He was sweet. Patient. I work all the time, and I didn’t hear a word of complaint.” She waved a delicate hand, brushing all that away. “He was using me. I get that now. I saw it as soon as you spoke up. A hundred other times when I gave him the benefit of the doubt... well, now I know I shouldn’t have. Thank you for waking me up.”
Rick allowed a small smile to find him, a touch of her warmth shining on his heart. Whatever some people say, damn but it feels good to be the good guy once in a while. “He didn’t deserve the time he had with you, I’m sure. I know it sucks, but I’m glad to help get that leech off your back. It’s my pleasure, Miss.”
“Call me Yukiko?” She stepped off the machine as the last step vanished in front of her feet.
“Only if you call me Rick.” He followed her, unconsciously angling toward the exit where his car was parked. Racks of men’s clothing surrounded them as they walked through the lower sections. Typical of such stores: women’s clothing, jewelry and shoes clogged the main floor; spill-over from that as well as high-end technology goods was the top floor; that left the lower floor to the men, like a holdover from the previous century when male shoppers were thought to be an uncomplicated breed, requiring a cave-like store with utilitarian displays they could get in, get what they wanted, and get out.
She returned a smile as he offered his name, then asked, “I hope you didn’t get in too much trouble for reporting that salesman who was in on it.”
Rick sighed. “Actually, I did.”
She looked suddenly more concerned. “What?”
He gestured toward the doors. “They let me go. I’m heading home and I’m not coming back.”
Yukiko stopped, clutching at his arm. “They fired you over this?”
Her grip wasn’t enough to hold him, but Rick wasn’t in a rush. He kept his voice calm, not really wanting to make a scene. “I think they were more irritated that I turned on a co-worker than anything else. But they’re right. I don’t have a shred of evidence on the scam they are pulling. I don’t even know how many people are letting it go unnoticed around here.”
Yukiko grew more serious. “They could be doing a lot of harm. I have a friend who is a reporter. If I put her in touch with you, and she thinks the story is worth running, would you tell it to her?”
Rick considered that. Why not? If it is just Trevor and Sly running a small-time scam, this reporter friend won’t bite. If it is condoned through the whole store, then I could be saving a lot of people a lot of money. Sly pulled that NDA crap to try and scare me into silence, but I can walk the line and talk about all the shady crap without hinting at any computer software stuff. “Sure. Not sure it is a big enough story, and I won’t make it sound bigger just to sell blog time. But if she thinks it’s worth it, I’ll give her the details.”
Yukiko looked impressed, as if she expected him to back off and want nothing to do with it. “No promises, then. But I’ll be in touch with her over the weekend. I’ll see what she wants to do with it by Monday.” She produced one of her cards, using black lettering on a silvery background. Slick and shiny, exactly what you would expect from a VC executive. “Call me Tuesday at my office, and I’ll have an answer for you, either way.”
Rick took the card, glancing over the details, then nodded. “Will do.” He gestured toward the doors. “My car is that way. Yours? Or are you sticking around to shop a little more?”
Yukiko clutched her personalized, leather-covered tablet. “I’ve been waiting for this a long time. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I can’t give it back and lose my deposit. But I don’t think I’ll be shopping at Sally North for a while. They don’t know it, but that’s going to put a dent in their monthly profits. I seem to be here way too much.”
Rick could sympathize with her choice. “I’d do the same. Well, once again, I’m sorry for shaking up your life, but glad it might turn out for the better. We’ll talk Tuesday.” He nodded his head in a respectful sort of semi-bow, then turned to head for the doors.
Her fingers on his arm grew a little bolder, enough to make Rick pause. “You did, you know.”
Rick tilted his head. “Did what?”
“Make things better. You saved me from more than you know.”
“Not sure I know what you mean.”
From what Rick had seen, Yukiko was not a woman often split by indecision. But this time, she looked torn. Finally, the bold side of her won over the cautious one. Her grip turned into a soft tug. “Come with me?” She drew him into the space between the men’s clothing racks.
Fueled more by curiosity than anything, Rick trailed after her. When he saw that she was leading them right at the changing rooms, he glanced around in mild, nervous embarrassment. She didn’t flinch, but rather led him in with the smooth confidence of one who belonged anywhere she wanted to be going at that moment.
Once into the central changing room foyer, she selected one of the open doors to the private fitting rooms and led him in. She closed the door briskly, then threw the lock. In this close, their height difference was amplified. He was nearly a foot taller than her, and though he was lean rather than overtly powerful, he was still broader than her petite shape.
Yukiko peered up at him, her expression softening. “Sit?”
While it wasn�
�t a demand, Rick wasn’t sure how he could have said no. He half-fell back onto the bench along one wall of the small room.
Yukiko’s hands fidgeted a little more, going through that internal war again. Then, she admitted, “Paul and I haven’t been intimate yet. Tonight was our one-month anniversary. We were sort-of an arranged couple, so we were taking it slow. I thought he was being sweet. Patient. Maybe that’s why I smacked him. I wasn’t just angry because of the stealing. He was playing me to get me into bed as well. Tonight, I was going to… well, you know. I keep thinking about what he would have been like tomorrow morning. Would all that sweetness have evaporated? Or would he have kept on playing me, for money and for sex?” She shivered. “I don’t know which would have been worse.”
Rick wasn’t sure why she was pouring this out to him, but it was clear she needed to get it out. So, he kept silent, just listening and trying to understand.
Yukiko took a calming breath, forcing away those dark thoughts. Her smile returned as she focused on him. “You stopped that from happening.” Before he could say anything else, her hands slipped around her hips, going to the small of her back at the hem of her business skirt. The sound of a zipper opening was loud inside the small space. She tugged it down to past her thighs, far enough that the material could run freely down and pool at her feet.
Rick’s breath caught in his throat. Sitting as he was, he had a stunning view of her slender legs wrapped in silk stockings that started inside her designer heels and ended at the mild elastic lace near the top of her thighs. The material of the hosiery was liquid perfection, an instant call to run loving hands along them for hours. Her olive-pearl thighs were a tantalizing draw upward, ending at a royal-purple, satin-lace combination set of panties. Not quite a thong, the panties were nonetheless meant as lingerie, with thin side straps that dove down to cover the delicate ‘v’ created by her legs, then curled up to cling to the inner swell of her firm buttocks, revealing more flesh than the panties concealed.