Page 38 of On the Double

I really hoped she wasn’t talking about sleeping with my own father. And based on her reaction, my face must have shown just how disgusted that made me.

“No!” she giggled. “Like, sexually. Haven’t you ever heard of a daddy?”

The man shoved the money at Luna and grabbed his bags. “You know, I think this conversation just got a little too strange for me.”

He was gone in the blink of an eye. Luna watched him run off, then laughed hysterically at how uncomfortable she made him.

“It’s not what you think,” she said when she finally calmed down enough. “It just means that you want an older man in the sack.”

“And I want to call him daddy,” I presumed.

“I don’t know the specifics, but I would assume.”

“Luna…”

“Hey, you wanted an answer.”

I did, but now I regretted bringing it up with her. The idea of having a Star Wars fantasy or calling a man daddy in bed was just gross. I was going to need another shower when I got home.

I turned back to my register and locked eyes with my boss from his office. He raised his hand and motioned me over. Groaning, I turned off my light and caught Luna’s eye just before making the dreaded trek across the store. Whatever he had to say to me, I knew it wouldn’t be good.

I knocked lightly before putting a smile on my face and entering. “You wanted to see me?”

“You were late.”

“Was I?” I asked, playing stupid.

“Your timecard can’t be forged,” he said, waving it at me.

Damn, I sort of hoped he wouldn’t go investigate further. Not that I was that lucky. “I’m sorry, I?—”

“I don’t have time for excuses. You’re supposed to be doing a job and I expect you to be on time.”

“In my defense, it was the first time I was late.”

He shoved back from his desk and stalked around to the other side. “If I had someone to take your position, you’d be out on your ass right now.” Spit flew from his mouth, and it took everything in me not to wipe it from my face. “One more chance. That’s all you get. Do you understand me?”

Fire flared in my eyes as I stared at my boss. I was so tired of taking his crap. I was a grown adult, and while I may only be a lowly grocery cashier, I was still a human being. This man was a stain on society. Nothing more than a bully who used his position to berate others andgive himself a gold star on the wall for being the perceived best manager in the state of Kansas. Well, I’d had enough.

I tore my red vest from my body and crumpled it into a ball in front of him, throwing it on the ground. “Here’s what you can do with your expectations.”

I stomped on it for good measure, smirking when the shock on his face quickly morphed to outrage.

“That’s IGA property! You’ll pay for that!”

“You can’t make me if I don’t work here,” I taunted. “You may have kept me under your tyrannical boot for the past year, but I won’t allow it anymore. Much like our forefathers stood up to the British when they sought to keep them down, I will fight back. And I will win!”

I thrust my fist in the air, nearly hitting him in the face. In my mind, employees cheered around me as I stared at my grotesque, mustache-wearing boss and saw the jerk flee like the coward he was. He would not hold down the little man any longer. He would rue the day he ever messed with me, and when I was done with him?—

“Harper!” he shouted, snapping me out of my daydream. “Do you understand? Or do I need to have it written down for you to fully understand?”

My face flushed red and my fists clenched. I longed to thrust one of them into his face and wipe that thick mustache from his face that he was so fucking proud of. But I wouldn’t. I needed this job, and as much as I wanted to leave and never see this prick again, there weren’t many other choices in town for employment.

“Yes,” I bit out, turning on my heel and walking out of the office.

Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I was stronger than my douchebag boss, and one of these days, I’d find the courage to stand up to him.

I didn’t know when that day would be, and it would no doubt take me by surprise, but it would happen. I knew it would.

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