Page 23 of Conquering Oz

Oh my God, we are having this conversation.

Elodie sighed. She needed to shut this down. She grabbed her coffee from the counter. “Unfortunately, this fight requires money, which I don’t have.”

Elodie wasn’t throwing in the towel just yet, but the odds were not in her favor. She had to be realistic.

Isla stepped closer. “The worst he can do is turn you down, but at least you’d know you did everything in your power to save your business.”

“Got nothing more to lose, right?” Saylor added.

Elodie scoffed. “Believe it or not, I’m still holding onto my dignity. Though I’m not sure how long before I have to part ways with that too.”

“Elle.”

Elodie held up her hand. “Back to work.”

“Just hear us out, Elle,” Isla pleaded.

Elodie narrowed her gaze, looking between both girls.

“The only thing up for discussion is you all paying a ridiculous amount of money for a table at an overpriced club,” Elodie teased and grinned. “Who wants that lecture?”

Saylor sighed heavily, accepting defeat gracefully. Isla was a bit more dramatic. She groaned, rolled her eyes, and dropped her head back. But it curbed the conversation. The girls returned to their workstations, and Elodie headed down the hall.

Why would Oz comp the entire night? Not many people would give up that kind of money for a stranger.I certainly couldn’t.

Elodie had set up a small desk in the stock area to allow a third dressing room for the boutique. It was cramped, but she made it work. She walked in and smiled at the girl folding the sweaters. Charley wasn’t exactly a girl. Twenty-nine was very much a woman, but her meekness emanated youth rather than her actual age.

“Hey, Charley.”

She spun around, jumping slightly, but smiled. “Hi, Elle.”

“You don’t start for another half hour, right?”

She placed the sweater on the rolling table and dropped her arms to her side. “Yeah. My car is in the shop, so I had to take the bus. I’m not really familiar with how they run, times and routes, and I didn’t want to be late.” She pressed her lips together.

Charley was a model employee.

“Better early than late, right?”

Charley nodded. “But I don’t expect you to pay me for this.”

Elodie didn’t exactly have the means for anyone to pull extra shifts, even thirty minutes. However, there was always someone in more need than herself when it came to money. Elodie was pretty sure Charley could use extra as well. She never turned down additional shifts and was the first to volunteer to cover for one of the other girls.

“If you’re folding sweaters, you’re getting paid. Keep going.” Elodie winked, walked to her desk and sat. Aside from some light bookkeeping, she had a few calls to return. The most interesting being from the property manager. Her lease renewal was coming up, and she was dreading the increase. Considering she rented the apartment above the store, she was paying two rents.

“Um, Elle.”

She glanced over her shoulder. Charley was standing a few feet away with a gift bag.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your party. I wanted to come, but my friend just broke up with her boyfriend.” Charley squinted her eyes and scrunched her nose. “Well, he actually broke up with her. She’s taking it really hard.”

It came as no surprise to Elodie that Charley was a girl’s girl and the best type of friend. The kind that would give up a night at a fancy club to be a shoulder to lean on. Elodie clasped her hands and angled her head. “You both should’ve come. Get her mind off the ex.”

Charley blew out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, that’s what she said the next day when I told her. I just hadn’t thought of it at the time.”

It was the first time since Charley started working she’d mentioned anything about a friend. If Elodie had to guess, Charley didn’t have many. She rarely spoke about her time off. Never once had she mentioned a date.

“Next time we all go out, bring your friend along. Okay?”

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