Page 9 of Beat around the Bush
“Is that in the back?”
She nodded. “Yep, right past Lennon’s office.”
Even just the mention of his name and knowing he was in the building right now made me nervous. I’d seen a lot of attractive, older men around Denver that would shamelessly flirt with younger women in the bars, but something about Lennon made me buzz with awareness.
He hadn’t even tried flirting with me. He was just plain nice, aside from refusing to shake my hand. He had the whole broody, middle-aged thing down. Put that on top of his looks, and the way he’d acted after I hit his truck, and I was in trouble.
Striding through the store, I entered the hallway, finding that his office door was shut. I tried to shake the disappointment that came over me and passed his office, making my way into the break room and setting my coat on one of the hooks.
To make sure I had no distractions while I was training, I slid my phone into my jacket pocket and made my way back to Jacey at the front.
“The register is pretty easy,” she started. “You just scan the items, the price automatically pops up, and if there’s any deals, it’ll adjust it itself. Once you’ve scanned everything, just hit this button.” Her finger hovered over a key on the keyboard. “Then they’ll pay, and the receipt will come out.”
I nodded, my eyes scanning the register in case any questions popped up about what certain keys were, but they were all labeled and self-explanatory.
“If you ever have any troubles while using it, just come ask one of us. It can get finicky sometimes, but nothing we haven’t dealt with before.”
“Is there usually someone here with me?” I asked.
“Yep. Lennon schedules in twos, so no matter what shift you have, someone will be here with you. Len’s one rule is that everyone walks out together, so just remember that at the end of each shift.”
Of course, he had to be thoughtful, too.
“If there are no customers, you can face the shelves, dust, sweep, set out products. The usual when it comes to retail.” She must not know I had basically zero job experience when it cameto retail. “Lennon isn’t too strict about keeping busy as long as the store looks nice.”
“Face the shelves?” I asked, not sure what she meant.
“Make all the labels face forward, no crinkles in the bags. Basically just make it look neat and orderly,” she explained.
“Sounds pretty easy, for the most part,” I said.
She made her way around the counter to the bags of dog treats sitting on a shelf, working the wrinkles out of some of the bags so the labels were easier to read. “It is. It can just get a little stressful when it’s busy, but other than that, it’s pretty laid back. We don’t typically get any grouchy customers either, which is nice.”
I followed her, doing the same a few feet down the shelf. “I’ve heard some horror stories when it comes to old ladies and coupons.”
She snorted. “That’s exactly why Lennon doesn’t mess with coupons. People get nasty with ‘em.”
The bell on the door dinged, and I turned to see a middle-aged man walking through the door.
“Morning, Jeff,” Jacey greeted. With Jacey’s use of his name, I assumed he must be a local.
“Good morning, ma’am. Who’s this?” He eyed me, a grin wrinkling his face.
“Oakley. Can I help you with anything?” I asked.
Jeff chuckled, shaking his head as he fiddled with the button on the cuff of his denim jacket. “I’ve got this store memorized like the back of my hand. But thank you, miss.”
I offered a smile, getting the feeling that ninety-eight percent of the customers who came in here would say the same.
He walked past me as I got back to work on the crinkles in the bags.
If this was how the rest of the day went, it wouldn’t be too bad. But then again, the day had just begun.
6
Lennon
Iglanced at my hands, which had been sorting through paperwork all morning. The callouses didn’t disappear despite all of the desk work I’d been doing lately. All the time spent on the ranch kept them so hard that not a single paper cut pierced my skin.
