Page 55 of Call Sign: Thunder
ALLIE
“Excuse me, miss. Do you have this in a size six?”
Allison was just about done counting the new inventory that had just arrived when the customer’s interruption made her lose count.
With a sigh, she forced a smile and said, “Let me take a look and see what we can find.”
The three weeks she’d been working at the boutique in downtown Arlington had been challenging to say the least. Both Zach and her father had warned her not to get a job in retail, but she’d been so anxious to prove that she wasn’t above working that she’d taken the first offer to come along.
And honestly, short of the early morning shifts, she thought she’d adjusted pretty well. Still, she didn’t know how people who worked full time and tried to raise a family at the same time did it. She only had a few part-time shifts each week but between working, two therapy sessions, and her online marketing class, she was exhausted most of the time, and that was while still living at home where she had her meals cooked for her and a driver to make sure she made it everywhere safely.
Baby steps, Allie.
“Here you are. And if you like this style, we also have it in blue,” she informed the customer.
“Thank you.”
After getting the woman set up in a fitting room, Allison took a chance to glance down at her cell phone. The shop owner, Laura, was a real stickler about ‘employees not having their noses stuck in their phones,’ but she’d learned to sneak a peek here and there.
Just seeing Zach’s name pop up on her notification list lightened her day. She tapped his name to read his text.
Text from Zach:
Hope you’re having a better day than yesterday. I should be home earlier tonight. Wanna FaceTime later?
Allie grinned.To them, FaceTime meant remote sexy times. She glanced around making sure no one was watching before shooting off a quick string of suggestive emojis as her answer.
“Here you are. I wanted to give you your first paycheck.”
Allison almost dropped her phone she was so surprised. Her boss had snuck up behind her. She quickly pocketed her phone before turning around.
“Oh, thanks so much, Laura, but I signed up for direct deposit.”
“It always takes a few pay cycles to get that rolling. Looks like the accounting company sent over a real check this time.”
Allison was almost giddy as she took the white envelope. She knew it was probably frowned upon, but she couldn’t wait. She tore into the envelope, anxious to hold her very first paycheck. In fact, she rarely held paper checks at all. Her father normally just deposited funds directly into her accounts, most of the time without her even asking him to. Like most people her age, her financial life was almost exclusively digital.
So holding this check for three-hundred and nine dollars felt amazing. It wasn’t the dollar amount that made her so happy. Hell, it could have been half that amount and she’d still have been excited, because this was the very first money she’d ever earned on her own. She hadn’t even let her father help get her a job because it was important that she do it on her own.
“Sorry, it isn’t a lot, but you are part-time,” Laura was almost apologetic.
“No… this is great. Thanks!”
Allison even knew what she was going to spend her first paycheck on. She’d had her eye on something at the shop since her first week on the job.
It was a bit of torture, but she had to wait the two hours she had left on her shift before finally taking the sexy negligee she’d squirreled away in the back office up to the cash register. She wished she could just ring herself out, but that was against the rules. She did her best not to blush as she handed the see-through garment to her boss.
“Looks like someone is planning a special night,” Laura teased.
“Actually, I’m trying to decide if I’ll let him see it when we FaceTime later tonight or if I’ll keep it for a surprise for when I see him over Valentine’s Day weekend.”
“If you ask me, I’d show him this one tonight and then you can get another one for when you see him in person.”
“You just want me to buy two,” Allie teased.
“Of course, I do. January is always a slow month. I need all the sales I can get.”
Allie laughed, grateful she at least had a cool first boss, even if she’d already decided — she would not be making retail her lifelong career.
