59. Significant Other 💋

I saw when A.B. went back to the counter. Before he could spot me, I pretended to be in deep concentration as I loaded the cart with items. I was glad for it, because I actually got some work done. As I pushed the full cart to the inventory room, I looked at my phone to see that it was 11:30 a.m. It did not feel like two and half hours had passed, but I was ready to clock-out. As therapeutic as it was, I do not miss working a 9-to-5.

I heard the sound of rolling wheels behind me, but I continued to look at my phone.

"Excuse me," A.B. said.

I quickly stepped aside with my eyes still on my phone. Once A.B. passed me with his cart, I glanced at him. He parked the cart in an empty corner.

"All done?" I asked him.

He look at me. "With scrapping and pulling? Yes. I think we had more books than anything else. The instruments and music will always sell here. I'm glad you taught me the efficient way to do this, because I was thinking about ways to increase sales."

"Since we have about 30 minutes left, I can show you how to reprice and list," I suggested.

A.B. agreed, "Yeah. That's actually perfect, because Nyeira just left for her lunch break. We can go to the manager's office." He led the way out the inventory room.

I followed A.B. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he replied.

"I have been here for almost three hours, and I still haven't seen one customer or employee. And the sign says 'Open.'"

A.B. smirked as he sat behind the desk in front of the desktop computer. "Jamie, the sign is turned off. How long did you work here, again?"

I folded my arms. "Seven years."

"I'm sorry. I should've asked how long have you lived in East Grove?" A.B. smiled.

I arched a brow. Why is he asking me this? Then, I palmed my forehead. How could I forget about East Grove's Annual Anniversary?

I said, "That means there's going to be a Gala tonight, too. How could I forget? Wait, how do you know about it?"

"There are signs and decorations everywhere: Celebrating East Grove's 90th Anniversary. I thought you came back, partly, for that reason."

I shook my head, "I've been gone way too long."

"Just a few hours ago, you said the opposite."

"Shhh," I hushed A.B.

He stood up from the chair. "It's all yours."

"Thanks." I sat down in front of the computer. "Okay. Looks like we're still using the same system, but the scrapping is done in the CX portal. To reprice the items we pulled, we need the Merchant Portal." I double clicked on the icon on the screen.

"My uncle had this and Amazon open," A.B. told me.

I pointed at him. "You were paying attention." I clicked on the internet icon and went to Amazon. "Perfect. You're already logged in. Okay. Now that the Merchant Portal is open. Oh, no."

"What is it?" A.B. asked me.

"I left the print-out of the products I pulled in the inventory room on top of the cart."

"I left mine, too. Hold on. I'll be back." He left the office.

I smiled as I thought about working with A.B. How much fun would it be if this was our daily lives? We could be a power couple on the rise. Before I could finish daydreaming, A.B. returned with the print-outs and handed them to me.

"Thank you, sir. Now all I have to do is scan the barcode or the product name into the search bar."

I grabbed the scanner next to the mouse and scanned the first barcode on the sheet of paper. On the screen, a product came up. "See. It's the same book that I pulled off the shelf. It shows that the book is selling on average between $19 and $22. Now, I'm going to search for the same item on Amazon."

I scanned the barcode again. "There it is. Let's click on it. It's a paperback, and they have it selling for $17.99 brand new and around $15 for used but shipping on that one is 3.99. With all the information that we have, like it being a used book, in good condition, and has a good selling price, we can list it on Amazon to sell. I would suggest having two highlighters of different colors. For example: when I highlight the item on the print-out in yellow that would mean to list it on Amazon. When I have it highlighted in like a green or any other color, that would mean to reprice it as a discounted item and later put it in the 'discount' shelves.

"Last and the most important thing to do is go to the company's website and remove all the products that we pulled off the shelf, because they have been repriced and listed on Amazon. And that's it!" I looked up at A.B.

"Can I pay you to stay one more day?" He sounded serious.

I got up from the chair. "No way, José! I'm booked and busy." I rubbed his shoulder. "The good thing is you have employees who you legally pay, and they can get the job done."

A.B. confessed, "Two people just quit last week, and they were the only full-time employees we had."

"Are you serious?" What was going on around here? I don't recall so much happening in East Grove when this was my every day life. "I bet if you post fliers at East Grove College, you'll get fast replacements."

"Fliers have been up for almost a week. Nyeira said she was happy when she saw you, because she thought you were here for a job."

I quickly thought as we both were silent. A.B. began to shut down the computer. I looked around the office and resting on a cluttered shelf was an old laptop. I picked it up. "I think I can help after all."

A.B. turned around. "How?"

"This is a company laptop." I sat it on the desk. "It has all the same systems and files that the computers in this store have. So, I can take this laptop with me to L.A. and during my downtime, I can do some of the repricing and listings."

A.B. immediately pulled me into a hug. "You just took half the weight off my shoulders."

I didn't realize it until this very moment that A.B. was under a lot of pressure. He hid it well, but at the same time, I was too wrapped up in what was going on in my life. I mean, this is his uncle's store. The same uncle that unexpectedly got sick and is no longer able to run this business. I can understand the amount of stress that can cause; especially, after hearing about the shortage of staff on hand. I just knew A.B. didn't disclose that information to his uncle. I know he wants to make Mr. Dave proud.

A.B looked at me, and his eyes fell on my lips.

Was this the moment? Was he going to finally kiss me, again? I slightly smiled.

He released me and took a few steps backwards. "I'm still going to pay you."

"No, you're not! You're paying my lawyer fees, storage bill, and you always pay for my food. Let me do this one thing as payment to you," I demanded.

A.B. took a deep breath before nodding his head. "Okay... You ready to eat?"

"I've been ready," I admitted.

We left the manager's office together. Nyeira was walking in the store as we were walking out.

"Do you know what you want to eat?" I turned around and A.B. was still inside the store, talking to Nyeira.

A few seconds later, A.B. walked out the store.

"Everything okay?" I asked him.

A.B. forced a smile. "Just lost another employee, but I'm not going to focus on that." He opened the passenger's door of his car for me.

I got in and waited for him to get in the driver's seat. Once he started the engine, we were off to find a restaurant.

"There's only gonna be two restaurants open - the fast food one inside the grocery store and the buffet," I said aloud.

"We're not eating in East Grove. Since we're going to see my uncle, we're going to find a place to eat that's closer to his house," A.B. informed me.

Smart thinking.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

I looked at the radio. "Can I turn this up?" I asked A.B.

"Go ahead."

I turned up the volume and instantly recognized my song.

A.B. and I looked at one another.

"You sound perfect, Jamie!" A.B. told me. "This is my 2nd time hearing it today."

"Do you like it?" I had to ask.

A.B. answered, "I like all your music. Your singing voice is just as soothing as your speaking voice."

My face was heating up. "No more compliments. Let's talk about something else."

A.B. drove through an intersection. "My uncle lives an hour away. We can talk about anything you want."

The radio personality spoke, "I don't know about y'all, but I love that song! That's new from Jae A.B. called 'Home.' You're listening to Hot 99.5. Your favorite station across the nation."

I turned down the radio.

"I recall you saying we could talk today about what's been bothering you," he reminded me.

"Oh, yeah..." I looked out the window. "The short version is Aja is a snake, a liar, a manipulator, a trader, an unhinged psychopath--"

"Whoa! Whoa!" A.B. interrupted me. "The singer Aja Frost?"

"Yes. The one and only Jezebel herself."

A.B. stated, "I'd like to hear the long version."

About twenty minutes later, A.B. had received all the details about Aja, Ricky, Jaylei, Zack, and Anaya. "I wish I would've listened to Zeke when he said not to be so close with her. He said he knew how she was, but I ignored it because I was seeing her through the eyes of a fan."

"I get that," A.B. said, "I think it's best to keep your distance from her."

"That's what I plan to do."

A.B. turned on his blinkers before switching lanes. "Good. Just don't be surprised if she tries to do it, again."

I blew air from my mouth. "I don't get it. Why me?"

"Have you heard 'A greedy man stirs up strife...'"

"No, but it definitely describes Aja perfectly. She's greedy, and she doesn't have to be."

A.B. added, "It ends with 'but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.' That's Proverbs 28:25."

I looked down at my feet. "I have been doing more complaining and worrying and not nearly enough praying."

"This entire year has been a big test for me," A.B. confessed, "When my business partner moved to another state and wanted out of our properties, it came as a surprise to me. He'd never mentioned or even hinted at it. Now, I know why it was really hard for me to decide on whether to sell or keep the beach house in Yellow Sand Beach. He wasn't just my business partner, but my best friend, my brother. We were supposed to be each other's best man."

"Y'all can still do that," I told him.

A.B. shook his head, "He got married. I didn't go to the wedding."

I heard more than what he voiced. "A.B., you can talk to me."

He was quiet for a couple minutes as I listened to the sound of the wind hitting against the car and the other vehicles driving past us.

"I told you about my last relationship...". A.B. added, "She found the excitement with my business partner."

I'm speechless.

A.B. continued, "They were secretly dating. All in one week, the wedding and the move happened."

I could hear the hurt through his words. "Did you ask him why her?"

"He said he never expected to fall in love with her, but she's everything he ever wanted in a wife. He apologized, and that was all he said about it. That was the last time we talked in-person. After that, we only communicated through texts to discuss the properties. Now that that's done, we haven't texted in a few months."

"Do you miss him?" I asked A.B.

"I miss that brotherhood. That's why if I have a kid, I have to have a second."

I smiled, "Or adopt... your cousins' kids, neighbor's kids so they can be like siblings to your one kid. I can't lie - being the only child had its perks."

A.B. lightly laughed, "You are like the sun on a rainy day, Jamie."

"Am I?" I pursed my lips as I struck a pose in the passenger's seat.

He answered, "You came in my life at the right time."

"So did you," I agreed, "but you haven't finished telling me the whole story. You said this entire year has been a test."

A.B. nodded his head, "You've been listening."

"I have. Now, go on."

A.B. said, "The unforeseen situation with my uncle added a burden that I really don't know how to handle. I haven't been this backed into a corner since I've gotten serious about my faith. Don't get me wrong. A lot of great things have happened. Like I said, meeting you has been good for me. You had just met me and felt comfortable enough to ask me for advice about a life-changing decision. You didn't just listen, you were engaged in the conversation. And you didn't run when I started talking about God."

I extended my arm and held out my hand to A.B.

He looked at it before taking it. "We're about five minutes away from the closest restaurant. Want to eat there?"

"Yes! I'll eat a grasshopper I'm so hungry."

A.B. chuckled, "Fried and salted?"

"Just like a bag of chips," I joked. I was completely joking. This ain't Fear Factor.