24: A SECOND JOB

DELILAH

Three weeks had passed since our first encounter as a trio, or becoming a thruple. Something that even now I didn’t think too hard on as I spent my evenings often with one brother or another instead of both. They had wildly different personalities, though similar in their mannerisms towards me as much as they possibly could be. Simply enjoying our time together.

They were also a bit ridiculous. While both of them knew better not to spend money on me after the begrudgingly accepted bed; it didn’t stop them from trying to outdo one another with something like bringing me flowers. Something I thought was sweet until the fifth bouquet getting larger than the last in its own vase while the first one was still alive and well. In which case I had to explain that my home was not a flower shop no matter how empty it may look when Cole joked he could buy me a shelf for them all.

As I stared down at the check I had received though, I felt everything in me deflate at their backhanded comments and jokes in the last weeks on my hang-ups about their money. While they might casually throw it around and pay for dinners; I didn’t want them investing it in someone they might leave any day. There was also a strange stubborn streak about being able to stand on my own feet after the amount of control I had given Eric.

However, the thought of losing my housing already had my heart pounding in my ears. I hadn’t been established long enough to get an advance, but I could ask Allen so it didn’t stress out Mila and pay him back. Struggling like this though wasn’t going to fix my empty apartment situation or my lack of transportation. Let alone the endless teasing.

“So you’ve never had a retail job?”

“No, but I’ve worked with the public plenty.”

The manager across from me gave a heavy sigh handing me back my resume looking me up and down as if trying to decide. “Do you know what FIFO stands for?”

“Five… what?” I asked hesitating, wondering if it was critical to work in a convenience store.

“FIFO. It means first in, first out. It’s how you’ll be rotating product. What I need you for is stocking, not another cashier. Nights mostly. Think you can manage that?”

“Absolutely. Anything you need,” I replied with a tight smile, feeling the pit of my stomach drop. I had applied for full time but stocking came with significantly less pay, and they were Noc shifts only where the cashier job had two super long shifts that worked better for my news job. It seemed lack of sleep and exhausted muscles would be the trade-off for being able to support myself better.

“Great, I’ll have you start tomorrow night with Henry. Orientation takes about two weeks to complete officially, and there will be a paper to sign off on. Can I get a copy of your two forms of ID?”

I passed them over, a frown coming over his face. “Arizona?”

“I’ve only been here about a month. See my last job.”

“Oh, right, right. Just haven’t seen an ID like that in a while. I’ll be right back with the rest of your employment paperwork. Just give me a minute.”

I swallowed hard, looking around the dingy little office covered in papers as my foot began to bounce, feeling as if I were trapped, my thoughts rushing.

Hiding this from the boys would be impossible, but I was also afraid this would end things prematurely. I wasn’t sure that was something I wanted, even if I knew things wouldn’t last between the three of us. However, I was starting to accept the fact that good things didn’t always last.

Seth

Hey, Dinner tomorrow? I was hoping for Salmon at Kaylee’s.

I glanced at the closed door, frowning as I replied to Seth, my heart sinking just a little more, as if my very thoughts had summoned him.

Delilah

Can’t sorry, busy with work.

Well. I thought with a deep sigh and the sound of the returning footsteps of my new boss, Milo. At least it wasn’t a lie, knowing it would be the first of many excuses I would begin to give them, and vaguely wondering if we would be able to work out in the end.

“So follow me. I’ll show you where to clock in and where your locker is at. Don't worry about changing in the back, as long as you girls keep your panties on, most of us men don’t really care.”

I felt weird as I followed him, the comment seeming off-color and kind of creepy as he showed me to the back room, assigning me one of the empty lockers near the employee break room. “You’ll have to drop off all your belongings here before you start your shift, including cellphones. Breaks are only ten minutes; if you go over, we’ll dock your pay, so make sure you make it to the clock-in station before the ten minutes are up.”

~Peachy.~ I thought to myself, not even a little bit glad that corporate America truly was universal, knowing what would come next.

“You also have thirty-minute lunches, but don’t expect to go off store grounds and come back. If you're late, we’ll dock you an hour; it’s just store policy to stay close by in case there’s an emergency, so it’s easier for us.”

“Right,” I said, knowing that the likelihood of that being written anywhere was impossible, but the probability of being fired for it was spot on. The idea of a lawyer being laughable at best for someone like me, something corporations consistently took advantage of.

“Do you have any questions yet?”

~Besides what else other than my soul you’ll be sucking out today?~ “No,” I replied with a smile. “You’re really great at explaining things.”

He grinned, making me regret my choice of words by adding flattery. “I think you’ll get along great here.”