Chapter 11: Pretty Girls

"But it's a re-run!"

Abdullah's face darkened in fury as the blood rushed to it. He was just her height and had thin black hair and a perpetually greasy sheen to his tanned face. His button down shirt was rolled up to his elbows and his collar was opened exposing a puff of black chest hair. He pointed an angry finger at her and for a moment Hayden thought he intended to hit her.

"Re-run?" she asked weakly. What in the hell was a re-run? "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know-"

He rolled his eyes and threw his hands into the air. "So now you're going to play innocent, and act like you didn't know?" His loud angry voice boomed through the room.

"Abdullah," came a sharp voice. "That's enough." They both turned and she expected to see Mr. Fox, but it was Brian/Brine. He was covering the mouthpiece of his phone and glaring at Abdullah, gesturing with his other hand for him to go away, back to his desk or out the door, but away from the work area. He quickly returned to his caller. "Yes, Mr. Stanley, I'm still here. Yes, sorry about that…uh…"

Abdullah raised his hands imploringly to all the onlookers, his anger not yet abated although he did lower his voice. "This always happens every time Fox hires another pretty girl. They prance in here thinking that just because they flash a big smile or bat their eyes while they are stealing your sale that you're supposed to just roll over and say, 'oh, it's okay.' No! I'm not going to be a fool and give up my commission!"

His dark eyes flashed at her again. "I don't care if you sold it or not, it's my commission and I'm taking it!" He then turned and stormed back to his desk, muttering under his breath.

Hayden didn't know what to say. She began to shake in a rage that was laced with embarrassment and outrage that some man would holler at her over a simple mistake. She wanted to tell him to take his little commission and shove it and then she wanted to run out the door, jump in her car and… wait… did he just call her pretty? This happens every time Fox hires another pretty girl… What in the hell? Was he blind?

Her heartbeat slowed as she contemplated the hidden meaning behind his words. Maybe he was just trying to soften the blow of his—no that wasn't it; he wasn't trying to soften anything. He was really pissed.

Hayden's own anger slowly began to diffuse, and she turned to go back to her desk. That was when she met Pam's eyes. The older woman quickly looked away, but not before Hayden saw the smug look on her face. Immediately, she knew that Pam had intentionally done this.

That was it! She was going to…

"Hey."

Her head swung over to Brian—or Brine, whatever his name was. His hand covered the mouthpiece of his phone, his brow still pulled into a deep frown. Crap, was he going to lay into her too? His customer had probably overheard the entire altercation, but it wasn't her fault if he lost his sale!

"Look, I didn't know about the re-runs-"

"Come over here. And bring your chair."

She hesitated. "Why?"

"So I can teach you how to sale vinyl." He then quickly moved his hand from the mouthpiece and continued talking to his customer in an animated, cheerful voice that didn't match the expression on his face. After another pause, Hayden got her chair and moved it in front of his desk.

Then she sat down and waited quietly for him to finish his call. He watched her as he talked to his customer. He sure did stare a lot. It unsettled her, or maybe it wasn't the staring as much as it was his big grey eyes that held an open expression. He was like a curious toddler taking in something new and interesting.

She returned his stare, hoping to teach him a lesson but it didn't appear to affect him. She allowed her eyes to roam his form, taking complete stock of him. He was too thin. She could see the sharp lines of his jaw with its after-five shadow.

He also seemed unnaturally pale, especially conspicuous because of the shadows beneath his eyes. Maybe he was getting over some type of illness. When he wasn't sickly-looking, he was probably quite handsome. He had thick blonde-brown hair that fell into his face threatening to disrupt his line of vision, but he didn't bother to move it aside. His fingers were drumming along his desk as he spoke, an almost nervous gesture, despite the calm, confident way that he spoke to his customer.

"Well Mr. Stanley, if you pay with a credit card I can knock another fifty dollars off the cost since I won't have to pay my man to come down to collect, fair enough? Alright sir, then I'll give you to Ginger who will get your credit card information. Hey, it was good doing business with you again. You have a good evening, too." He transferred the call and the smile that had been on his face while talking to his customer suddenly fell away.

"I'm sorry about that," he said.

She frowned. "About what?"

"Abdullah."

"Oh." She wondered why he was apologizing for Abdullah. "It's okay. I guess he didn't believe that I didn't know about re-runs."

His eyes flitted to Pam. Ah… so he probably suspected that she had done it on purpose, too. Maybe she always did this and Abdullah was always the one getting his sales stolen by the pretty girls that just happened to be poorly trained by Pam. The hateful heifer…

He got up and scribbled something on the board. As he did, his long thin body moved gracefully, despite the awkward angles of elbows and knees in loose fitting jeans and a long-sleeved polo shirt.

"You're Brian, right?" she asked when he was settled back behind his desk.