Chapter 7

Belatedly I realized, when I arrived at work, that Ry would be starting full time today, now that Darlene had fully handed over the reins. I was polite with him when we interacted, and he barely met my eyes as he outlined the list of things he needed done. I thanked him and went on my way. No skin off my back.

At break that morning, Buzz related his weekend activities, then asked me if I’d gotten laid

“Why?” I said while chewing on a bagel slathered with peanut butter and jelly.

“You’re glowing, sweetie. I haven’t seen you look like this since I met you. What’s his name?”

I laughed. “There’s no one, I promise you. I just made some life decisions this weekend that gave me a hopeful outlook. Maybe that’s it.”

“Well good for you, though I’d hoped you’d found the time to bump and grind with hottie manager Mr. Ry.”

I glowered briefly before my face cleared. “I’m sure he’s happy with Trent.”

Buzz snorted. “Everybody’s happy with Trent, for about five minutes, and then they get real. Speaking of which, the hussy is actually scowling today. He’s been growling at everybody. Maybe he didn’t get any this weekend. Which would be odd, knowing how determined our boy is to have his hole plowed.”

“Who the fuck cares? It’s his life, right?”

Buzz stared at me. “Look at you, being all forthright and shit. Those life decisions must be something.”

I grinned. “They certainly are.”

* * * *

I took great joy in getting all my paperwork together, procuring my transcript, and preparing for my classes to start in the summer. I ended up going with a work-study program as a teacher’s assistant for the liberal arts department at the university I’d be attending. It still wasn’t enough to pay everything, but I could drop one of my jobs. I just had to decide which one.

In the meantime, work continued. I would get very little sleep in the near future, but it would be worth it to be able to move into something less soul-sucking after this was all done.

Ry avoided me unless he needed a task performed on the main floor. Neither of us apologized to each other for the potential human-resources nightmare we’d spawned by our accusations that day. I also noticed that he and Trent rarely talked, and Trent, for his part, had done a complete about-face, not flirting, teasing, or being snarky with anyone. Buzz and I speculated as to why that was, but neither of us had an answer. I gave it little thought otherwise.

* * * *

Toward the end of May, I went to the grocery store to do some shopping. It was a Sunday afternoon and warm outside. As I walked through the produce section choosing gala apples and bananas, I almost ran into Ry, focused as I was on texting Roger, with whom I’d been spending some time—he, his boyfriend, and I. He’d sent me a funny picture and I was giggling as I typed.

“Watch where you’re going, Georgie,” Ry said as I came to a sudden halt before smacking into his broad chest.

I glanced up briefly, then looked away as I stuck the phone in my back pocket. “Apologies.” I started to go around him, but he placed a hand on my arm.

“Hey, wait up. Can I talk to you, please?”

I shook him off. “I’m a customer today, and it could be construed as flirting and completely inappropriate behavior for you to be seen cavorting with me. After all, you’re not the desperate one, I am. Isn’t that the gist of what you said a while ago?”

He frowned. “I may have phrased my words poorly. I—”

“But you probably said what you really meant, right?” I asked, talking over him. This wasn’t the best place to go into this, but it needed to be done. “Look, I apologize for my tone and the disrespect I showed you as your subordinate that day. I meant what I said, but that didn’t mean I had to be so snarky about it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish shopping as I have other errands to run before catching the bus home. Have a nice afternoon, Mr. Archibald.” I stepped around him and went in search of sweet potatoes.

Damn it, he followed. “Are you ever going to talk to me without that fucking stiff upper lip of yours?” he groused as I chose two bunches of organic kale. Thank God for the employee discount. That shit was pricey.

“We have nothing to say to each other. I’m sure you have your hands full with Trent. Wouldn’t want him to get jealous or anything.”

“He offered it up, and I took it a few times. He’s a hot lay, and it’s a free country. What the hell is wrong with that?”

I felt my stomach drop but ignored it. “Nothing at all, unless you’re feeling guilty, for some reason. What, his ass wasn’t tight enough for you? He is used goods, after all.” Okay, that was uncharitable of me. I sighed. “You’re both adults. What you do with each other is none of my business.” I tossed hair out of my eyes, which were kohl-lined, something I did only when I was away from work. “Don’t you have manager things to do? Bye now.” I left him in my figurative dust and headed toward the health and beauty section, thankful he’d been waylaid by a customer.