5 Hours

I grimaced, glancing around the little shop, then retrieved the hat and bracelet thing. The hat was a plain, boring visor, black, red, and gray plaid in color. The bracelet though, that was peculiar and piqued my interest. 

It was silver, the same intricate whirls and loops as the table outside and the floor tile pattern within. It was decorated with colored stones, amethyst, ruby, emerald, and garnet the only ones I could identify offhand. Attached to the bracelet by a thin, braided silver chain, was a ring that had the shape of a key engraved on it. 

"Pretty." I mumbled to myself. "But why would that guy have thrown this at me as if it was something important to the store? And so emphatically too?"

"It's the keys to the store." A voice stated from behind me. The voice was low, but definitely female. 

Turning, I saw a tall woman, wearing a white blouse, black pencil cut skirt, and high heels, making her even taller. I knew that, if I stood too close, I'd have to crane my neck back to meet her eyes, so I just stayed in my seat as she made her way to me. As she moved closer, her ice blond hair, cut to just below her ears, swayed gently. Her eyes, an emerald green, gleamed with mischief.

"Hello." I nodded to her. "You must be Malakai's assistant that is here to take over the store."

"Oh, no. Not at all." She denied. "I'm Eve, Malakai's liaison with the store proprietor. He asked me to walk you through the store and how it works." She held her well manicured hand toward me, indicating she wanted to shake.

"Bridgette Lethe." I introduced myself and shook her hand. I tried not to wince as I felt how soft her hand was compared to my own work roughened palm and chewed up fingernails.

"Yes, Malakai told me your name. It's a pleasure to meet you Bridgette." She paused. "May I call you Bridgette? We're rather informal here."

"Sure." I agreed. 

"Good, good." Eve nodded her head like a bobble doll. "Now, come back to the storage room, we have a uniform already for you to change into." She led the way behind the counter and through the doorway.

I followed cautiously. New room with a strange person...I wondered if this was a trafficking ring or something else. But all I saw was a large white room with a stairwell leading up and down in the back. In the middle of the white room was a black box with crimson stripes across each corner.

"Here, see?" Eve grinned and picked up the box, handing it to me. "All for you. I'll leave you here to change. When you're ready, please come back out and I'll walk you through the rest."

How in the hell did they know my size? I wondered as I opened the box and pulled the black with red stripes across the bottom of the shirt, the end of the sleeves, and the collar that I unbuttoned. The pants weren't pants, I found out, but a black plaid mini skirt with gray, red, and black as the colors. It fluffed out under with gray petticoat like things, which made it poof out from my hips, thankfully enough to cover my rear end. 

Black and gray thigh highs with gray tennis shoes rounded out the ensemble. After finishing dressing, I glared down at myself. This is ridiculous. I grumbled mentally. This outfit was inevitably going to draw unwanted attention.

It's only for five hours, I reminded myself. Just five. I can do this. I convinced myself, even as I tugged the hemline trying to cover my rear further.

"Oh, yes!" Eve nodded approvingly. "I knew it would fit you when I saw you."

"You've got to be kidding me on the uniform. That other guy...Duffy? He didn't have to wear something like this." I propped my hands on my hips and scowled at her.

"That's one of the reasons Duffy wasn't working out." Eve explained. "He wouldn't follow the store rules and refused to open when he should. He also was not able to adapt and did not take surprises well. We were going to let him go, but we needed to find a suitable candidate to replace him."

"I hope you find that candidate soon." I eyed her. "You are conducting interviews, aren't you?"

"Actually, yes. Your interview started just a few minutes ago." Eve grinned brightly at me, showing her teeth. "You're doing well so far."

"Um, no. I didn't volunteer to work here." I frowned at her. "I'm being paid..."

"2500 for five hours of work." Eve shook her head. "I do wish Malakai would let me handle negotiations. When he told me about you, I immediately began digging into your background. You work as a telemarketer making way too little to live in this city comfortably. You eat ramen noodles and cereal, mostly dry since milk is expensive. You live on the bad edge of town in a crumbling studio apartment that is one sneeze away from becoming condemned. You are currently looking for a career that pays more so that you can live in the city and not have to return home and disappoint your parents as well as yourself." Again, that creepy grin that showed all her teeth.

"I did not consent to a background check." I gritted out.

"Yes, mostly everyone who works here doesn't, at first." Eve sighed, looking helpless. "But, in the end, they forgive me."

"Look Eve, I really don't want..." I tried to get a word in to let her know how unhappy I was and that I wasn't going to work here.

"Now, lets talk about what we can offer you." Eve cut me off again. "We're prepared to offer you double your current rate, a commission on sales, and great medical, dental, and vision benefits. You'll need to open at 9AM and close at midnight."

"Double my current wage to work in an ice cream shop that hasn't had a person come in for about an hour now?" I tilted my head, eyes narrowed. "What's the catch?"

"No catch." Eve denied. "We offer accommodations for you on the second floor. The third floor is for Malakai when he pops in occasionally. Also, all the ice cream you want, as long as it doesn't leave the shop area."

Room and board, double my pay, and a commission? I rolled my tongue across my teeth. "This is too good to be true. No employer is this giving."

"A happy employee is a happy store." Eve chirped at me. "We can call this next five hours a trial run for you, if you like. Or, we can sign the contract right now for a regular work day to begin tomorrow at the aforementioned rate."

I did hate my job. And ice cream was good. If I signed the contract, they would be forced to pay me. Plus, I get 2500 no matter what today. There was a chance that, if I asked to think about it, they'd find someone else and I'd regret it. I didn't want to miss out on something that sounded so good.

"I'll sign." I decided. "At the agreed upon terms."

"I thought you might." Eve reached into the cross body satchel. "I took the liberty of drawing up the contract for you, all terms and conditions input already. Please, read it, and then sign."

I took my time, reading every word and making sure I understood the contract thoroughly. Then, I took the pen she held out to me and placed the nib on the signature line. 

"OUCH!" I shouted. I dropped the pen and jerked my hand back. "What the fuck?" I squeaked, sucking on my finger.

The pen had stabbed me, or something, and I bled. A drop of my blood fell on the contract. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Eve tsked. "That must be my old pen. I keep meaning to throw out, but always forget. The metal clip on it is bent and has a sharp edge. Here, please try again."

She handed me another pen and I took it, signed quickly, then put my finger back in my mouth as it was still bleeding. Eve took the contract with a final scary smile and tucked it into the satchel.

"Perfect!" Eve sang out. "Now, let me walk you through. The bracelet and ring are the keys to the store, as I stated earlier. Our hours are 9AM to midnight. You'll need to wear your uniform or you forfeit employment. The upstairs accommodations are move in ready. Duffy never took advantage of them." Eve shrugged. "Then again, he was only hired this morning. Really a shame." She shook her head with disappointment.

"Alright." I glanced around. "This doesn't seem to different from the sandwich shop I worked at when I was sixteen, except it's ice cream instead of sandwiches."

"Yes, exactly. Now, one question for you. How do you handle out of the ordinary happenings?" Eve's eyes were focused on me.

"I don't know." I admitted, thoughtful. "I've never had an out of the ordinary thing happen. But, I like to think I'd take it in stride. I'm always the calmest in the middle of a crisis and will wait until it's over to have my breakdown. And a breakdown rarely happens to me because I've already dealt with the crisis, so why t excited later about it."

"Good, excellent!" Eve clapped. "Go ahead and put the bracelet and ring on. Either hand, doesn't matter."

I clipped the bracelet on after sliding the ring on.