I swear that he’s toying with me sometimes but what would be the point of that? Does he like when he gets a reaction out of me? Does he think that I’ll bow down to him like everyone else in his life does? That I’ll play the good wife and do exactly what he wants.
“Wait, let me get this straight, you’re mad because he gave you money? Do I have that right? I’m not seeing the problem here.” Cindy leans back in her chair looking out into the hallway. I follow her line of sight to see Jeff standing out there looking our way. I snap my head back.
“Stop looking at him or he’ll come this way,” I whisper to her. Jeff is a total jerk. I don’t have to deal with him often because we work different shifts. There’s something about him that creeps me out so I stay as far away from him as possible.
He is the night manager at Good Foods while I am the assistant day manager. He likes to remind me of his title any chance he gets. I always laugh inside because if he’s trying to intimidate me, it's not working. I could care less about his position here. My own billionaire husband can’t even control me. So I’m sorry to break it to Jeff, but he has no chance.
“He’s got a thing for you.”
“He’s got a weird way of showing it,” I mutter, finishing the rest of the donut. “I’m married,” I remind her. It is one good thing about being in this marriage. I have an easy out whenever I am asked out. Not that I am asked often but it happens every now and then.
“I know and he’s pissed you’re married so instead he’s a jerk to you. Kind of like your husband.”
“He’s not a jerk.” I clamp my mouth shut. My husband is a jerk. Still, I have this weird need to defend him. Only I’m allowed to call my husband names.
Cindy just snorts. “Let's focus here. So we have money to spend. That’s what this boils down to.”
“I’m not spending the money.” What is there to buy anyway? I want for nothing. That’s a lie. I want for nothing that costs money. There are so many other things I want in life but they don’t have a price tag on them. That’s a rabbit hole I don’t want to go down right now while I’m at work. I have to focus on being pissed at my husband.
Cindy looks at me for a few moments as though she’s considering something. “There’s always something to buy. Let me think about this for a second.”
I roll my eyes at her, knowing she’s going to come up with something completely ridiculous. I pop one of my fries into my mouth while I wait for her suggestion. I could use a good laugh. I am still mad from last night. I didn't get to enjoy the meal Marth made.
“Hello, ladies.” Jeff's voice sends chills down my spine. “Breaktime is almost over.” He taps his watch. He’s not even working right now so I’m not sure what he’s doing here.
“We have fifteen minutes,” Cindy reminds him in a dismissive tone.
He glares at her. “You should eat with management.” Jeff turns his attention back on me.
“Is that a rule?” I don’t remember that being in the handbook. I read that thing from front to back when I got the job. I know it doesn’t state it but I like giving Jeff a hard time.
“No, but you shouldn’t mingle with the regular employees.” He shakes his head at me like I’m a naughty child before turning and stomping off. Making it clear who the real child is.
“You should buy this place and make his life hell.”
I bark out a laugh. “That would be fun.” I let out a long sigh. I don't love my job but it fills the time. It’s better than sitting at home being ignored by the person that is supposed to love you the most in the world.
“I’m not joking. Think about all the food we could eat because you’d own it all.”
I have to admit that she makes a good point. The fact that it will probably piss off my husband only makes it sweeter. I don’t know why I enjoy sparring with him, but I do. It’s the only time I can get a reaction out of him. Even if whatever he says pisses me off.
“How do we even buy a grocery store? I don’t know what they cost.”
Cindy sits up a little straighter. “You're really thinking about this. Please tell me you’re thinking about this. Man, this would be some serious job security for me. Can I have Jeff’s job? Wait. No, I don’t want that responsibility. Give it to me for five minutes and I’ll fire him and then you demote me back to a cashier. I can’t deal with management power. Things will escalate quickly.”
“I think they already have.”
3
Heath
“I’ll hold,” I say to Kale Blank. Blank is the owner of the biggest Manhattan hedge fund. Forbes has him listed as one of the wealthiest men in America at $4 billion in net worth. You wouldn’t know it by the way he’s dressed in sweats, a hoodie and sneakers that he might have bought at the same drugstore where Orchard bought hers.
“I’ll take two. These are shit cards. Who said Blank should be dealer?” complains Forest Wright, current reigning Super Bowl champion quarterback. He’s the one who should be wearing the sweats but for some reason chose to come wearing custom tailored wool pants, a collared shirt, sweater and bow tie.
“It’s his turn to host and the host deals. What’s with the tie?” asks Garner Redmond. He’s the brains of our group—a scientist with more patents than Wright has football cleats. He says he doesn’t count the cards, but no one believes him. He only wins one out of every five hands. No one can be that precisely unlucky.
“I had a date.” He picks up his cards and then tosses the whole hand in disgust. “I fold.”
“It’s nine. Shouldn’t you be in the heart of the date by now?” I toss in two more dollars to raise the other three.
“She asked to see my trophy case before the appetizer came,” he scowls. “And, no, it wasn’t a euphemism. She told me she wore black because she thought it would show well with all the gold on the trophies. I don’t know why I keep putting myself out there. All these women want is to have a photo op for their gram. Where’d you find Orchard?”
“A shipyard.”
“That’s right.” Wright snaps his fingers. “I forgot. You went to buy the shipyard and came home with a wife. Maybe I should start buying businesses.”
“You have the car dealerships. I’m sure there are women that buy cars.”
“Hmm.” He seems to take this into consideration.
“I‘ll see your two dollars and call,” says Blank, laying out his flush.
I fold my cards into a neat pile and place them in front of the discards. I had only a measly pair of fives, but felt like bluffing. A man knows when to give in. Blank gathers up the kitty and starts to stack his bills. “Speaking of buying businesses, I didn’t know you were in the market for a grocery chain. Are you moving into the food industry now?”
“Food?” The only connection I have with food is Orchard’s job.
“Yeah.” He sticks the cards into the shuffler and picks up a snifter of brandy. “One of my clients heard that you were making moves on Good Foods and wanted to know if he should buy in.”