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Skittering across the floor just outside of the elevator doors was a spider with a blue back.
9
Anxious
Gwendolyn
Gwendolyn had spent the entire bus ride thinking about the spider and how much she wished someone else would call management about it. Gwendolyn would do it herself if her building had a submission form on their website that actually worked. Like many other things, Gwendolyn avoided using her phone for its original intended purpose. She even had her dentist and doctor’s appointments handled through email and text.
Fuck, you have to get your teeth cleaned Thursday!
“Goddamn it,” she whispered as she exited the bus.
The bus stop was across the street from the long stretch of parking lot. Master Basting’s location was on one end, with multiple smaller businesses all in a line with it. It was convenient for most people. Gwendolyn’s pharmacy was right next door, followed by a pet store, office supplies, and her new dentist office.
Gwendolyn had switched over to them when Master Basting had rolled out their new insurance plan. It wasn’t new as in good, but Dr. Wilson did take her insurance, and the lady who cleaned her teeth six months ago had at least been gentle.
Small—very small blessings,Gwendolyn thought as she pressed the button to the cross walk.
The moment the light changed, Gwendolyn stepped into the crosswalk. When a car horn honked, she tried not to flinch at the sound. When she heard the lewd cat call, Gwendolyn ignored it altogether. Just anotherfunmoment in her fucking annoying day.
Gwendolyn had only narrowly avoided being hit by two minivans before she made it to the front doors of Master Basting. It shifted the average down by one, but the middle-aged woman who shoved her cart at her while demanding Gwendolyn put it away might as well have counted as another.
It’s just gonna be another wonderful day in hell, isn’t it?
She waved at Catie on her way in—mostly because Catie waved first—surprised the new hire was already alone at the checkout counter. Mary was usually very strict about leaving newbies alone. She claimed it wasn’t good for team building to let a new hire run solo before they got acquainted with the way the store ran things.
What does she even have to worry about? This is a hobby store, not a Walmart. At most, we call the EMT during Black Friday because two ladies fought over the last Christmas elf.
Gwendolyn continued to wave to some of the stocking and unloading crew. She liked them well enough, as they were a lot quieter than the workers on the floor. Granted, she couldn’t remember their names to save her life. She wasbetter at remembering faces, likes, or dislikes than actual names.
Ambrosius is easy to remember because no one has a name like—
She visibly winced.
Why was she thinking about him again? Fuck, could she be fixating on him? The last thing Gwendolyn wanted was to give what precious space she had in her exhausted brain to that pompous jackass.
Gwendolyn was grumbling about her dislike of the antique store owner when she pushed the break room door open. Inside was the familiar sight of Sierra’s back as she sat with her legs crossed and Tom at his locker.
Tom was young, brunette, and the same kind of burn-under-fifteen-minutes white as Sierra was. He was an okay worker. A mixture of stock and clerk work, depending on what Mary needed. He was flexible enough—a skill he often demonstrated with how often he would switch schedules at the last minute.
He also had a pair of baby blues that seemed to keep Sierra’s attention for longer than appropriate. Sierra had chosen a chair nearest to the lockers, practically falling out of her seat as she and Tom exchanged … friendly banter? Flirting? Or was it foreplay?
Oh, good. I get to be an unwilling voyeur to whatever the fuck this is.
She had always heard people describe lust between people as something you could almost taste. Like an electric charge in the air. Maybe it was the pheromones—Gwendolyn wasn’t a scientist, so she couldn’t say for sure. But whatever it was, it was physically turning Gwendolyn’s stomach. Which was odd, as Gwendolyn hadn’t eaten anything that would cause an upset stomach. Coffee rarely disagreed with her.
When Sierra reached up to tug on Tom’s shirt, a gesture meant to pull him down toward her, Gwendolyn had enough. She cleared her throat loudly as she continued to the wall of lockers. The couple of—whatever—appeared bashful. Which suited Gwendolyn just fine if it meant Tom moved away from her work locker.
It’s like fucking high school all over again,Gwendolyn rolled her eyes as she shoved her purse inside her locker.
“Hi, Gwendolyn!” Sierra chirped. Unsurprising, as Gwendolyn wasn’t sure Sierra had a setting outside of chirp and whine.
“Hey, Gwen,” Tom waved—a half-assed attempt, as he was clearly still focused on Sierra. “Oh, gotta go, my break’s almost over. See you on the floor, Sierra!”
Tom left before Gwendolyn could correct him on using a shortened version of her name.Gwenwas what her boyfriend called her, what family and close friends called her. Not many people called her Gwen anymore, and Gwendolyn would have preferred to keep it that way.
“So, what did you do last night?” Sierra asked.