Page 4

I could really use a coffee. I’ve been awake since 4 a.m. and was out of the house so fast, I forgot to make myself one. I got to the store early so I could prepare all the paperwork for inventory with Kora. It’s not even 7 a.m. yet and already I want to go home and sleep. I place my mug underneath the spout of the coffee machine in the back room, when I hear the door open. I turn around to see Kora holding a takeaway coffee in one hand, and she places her purse on the table.

“Morning,” I say.

“Good morning. How many coffees have you had already?” she asks.

“Actually, this is only my first. I left the house so early this morning, I didn’t have a chance to make one.”

“Cody’s not here yet?”

she questions.

“Nope. But it’s not quite seven yet, I’m sure he’ll—”

The door opens once more and this time, Cody walks into the room. “Speak of the man himself,” I say.

“I’m sorry?”

Cody asks.

“Nothing. Kora was just asking if you’d arrived yet. I was about to say it wasn’t quite 7 a.m. yet and that you’d be here on time. And here you are.”

“Oh,”

he says, looking at me and then Kora.

I don’t know why, but I can feel a sort of tension between these two. While a part of me wants to ask the question and find out what’s going on, the other part is telling me to shut the fuck up and let them sort out whatever it is that they’re going through. I’m sure that if it’s anything that requires my attention, I’ll know about it one way or another. I’m also grateful that there have been no more unwelcoming advances from Cody. Not that there were technically any advances from the guy. It’s not like he’s made a pass at me. But the fact that he’s stopped having his eyes all over me is a relief. Now I can just concentrate on getting through the day and not worrying about another single thing. I hand Cody and Kora a clipboard and pen each, then after they’ve each punched in for the day, the three of us head out onto the store floor.

“We have two hours before the store opens for trade. That should give us enough time and allow for recounts in case of human error etcetera, etcetera. The final count needs to be submitted to the head office by 5 p.m. tomorrow, which means we keep doing this until we get it right.”

Cody nods in acknowledgment, and Kora smiles. I then separate them into different areas of the store, while I go to the accessories counter and begin counting the stock.

It takes us the entire day to get through the inventory, in between helping customers and dealing with the everyday running of the store. Cody and I scheduled all the team to come in and work today, so the three of us could concentrate on the inventory, and of course, all but one called in sick. So, Kora, Cody, and myself still had to assist customers while counting stock, which can be difficult when there are customers in the store. It’s after 5 p.m. when we add the figures of the count through the database and close the store, and once it’s submitted, I tell Kora that she can leave and Cody could close the store with me.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else you need? You can send Cody home and I’m happy to stay back and help you close,”

Kora offers.

“No, it’s all good. Besides, I have to run through some reports with Cody anyway, and it’s probably better we do them tonight before the figures are updated. Also, I can’t really afford to go over the wage budget anymore, and since Cody and I are on salary it doesn’t matter how late we stay back.”

“I can stay back in my own time. I honestly don’t mind.”

“I appreciate the enthusiasm, Kora, and I’ll keep it in mind for your next appraisal, but like I said, Cody and I have it all covered here. Now head on home and enjoy your night.”

She stares at me blankly for a few long seconds, but she doesn’t move. I really do appreciate her dedication to the job, and she is one of my best employees, but this was one of the reasons why I hired another manager. I needed to cut back on my wage budgets, so having two of us that are salary employees helps me keep the wages down because we can work without it paying overtime.

“Honestly, I don’t mind, really. I mean, I know what needs to be done and with two experienced staff members, we can get it done in no time.”

“Like I said, it’s fine. And I can’t have you stay here on your own time for insurance purposes. If something happens to you while you’re here and you’re not on the clock, insurance won’t pay out a work cover claim. Truly, Cody and I can handle it from here, there’s not too much more left to do anyway, so we won’t be here too late.”

“Aiden, I really want to stay and help.”

“Why are you pushing this, Kora? Is there some reason you’re trying to avoid going home?”

I ask her.

“No. It’s just … like I said, I really want to help and I think another set of eyes would ensure we got the best possible results for inventory.”

“And like I mentioned, I can’t have you here. But if you want to wait outside until we’re done, then you’re more than welcome to.”

“I won’t get in the way, I promise.”

“Honestly, Kora, what is going on? In the amount of time we’ve stood here having this conversation, Cody and I could have finished what we needed to do by now.”

“Nothing is going on, Aiden. I just—”

“She doesn’t want you and I to be left in the same room alone, together,”

Cody blurts out.

Silence blankets the room and I can honestly hear the sound of several pins dropping. I shift my focus from Kora to Cody.

“What are you talking about?”

I inquire.

“Ah, what he means is, that I don’t want the two of you to be in here alone together because … it’s dangerous and in case something happens, there should be someone else here.”

“Cut the bullshit, Kora. You got what you wanted. I’ve kept my distance from Aiden, just like you asked, so if the two of you want to get it on with each other, I will gladly get out of your way.”

“What is going on here?” I ask.

“Nothing!”

Kora adds quickly, and I notice her give Cody a death glare.

“Okay, someone better tell me what the hell is going on here and really quickly, too.”

“I told you, it’s nothing,”

she insists.

“She threatened me,”

Cody suddenly says.

“She what?”

“Cody, shut up,”

I hear Kora whisper through gritted teeth.

“A couple of weeks ago. It was right after I started working here. I was behind the counter when Kora approached me and warned me that if I didn’t stop ogling you, that she would spread a rumor. The rumor was that I told all the workers here that you’re gay and that you sucked my dick.”

“That’s a lie,”

Kora says.

“You and I both know it isn’t,”

Cody chimes in.

There’s more silence in the room, I move my attention from Cody to Kora.

“Is this true, Kora? Did you threaten him?”

“I … ah, all I wanted to do was scare him off a little.”

“Scare him off what?”

“Off you. Ever since he stepped foot in here, his eyes have been all over you. I can practically feel the testosterone whenever the two of you are in the room together.”

I stare at her, horrified. “Kora, why would—?”

And then the realization hits me. “Are you telling me that you’ve got the hots for me?”

She says nothing, and her silence says it all.

“I’ve liked you for some time, Aiden. And when I saw the way Cody was looking at you, I just got jealous and snapped.”

“You know I don’t date people I work with, Kora.”

“I know that. But I thought—”

“Thought what? That you’d start a bullshit rumor about me, hope that I would find out about it and fire Cody? Is that what you wanted?”

“I … I’m sorry. I just—”

“You’re sorry? Sorry isn’t going to cut it, Kora. You’re fired. Get your stuff and get out of my store.”

“You can’t fire me on the spot, just like that,” she says.

“Says who? Check your employment contract. There’s a section on there that specifies an instant dismissal for serious misconduct. And I’d say this is beyond serious. So, I have every right to fire you immediately.”

“Aiden, I—”

“Now, Kora. Or I’ll have security escort you out.”

She looks at the two of us, and when she’s about to say something, I give her a warning look. She then removes her lanyard from around her neck and slams it on the counter. I watch her go through the door to the back room, and after some time she returns back to the store with her purse and keys. She removes her jacket and throws it down on the counter on top of her lanyard.

“This job stinks anyway,” she says.

She moves toward the door, then with a final look back at me and Cody, she walks through it and leaves.

“Aiden, I—I’m really sorry. This wasn’t exactly how I wanted you to find out. In fact, I’d kind of hoped that you didn’t find out. But now that you have, I’m sorry.”

“I’m the one that should be sorry. I should have seen this coming. Kora has been acting weird for a while now. Even before you started working here, I guess it all makes sense now. I’m just sorry she had this over you this entire time.”

“It’s okay. I’m also sorry that I made you feel uncomfortable. Yes, I was … am attracted to you. But I’ve received your message loud and clear, and I will never cross that line.”

“I appreciate your honesty and respecting my boundaries. But that still doesn’t excuse the way Kora and I treated you. Okay, she may have threatened you, but I didn’t exactly handle the situation professionally. I could have handled it a lot better.”

I place both my palms down on the counter, completely ashamed of myself and unable to look at the man anymore. There was no harm done, and Cody didn’t make a single pass at me, and like I said, it isn’t the first time I’ve had women and men checking me out. It’s the society we live in, and as long as he kept his hands to himself and didn’t tell a single soul, what harm was he doing? None. Why the fuck was I such a prick to this guy? Was it really so terrible that he found me attractive? No! I was just an idiot who let my ego and pride get the better of me because I was worried about my reputation and I didn’t want to admit that a guy had feelings for me.

Fuck!

“I think we just need to finish up here and get home as quickly as possible,”

Cody says.

“Agreed,” I reply.

Jesus, this is the last thing I need right now. I know I’ve come clean to Cody about the way I handled the situation. But honestly, I really don’t like the idea of the two of us being alone together now that he’s admitted to finding me attractive. I know he said he’d never do anything inappropriate, but that doesn’t really ease my concerns. I just need to focus on getting this inventory done, and then the two of us can head home.

By the time we’re done entering the figures into the system, it’s well past 8 p.m.

A lot later than I’d anticipated. But nevertheless, our work for today is done, and we can head home. I place my phone and keys on the counter, then head to the back room to grab my backpack and place the money in the safe. As I unlock the safe, I hear Cody enter the room behind me.

“Are we all done?” he asks.

“Yes. I’m just locking the money in the safe. If you want to hit the lights, we can get out of here.”

“Gotcha,”

he replies.

I get to my feet, and as Cody flicks the switches for the lights in the store, the door to the back room closes.

“All done,”

Cody replies and reaches for the door handle. He gives it a jiggle but it remains closed.

“Ah, shit. The door locked. Do you have your keys?”

he asks, looking at me.

I pat down the outside of my pants pockets and my eyes widen, horrified, as I realize that my keys are outside, in the store, resting on the counter next to my phone.

“They’re outside on the counter,” I say.

He too pats down the outside of his pants pockets. And when his eyes meet mine, the seriousness of the situation hits us both.

“Please tell me your keys aren’t out in the store, too?”

He nods.

“What about your phone?”

“It’s on the counter too. I was just coming back here to get my jacket and then wait for you.”

Fuck!

With no way out, I begin banging on the door as hard as I can.

“Hello? Is anyone out there? We’re trapped in here!” I yell.

It’s after hours. The mall has been closed for over three hours now, and unless a security guard happens to be wandering around, no one can hear us screaming. I continue banging loudly on the door and shouting ‘help’ but my screams go unheard.

“Now what?”

Cody asks.

“I have no fucking idea. The last thing I need is to be stuck in here with you.”

I say that last part a little too loudly, and it’s my frustration at the situation more than anything else.

“Yeah, well, I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea of being trapped in here with you either.”

Okay, I totally deserved that. And it’s not the ideal situation to be in. But with everything that’s just gone down with Kora, I really don’t like the idea of being in this compromising situation.

“Isn’t there like a security alarm or something to alert someone that we’re trapped in here?”

Cody questions, looking around the tiny back room.

“No. The mall has its own alarm to evacuate the entire center, but none of the stores have their own individual alarm.”

“So, what you’re saying is, no one knows that we’re locked in here?”

“Nope,”

I reply, as I continue to bang on the door.

“Well, that’s just fucking perfect, isn’t it?”

I stop slamming my fist on the door, then turn around so that I’m staring at Cody, and my eyes lock with his.

“Getting pissed off isn’t going to improve the situation,” I add.

“There’s got to be a way out of here,”

Cody says, looking around the room before banging his fists on the door again. “Help! We’re in here. Can anyone hear us?”

It’s been over an hour since we’ve been locked in this tiny room, and it’s starting to get really hot in here. I unclip the last button on my polo shirt and run my hands through my hair. I think it’s safe to assume that the two of us are going to be stuck in here for some time, possibly even all night.

“Fuck. This is useless,”

Cody blurts out.

“You’ve done nothing but bitch since we’ve been locked in here. Why don’t you just shut up and accept the fact that we’re probably going to be stuck here all night.”

“All night? In here? With you? Fuck that!”

He moves toward the door and starts banging his fists on it again, yelling and screaming.

“Give it a rest, Cody. We’ve been trying for over an hour and no one has heard us. Face it. We’re stuck in here.”

“Argh!”

“I’m actually surprised that you’re not gloating right now,”

I tell him.

“And why the hell would I be gloating about being trapped inside a tiny room at night, with my boss?”

“It’s the perfect scenario, isn’t it? The boss trapped in a room with an employee who is infatuated with him,” I say.

“Infatuated? Seriously? Don’t flatter yourself. You’re really not that great-looking,”

he admits, turning his head away and then he sits down on one of the chairs.

“Try saying that to my face after you’ve first convinced yourself.”

“What? You’re the one who told me to back off and not try anything or you’d have me fired. Or was that just bullshit because maybe somewhere deep down you’re attracted to me too?”

“You’re totally full of yourself. There’s no way I’d be interested in a guy like you even if I was gay, which I’ve already made perfectly clear that I’m not.”

Okay, that was a lot harder to admit than I would have liked.

“Mhmm, and how’s that working out for you?”

Cody asks.

I move toward the door again and begin pounding on it hard with my fists. I know it’s pointless, but fuck if I’m going to spend another damn minute in this room with this guy. I have to try something. Anything, to get the fuck out of here and away from him.

“You have no answer, do you? And maybe that’s because it’s true. You’re in denial and won’t admit to yourself that maybe there is a small part of you that’s attracted to me.”

“And you’re pathetic. Once we get out of here, I’m going to go straight to HR and see to it that you’re transferred to another store. Somewhere far away from me so that I never have to see you again.”

Cody gets to his feet and heads to the door. I don’t turn to face him but when he stops right beside me, I feel his body press against mine.