Hell, the first thing out of my mouth had been, “Let me get someone who can help you with any questions you might have on those rods.”
I had tried, and I knew I had tried to avoid having to stand there like a dummy. I’d memorized most of the prices for the models we carried. I even had a couple of the brands we carried burned into my brain, but that was absolutely it. What the differences between them were, much less why they should get a longer rod versus a shorter one, or even what kind of fishing—or angling as some customers had called it—they were used for, I had no clue.
So when the man who had to be in his early fifties ignored my words and went ahead and asked, “What’s the difference between these? Why is this one twice the price?” I’d been pretty resigned.
If we’d been less busy, I could have yelled for Clara across the room. But she was behind the rental counter, talking to a small family about something. Jackie was in the back taking her break, and the only part-time employee I’d met—for the first time that morning—had hung around for about two hours before waving and saying he’d be back.
Clara and I had looked at each other from across the room, and I’d suddenly understood, even more so than before, how much of a pickle she was in with employees.
For the record, he hadn’t come back.
The two men though kept on ignoring me trying to pawn them off on Clara.
I was glad and relieved that they weren’t being mean or impatient, but I couldn’t help but have my feelings be hurt anyway. I knew that I had gotten myself out of more pickles than I could ever count because some people found me attractive and I was pretty friendly by nature. Despite getting pulled over at least ten times, I had never gotten a ticket, even though some of my friends claimed I drove like a maniac. I just didn’t like to waste time. What was wrong with that? My cousins had teased me nonstop for the way people treated me for something I’d had nothing to do with.
But at the same time, my genetics were kind of a curse. Some men tended to be misogynistic. Sometimes I got treated like I was an airhead. And a lot of times, I got more attention than I wanted, especially when it was the uncomfortable kind.
I listened and I tried my best at just about everything, and I had a good heart—as long as you hadn’t wronged me. And all those things were a lot more important to me than what was on the outside.
I didn’t want to get babied. It made me uncomfortable.
And it took me a moment to collect myself enough to give the well-intentioned men a sweet smile. “Let me get my boss to help you. I’m new, and I haven’t gotten familiar with everything yet.”
The one with more gray hair than the other glanced at my boobs so quickly I was pretty sure he thought he was so slick I hadn’t noticed. “Don’t you worry, beautiful.”
I wanted to sigh, but I just smiled all over again.
And that’s when the door opened and the last figure I would have expected to come in, did.
Well, not the last, but one of them.
It was the uniform on that long, strong body that caught my eye first.
He was already looking at me. And if he was surprised, I wouldn’t have been able to tell because of the sunglasses he had on. Well, that and the fact that the customers decided to keep talking.
“What’s a pretty thing like you doing working here instead of a clothing store? Or maybe a jewelry store? I’d bet you’d sell everything in one those.”
Pretty much any other job but this one was what they were hinting at.
I was trying my best. I really was. But it had only been a couple weeks.
I slid my gaze back to the less gray-haired man. “I’m not really that fashionable, and I don’t wear much jewelry.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Mr. Rhodes wandered farther into the store, but I could tell he was still looking at me.
“One of my friends is a lawyer in town; he might be looking to hire a new secretary if I put in a good word for you,” the one with the most amount of gray hair said.
Did he insinuate he’d hint at his friend to fire his current employee to hire me?
I shook my head and tried to give him another smile. “That’s all right, I like it here.” When I wasn’t screwing up. And when people weren’t petting me on the head like it was okay for me to not know things.
Fortunately, they settled on a rod on their own, and I rang him up and did my best to ignore the way they both kept staring at my face and boobs. When he took the receipt and rod out of my hands, I gave them both a smile and only let myself sigh once they were out of there.