Josie is a sales associate by day and a lollipop-sucking hacker by night. She likes to stay in and feel the keys underneath her fingertips. When she decides to grace her friends at a club, she stumbles across a man who seems to send every part of he...
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"The lunch break is only thirty minutes, Josie!" I hear my manager say just as I clock out for lunch. Something he says every time I go to lunch. Thirty-minute lunches are a fucking tease. My lunch doesn't start until I get my food.
"I know, Adam. I don't know why you feel it's necessary to tell me that every time I go to lunch." I roll my eyes and prepare to walk out of the store. A boss like Adam would make you feel like you are in hell. I started working here during college and should have left when my favorite manager, Mayleen, left. With a roll of my eyes, I walk out of the store with a lollipop in hand. The whole countdown from ten is useless to me. I find that sweets calm me down better. Also, eating candy stops you from saying some foul shit at times.
"Because you never take a 30-minute lunch. It's always an hour. It messes up everyone else's lunchtime." He looks at me with—dare I say disgust.
"Oh, relax, Adam. There are only four employees who work a day, and I always have my lunch last." I glance at my watch. "Just talking to you has caused me to add another ten minutes onto this lunch."
"Just go, Josie." He dismissively waves me off.
Lucky for him, today won't be a long lunch. I'm just going to stock up on some lollipops. It's been a week since I encountered Storm, and thankfully, I haven't seen him since. I do know Lynn has been fucking Luca since that night. She doesn't have to tell me. When she didn't answer my calls two days ago, I checked her location, and it was unknown to me, but with a little hacking, I found the exact address, and it belonged to Luca Cavallo.
I let her have it.
Luca is outlasting all the men Lynn has dealt with in the past. I live vivacious through her. I've been crowned a cock-tease by my friends. I will only go as far as kissing, and even that is meh. Yet, with Storm, I was ready to end my celibacy. I was ready to hang up the crown. The silent rejection from him was enough to make me backtrack. Besides, Storm wasn't the kind of man you took home to meet your mother. Hell, he was old enough to be my father—okay, I'm pushing it, but he is older—fifteen years to be exact.
As the day went on, surprisingly enough, it went smoothly, and Adam left me alone for the most part because I came back on time. Thankfully, I wasn't closing tonight and I had time to make it to the food court to snag me something to eat before heading home. I try my hardest to ease the burden off my mother as much as possible. It's the beginning of the month, which means rent is due—so we won't have much of anything left. Both of our income is not enough to cover the rent, utilities, and all the other necessities.
So, I limit myself to spending only on Fridays. I get enough lollipops to last two weeks, and then I get a cheap meal off the dollar menu at Rea's Burgerdelights.
The chime melody ringing in my back pocket has me sighing with defeat. I already know what Lynn wants. It's Friday, and she probably wants to go out. Going out with her might include Luca and that is the last person I want to see. Hell, I don't even know him, but I'm sure Storm will be lurking somewhere in the shadows.
