Strictly Pleasure

Part 13

Realizing he had been silent for a little too long under Heidi's watchful eye, Jek cleared his throat and looked down at her resume as he mentally tossed about for whatever line of inquiry he could grab. "What do you know about the store?"

Heidi's eyebrows ticked upward, not expecting that particular question. Other job interviewers had lobbed similar at her, but it was employment that was a little more hoity-toity than a sex store. At least it gave her a cover, she realized, since she had scoured the Internet for the history of Strictly Pleasure and, namely, Jek's grandmother. It was all to slake her own curiosity, of course. Nothing to do with Jek.

"After receiving a windfall of money, Mizra Gruval-Korgak opened Strictly Pleasure about sixty years ago. She curated the media and merchandise toward more ethical companies in the sex work industry and rarely catered niches." "About ten years ago, Gujek Korgak - famed vocalist and guitarist of Theoretical Menace - took over the company, improved safety protocols, and carried in his grandmother's legacy of ethical practices."

Heidi barely refrained from mentioning the famed Fuck Futon. The phrase wasn't exactly interview appropriate, she thought.

Not that she even needed to utter the words. Jek could feel them teetering on her lips and he waited to see if she'd cave. When she didn't, he hummed, caught between amusement and disappointment. Scanning over her resume, he decided to prod at another area he was curious about. "I assume you're looking to quit your current job?"

"Yes, I've been on the lookout for a better paying job. Plus the hours you posted give me more time to be around my kid." Over the weeks since her last outing, Malachai had admitted to missing her. After years of having her as a work-from-home mom, or a mom with a part-time job, the adjustment to full-time working mother was still an adjustment for him.

Strictly Pleasure's overnight shift let her work while Malachai slept and, while he was at school, she would sleep. Admittedly, a nap or an energy drink during her work nights was probably going to be needed. If the situation eased the transition for her son, however, Heidi was more than happy to suffer through sleep deprivation.

"Do you understand what it's like to work at a shop in our industry?" Jek tilted a look at Heidi, gauging how romanticized she might have considered working at a sex shop. There'd been a number of people who daydreamed of nightly salacious going-ons or high employee discounts, though those were usually the college-aged applicants. Still more thought it'd be a mostly dead job, not realizing just how horny the world at large was.

"Not exactly," Heidi admitted, frowning a little before sitting straighter, trying to evoke an air of confidence she didn't really feel. "But I am curious and eager for a challenge."

Jek gave a single nod, steepling his fingers as he raised his eyebrows and leaned forward a little. "Give me your best idea of what you think it'll be like."

The vague movement of him leaning closer to her should not have sent such a rush through Heidi. She fought down the flush threatening to spill over her lips as she dropped her attention from Jek's intense green gaze. It was fine to look away, she told herself. She was thinking, imagining, what the job might entail.

"I imagine it's a lot like another store. Stocking shelves, cleaning bathrooms and other messy areas of the place." In her lap, her hands fidgeted as she thought. Heidi scrambled to think of circumstances more specifically suited for a sex shop. "Otherwise, I imagine I'd have to sell sex-related products. Help people find the toys and implements that suit their needs or find media that suits their tastes? Perhaps overview safety pointers?"

Nodding to her words, a little relief danced through Jek's thoughts. Well, at least she didn't have starry-eyed expectations. She seemed to have a fairly mundane understanding of the job. Not to mention, she got extra points for considering safety precautions. But it still didn't touch on the hardest aspect of the job: the customers. "That's vaguely the job, but working with the customers? What do you think that'll be like? Especially for one as yourself."