Unlikely Knight

Chapter Five

Gwen's fluttering heart woke her up in the middle of a dream about a smoldering hot guy whispering in her ear. She blinked a few times as she opened her eyes, but the warm feeling she was cocooned in didn't go away, even though she was all alone. What a difference a night makes, she thought. Everything that she had thought about him was completely wrong, and she had never been so grateful in her entire life.

She jumped into the shower to clean up, wishing she could stay in the shower and ignore the pile of schoolwork sitting in her room that she didn't work on at all yesterday. She dried off, put on a pair of leggings and a warm sweater, and then sat down at her desk to start working on her assignment on her laptop. They seemed to be never-ending, and she was really looking forward to finally finishing school as daunting as the whole prospect seemed. She tried to lose herself in her assignment until it was time to go to work, but she was distracted. All she could think about was Josh.

"I wonder if Josh is going to be at Petmore?" she said out loud, realizing that was the one question she hadn't asked him the night before. Talking about work seemed a little taboo after his revelation, but if she was honest, she really wanted to get to know him better and find out what other secrets he was hiding. Her thoughts floated to Tanner, and bile slid up the back of her throat. What was she going to do with him? He wasn't trustworthy, and she finally knew why she had been pushing him off for all those months. Somewhere in her gut, she had known the truth. It didn't help though. She felt like a fool for being so easily manipulated.

She put her coat on and headed out the door to catch the bus. It was drizzly outside, and she put the hood up on her raincoat and then stepped inside the bus shelter, where she noticed a new advertisement for Petmore. It took on a whole other meaning for her. It wasn't just some faceless corporation; she had a real connection to it now. It was weird. Last night changed everything. She understood why Elizabeth was so mean to her now. She knew to stay away from Tanner. She couldn't wait to confront him with the truth. She needed to get her hands on the paperwork to prove it first. And Josh...dreamy Josh.

She walked into the sliding glass front doors of the store with so many emotions tugging at her. She quickly hung up her coat and skipped over to the office, noting that Elizabeth wasn't in there, and pulled out the information on the bird. Sure enough, Josh was right. Tanner was a scummy liar. She made a photocopy of the bird's history and was about to put the original back as Elizabeth walked in the door and scowled at her. Gwen wasn't about to take any more of her crap lying down, even if she was her boss.

"Hello, Elizabeth," she said in a sickly-sweet voice.

"What are you doing here?"  

"A customer wants to know some details about the new bird Peaches is, and I forgot some of the details. I'm just checking to make sure I have everything."

"Oh," said Elizabeth, uninterested.

"Well, I'm off to the floor. Is Tanner here?"

"Yes, why?" Elizabeth sat down at her desk, and started leafing through some pages that were laying there.

"Oh, just wondering. Did he get here early this morning? I know how much he loves doing a little extra here and there just to make his manager happy." Gwen winked at her.

Elizabeth froze; words appeared to get caught in her throat, "Uh, um, I think you should get back out to the customer, don't you think?"

"You're probably right, we wouldn't want any gossip around that store saying that I wasn't treating people properly."

Gwen smiled sweetly to her boss and practically skipped out of the room. That should keep her at bay for a while until she heard if she got the internship she wanted or if another job popped up.

Now to put Tanner in his place. She went over to the puppies to find Tanner, but Josh was there chewing a customer out.

"You think you want this dog, but I'm pretty sure all you want is an accessory! Seriously woman, do you really think you can possibly take it out for walks in crummy weather? It'll ruin those perfect shoes of yours!" The words dripped with a loathing derision, making Gwen feel slightly uncomfortable and relieved that they weren't directed at her. Old Josh was back. It was too bad his Dad couldn't see how miserable he was making him.

"Josh!" interrupted Gwen.

"Who do you think I am? I'm not some toddler that you can order around. I want the damn dog, and you're going to sell it to me!" shouted the angry customer.

"That's what you think, Lady! I wouldn't let you have a freaking goldfish to care for!"

The customer turned around and stormed away screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Josh! Come with me," commanded Gwen as she dragged him by the arm into the back store room where they interrupted Elizabeth and Tanner shouting at each other. It stopped immediately when they walked in. The two looked guiltily at Gwen and Josh.

"Remember what I said," Elizabeth hissed and then stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Tanner's eyes narrowed as he turned to face Gwen. "What did you do?" he asked.

"I did nothing, I suppose that's a little better than what I can say for you," answered Gwen.

"Well, Elizabeth is in here screaming at me because of you, so I wouldn't just sit there like a little princess feigning innocence."

Josh's ears turned red, and he stepped in front of Gwen, "I think you should leave her alone. I think you've done quite enough. You're the reason she's treated like crap in this store, and it's about to stop."

"Listen, you're the screw-up son who can barely hold it together to come to work. I hardly think your opinion is worth listening to."

Apparently, Tanner was up to speed now on the situation. Gwen positioned herself beside Josh, she didn't need him to fight her battles. "I was up for a friendly bet, but you cheated. Don't blame this on me or on Josh. He was the only stand-up guy here!"

"Stand up guy! Ha! It's his friggin' bird that he is getting rid of in the first place! Don't let him play all innocent. He knew exactly what was going on, and I didn't exactly see him coming out with the truth!"

Tanner's words came at her like a knife to the gut. "You're lying!"

"Am I?" asked Tanner smugly.

"Well, not exactly my bird," began Josh sheepishly. "It was a friend's bird that she wasn't able to care for it anymore. I'm sorry, I should have told you. I did tell you not to trust him, didn't I?" Josh's eyes begged for a mercy that Gwen was fresh out of.

Gwen turned around and slammed the door, following in Elizabeth's heavy footsteps. Leaving angry seemed to be the first thing they had ever agreed on.