Johnson

Seventeen

Exactly one week and a day post firing, as Jack had taken to judging the time by, he sat down to check his bank account.

He was thankful for the convenience of internet banking, seeing as it only took a couple of minutes until he could peer down at the rectangular screen in front of him and read the digits signalling that he had a lot less in his accounts than he remembered.

Squinting down at his laptop, he wondered if his eyes were deceiving him.

He had never been exceptionally well off, however on the flip side, he had never been faced with the reality of barely having a few thousand in his checking account. Looking at his statement, he realised that the money issue had been brewing from before he had lost his job.

A few months' worth of direct debit increases and the fact that he had been overcharged for his recent gym membership had made it so that he was going to have to transfer money over from his savings if he wanted to have a decent amount in his account after his car insurance payment went through.

He then noted that he had been splurging on food more than usual.

If he wanted to keep that up, he was going to need that new job and soon.

He'd not had any response from the jobs he applied to the previous week, but he'd met some alpha at his local corner shop and they'd got to chatting. Jack didn't know how the conversation got from the extortionate price of chocolate to being offered a one day job, but he wasn't complaining.

At least it would tide him over a little until he found something permanent.

---

"Hey, you made it!"

Jack smiled over at the dark skinned alpha who stood up to greet him, walking over to shake hands with the man. He looked the same as he did when Jack had met him in the shops the other day; young face, curly black fade, a piece of metal lodged between his left eyebrow.

"Well, I said I'd help out." Jack released the man's hand to look around the scanty room. There wasn't much to look at besides the reception desk, the shabby wooden table in the corner of the room and the archway that led out into a blackened hall. "It doesn't smell much like a dump in here. Not like outside."

"Wait 'till we go out back." The man drawled, nose scrunching as he grimaced. "You better just thank God this room is scent proof."

Jack made a sound of agreement before following the man up to the front desk. 

"Uh, forgive me if I forget your name. It's Kieran, right?"

"Sure is." Kieran confirmed, reaching over the desk to pull open a drawer. He pulled back after a moment, turning to face Jack with a wad of cash in his hand. "As promised, cash up front."

Reaching out to take the money, Jack distractedly flicked through the notes before depositing it in his wallet. "I appreciate it, man."

"Seriously, thanks for coming. The guy who usually does this job got sick and it's been tough managing the work load on my own." Keiran said, scent sending off signals that told Jack he was being sincere. "It's pure luck I met someone willing enough to work at this hellhole for a day."

"It's no problem." Jack shrugged, suddenly feeling out of his depth. "I've never worked somewhere like this before though."

Kieran looked Jack up and down and then chuckled, "I can tell. You're not dressed for digging through trash."

The two men got down to business, walking through the door to the back of the lot where Jack was immediately hit with a smell so foul that he gagged. They both made eye contact through watery eyes but didn't comment on the smell- the reality of it was bad enough without them needing to confirm it with words.