Forget Me Not

Prologue - Cautious Curiosities

warnings: mild angst and violence, talk of guns and drugs

***

You quickly changed the 'open' sign hanging from your door to 'closed' when the church bells chimed eight, locking the door behind you. If there was one thing you always looked forward to, it was a warm cup of decaf coffee and your cat Daisy back at your flat after a long day of work. You loved your job, always have. Flowers are something you always had a passion for; the greenhouse behind your shop where you spent most of your days off was proof of that. But days like this tended to be exhausting.

You attempted to rub the sleep out of your eyes as you made your way to the front desk, entering the code to the time-delayed safe.

The store phone rang, a shrill sound that roused you from your half-asleep state.

"Daisy's Florals, our hours are listed on the website and-." Your eyes widened when you realized who was calling, grabbing a pad of paper and pen, scribbling down their information.

"Okay sir, and is this for a wedding?"

You listened carefully to the man on the other end. "Uh-huh, and how many bouquets are you getting from them?"

"Well sir, we can sell them to you at a competitive rate, you're definitely getting ripped off by them. They're selling for far above market value and let me tell you, their inventory isn't worth that much."

You checked your inventory list, making sure you had exactly what he was asking for, "That's right, we deliver after payment, wherever you need them, set up included."

"Great, and you know how to wire the payment to me?"

"Alright, pleasure doing business with you, we'll be in contact soon." You hung up the phone, leaving it off the hook so you could finish your closing duties and head out for the night.

You set your own cell phone to the side, opening Spotify and turning it to a premade playlist before getting to work.

You only had a few employees, two college kids who worked weekends and Monday and Friday mornings. Your third and last employee worked in the greenhouse on Tuesdays and Thursdays, tending to the flowers when you were manning the shop.

It was simple work, having gone to school for a degree in accounting, you did all of the math and paperwork by hand, preferring to pay staff with handwritten checks. You never quite understood the computer systems anyway.

By the time you finished and locked your register in the safe, it was well past 10pm. You quickly gathered any of the flowers that were past due, ones you noticed were wilting, and put them in a nice bouquet for you to take home. You had a few daisies, several roses, and a single tulip in your hand as you turned the light by the front desk off, slipping your purse up your arm and turning your music off.

Home sweet home.

In about two blocks.

You hummed as you locked up, putting the keys in your purse as you stepped into the cool night air.

The small street your shop resided on was mostly daytime shops. Nobody hung around here at night.

Unless they were...

You shook away the thought, holding your purse closer to your body, scolding yourself for not wearing a light jacket.

"I said, who is fucking selling to you?"

You paused right before an alley, ears tuning in to the sharp pants and harsh breathing mere feet away from you.

"Nobody! I mean, they're just-, they're willing to sell for cheaper. So I'm shredding up our contract."