The day after that strange encounter with Darius, I made sure to arrive at the bookstore early but it didn’t matter that I did- Mr. Hemming was still absolutely rude to me. I started to wonder whether I had unknowingly done something to annoy him and I asked him but he ignored me. I was determined to not let him ruin my mood so I tried to steer clear of his path.
I found myself hoping that Darius would come to the bookstore but I didn’t see him all day. I didn’t even realize I was actively searching for him until I caught myself scrutinizing every bike that passed by. It was stupid and I mentally chided myself for taking such an interest in someone that I didn’t know. The truth was that something was alluring about him.
The next time I saw him, it was when I picked up Chris from practice. I saw Darius and his friends at the edge of the forest. They were all wearing their signature all-black outfits and they all had bikes. I found myself staring at them so long that Chris had teased me about it. We were arguing about it until we got to the house and when Grandma asked, Chris didn’t hesitate before telling on me.
“He’s lying.” I was quick to defend myself to her and she hummed but there was a look in her eyes that made me believe she knew more than she was letting on.
I cornered her after dinner in the kitchen and when I asked, she simply told me that I was reading too much into things. But I was curious and I was not going to let things slide that easily. I pestered her for another hour before she turned to me.
“For someone who claims Chris was lying, you seem very interested in Darius Lunar,” when she said that, I flushed pink and I didn’t say anything else for the rest of the night.
The next morning, I was up earlier than usual. I had a nightmare but I couldn’t recall the details. The last time I had a nightmare was right after my parents' deaths and they stopped after months of therapy. I was so frustrated that I dragged my feet around the entire house. Everyone seemed to pick up on my bad mood because they steered clear of me all morning. I even offered to drop Chris off but he told me he would just hitch a ride with his friend.
By the time I got to the bookstore, I already knew I was going to have a bad day. Mr. Hemming was there and he had arrived with a new batch of books. I hated having to arrange them because we never saw eye to eye on that. I hoped he would ignore me as he had been doing for the past few days but he didn’t.
“Leindra,” he called out and I stopped in my tracks. “The storage needs dusting and I need you to compile a list of the books that have not been returned yet. You need to find the people who borrowed them and ask them to return.”
“Isn’t that harassment?” I couldn’t keep the snark out of my tone. “It is a small town. They can’t exactly run away with the books.”
Mr. Hemming was shocked by my tone and so was I. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it and settled for staring at me intently until I began to feel bad.
“I will compile the list.”
He and I avoided each other for the rest of the day and the moment my lunch break came around, I left for the café opposite to get a coffee and a snack hoping it would be able to calm me down.
While I was there, I was able to check off two names from the list. One was a mother who had forgotten to return the book she borrowed for her daughter and the other was a school teacher. They both promised to return the books to the bookstore before evening fell and I thanked them.
By the time I returned to the bookstore, Mr. Hemming was nowhere to be seen but he had left a written note for me to organize the rest of the books. It was difficult to do because I had to organize as well as man the counter. I was running all around and within half an hour, I was exhausted and drained. I did it for almost two hours before Mr. Hemming returned.
He came back holding a mug of steaming hot chocolate and humming a happy tune under his breath. He didn’t even pay me any heed or thank me for helping him man the desk. All that had me furious and I slammed the book I was holding hard against the counter.
He raised his head and cocked a brow as he watched me. “Be careful with those books. They are antiques. You cannot get away with slamming them on the counters; If anything happens to them the cost will be deducted from your daily wages.”
“You left me alone.” I couldn’t stop the words from leaving my lips in a rush.
He cocked his head to the side as if he didn’t see anything wrong in what he had done. I could feel my blood boiling from how dismissive he was acting. After a few seconds of silence, he sighed and made to walk past me but I stepped in his way.
“I’m your employee and not a slave. If you want me to man the counters as well as work in the back then I have to be paid for both,” I told him. “Your tone is very dismissive and I don’t appreciate it much.”
His eyes narrowed and he placed his mug on the counter dangerously close to the book. I wanted to warn him that it could spill but a part of me wanted it to spill. It would be amusing to see how much he would have to pay if his drink poured on his precious antique book.
“I hired you,” he seethed through gritted teeth. “When you came an hour late, I could have fired you but I didn’t. I decided to be merciful so consider this a punishment for that.”
“Who are you, my dad?”
“I wouldn’t want to be. I would much rather be dead than be your father. I’m sure he must be grateful for that wherever he is.”
My world seemed to spin on its axis as his words settled deep inside of me and hit their mark. He smirked as he saw how his words affected me and it took everything in me not to reach up and slap him.
“How pathetic do you have to be to derive joy from attacking someone half your age?” I asked and his smile fell a little. “You know what, I’m done with your shit. I quit.”
“You can’t quit, you’re fired.”
I flashed him a middle finger and he turned a violent shade of red as I walked past him. I made sure to brush my shoulder with his as I walked past. In his anger, he slammed his fist on the table and his drink spilled all over the table and the book. He shrieked as he tried to wipe off the water but it only seemed to be doing more harm than good.
My lips curled up in a small victorious smile as I walked out of the bookstore. I was out of a job and I was broke but I didn’t care. That small victory I got inside from getting the last word was enough to hold me until I got home and the weight of my circumstance hit me.
“That was very entertaining.”
I jumped when I heard the voice directly behind me. I saw a young man standing there clad in all black. He was leaning against a bike and his hair was cropped close to his head. He had shades over his eyes and when he took them off, I saw that his eyes were a dark brown color- similar to melted chocolate. I instantly knew he was one of Darius’ friends but I didn’t know him personally and it caused my hackles to rise.
I took a step back. “Did you hear all of that?”
“The bookstore is old and has very thin walls,” he explained as he stood up straighter. “There is a reason why Mr. Hemming’s workers never last long. They are always young over-worked and underpaid women. If you had stayed longer then he would have most likely tried to hit on you.”
I held back a shudder. “I would have broken his nose.”
The stranger smirked and his eyes shone with amusement. “I like you and as far as I know, you’re kind of new here which means you need a job.”
I was hesitant about getting a job from a stranger but he was right- I did need a job.
“You don’t even know my name and I don’t know yours.”
He held out his hand to me. “I’m Ian.”
I hesitated before taking it. “I’m Leindra.”
“Well Leindra, I have a bar downtown and I am looking for a bartender. The last one I had just got pregnant so she quit.”
I eyed him to be sure it wasn’t a joke but he didn’t seem to be bluffing. I would love a bartender job because I worked in a bar while in the city and I am fairly sure I can handle it. It just felt weird that he was offering a job to a stranger.
“What’s the catch?” I asked and the corner of his lips tilted up slightly.
“There is no catch,” I didn’t believe him so he sighed and reached into his pocket then retrieved a card. “If you change your mind then you know where to find me.”
I took the card from him and before I could blink, he was already on his bike and disappearing into the traffic.