Page 19 of Throttle Therapy

She frowned.What was with these guys and their names?

“Okay then.Let’s get this over with.”If nothing else, they’d get a free meal out of it, and she could pretend for a little while longer she had a chance with someone like Roadkill.

Roadkill pulled the door open and motioned for Jenna to go ahead.He held the door as Lacey approached and entered then followed them inside.

“Come on back.If the door is unlocked, he’s here, somewhere.”Roadkill stepped past them, pausing at a glass door and looking through it before going past and opening the door behind the counter.“Yo, old man.There you are.I’ve got someone for you to meet.”Roadkill waved for Jenna to come closer.

“Jenna, this is Papa Smurf.He runs the shop.Papa, this is Jenna.The woman I told you about last night.”

“Nice to meet you.”Jenna stepped to the desk and held her hand out at an older man, with a close-cropped snow-white beard and stocking cap.The cap wasn’t red, but she could see why the man would be called Papa Smurf.

“Nice to meet you too, girl.Have a seat and talk to me for a minute.”Papa Smurf shook her hand then waved for her to sit in one of the old, battered chairs on this side of the desk.

She took a seat then looked up at Roadkill.

“You want me to stay here with you or out here with your sister?”He tilted his head back toward the other room where Lacey waited.

“With Lacey, if you don’t mind.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her sister.More that she didn’t trust strangers with her sister.She had no idea if there was anyone here with them, and the outside door was unlocked.Having Roadkill with Lacey made her feel better.He nodded once and went back into the front room, closing the door behind him.

“Now, tell me a little about yourself,” Papa Smurf said when she turned back to face him.

“I’m not sure what to say.”Jenna lifted one shoulder and let it fall.“I assume he told you I’m looking for something to support my sister and I.”She jerked one thumb over her shoulder toward where Roadkill waited with Lacey.“What he probably didn’t tell you is that I’m devoted to her.I want to make sure she has someone with her so she doesn’t get into trouble.So she knows she’s cared for.That means I’ll either need to leave at three or she’ll be underfoot.”She paused, wondering if that would be the deal breaker here.Yes, Roadkill had said they would possibly be something for Lacey too, but Roadkill saying it and the manager of the shop letting it actually happen were two different things.

“That’s workable.We can arrange for either you to take a break to go pick her up, or the school runs a bus by here, stops about fifty yards down the street.If it’s okay with you, she could ride here then spend the rest of the day with you.”

Jenna tilted her head from side to side as she considered it, but didn’t say anything.

“As for the job, if you’ve been waiting tables for a while, I’ll assume you’ve got decent customer service, not that we need anything over the top, just someone to greet people and answer phones, schedule appointments.That kind of thing.Oh and figuring up the bills.How are you with computers?They’ve been trying to get me to switch over to a new billing and inventory system, but I haven’t had time to figure it out.”

Her heart fell.She’d been getting her hopes up but knew this would be the deal breaker.

“I can turn one on.If the internet is already connected I can use that but not much more.It’s not that I can’t figure things out, we’ve just never had money for more than the basics and why have a computer when I can do everything from my phone?”

“Are you against learning?”

“Not at all.”

“What time do you drop your sister at school?”

“I try to drop her off between 7:20 and 7:30.”

“Good, how about we have you start at 8 a.m.Monday morning?”

“Well, um.I’m not sure.Don’t you think we should talk a little more?”

“What do you want to know?”He leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his belly as he watched her.

“Well.I need to know what you’re offering the way of pay.Like I said, I’m responsible for my sister and I’m not going to do anything to put her at risk.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to.”He leaned forward, picked up a block of sticky notes and pen, he scribbled something on the top note, ripped it off and held it out to her.“That’s hourly.I’m looking for 8-5, Monday through Friday.Any overtime will be paid at time and a half, we have a limited holiday schedule, but you’ll be eligible for full benefits.”

“Benefits?”she asked, barely hearing him as she started at the post it.The hourly wage he’d written down was more than three times what she was taking home now, even with tips and at full time, it was double the hours.She blinked, trying not to let the tears that pooled in her eyes fall.

“The club has a group plan for health insurance, as well as dental and vision.We can get all the paperwork filled out on Monday to get the two of you added.

“Insurance too?”Her words were barely more than a whisper as she looked back up at him.She found him watching her, a sympathetic look in his eyes.Then something he said clicked.“Club?What club?”