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“I’d have to tell you that I’ve already given my heart and virginity to someone else,” I sighed dramatically, my lips twitching to keep from laughing.
“Haven’t we all,” she sighed back. “Nonetheless, I don’t swing that way. Plus, even if I did swing back and forth like a pendulant, I’m completely, irrevocably, and stupidly in love with that nitwit out front.”
I laughed. “Why stupidly?”
“Love always makes women stupid,” she replied dryly. “Case in point, if I wasn’t stupid over him, I would have fired him years ago for continuously violating the sexual harassment policy.”
I couldn’t stop laughing; Jersey Montague was great. “You got me there.”
Cracking her neck, she said, “Okay, enough about Cannon and his adoration for me. Let’s start this unnecessary interview.”
An hour later, I had a job, and one that was more than willing to work around my class schedule. The job also paid more than minimum wage, and Jersey had informed me that there was an overtime list that her employees could sign for extra money if they needed it. She was a believer in education, and it was her passion to see students succeed. It was funny how she was only a few years older than me, but she sounded and acted like she was full-grown.
Leaving The Tomes, this day couldn’t get any better.
~
Hunter~
When I still hadn’t heard from Alexandria a day later, I’d been ready to storm over to her dorm and demand a fucking explanation. No matter how much I regretted the other night, I couldn’t let either of us take the easy way out. Talon hadn’t been wrong when he’d said that the truth was the only option that I had here.
However, just as I’d been about to storm the castle, I’d gotten a call from Jersey Montague, the owner of The Tomes, and she had requested an interview with me. While a job wasn’t more important to me than Alexandria, life wasn’t about personal priorities; it was about practicality, and I needed a fucking job. Besides, the job interview wasn’t going to take all day, so I could always call Alex this evening.
So, now I was sitting across from Jersey Montague, and holy shit. Though extremely pretty, she wasn’t my type. When we’d met in the store a few minutes ago, my first thought was that Lars would lose his mind if he ever had the chance to meet the beauty. Of course, that train of thought came to a halt when it was clear that she was spoken for. For all that my brother loved the ladies, the guy didn’t poach. Lars wasn’t a fan of cheating, even if it wasn’t him that was technically cheating.
Ready to give all the rehearsed answers to most interview questions, Jersey threw me for a loop when she said, “Look, I’ve just hired two other people, one to man the registers and assist anyone using the computers. In addition to my other three employees, I don’t need any extra help on the registers.” Her light brown eyes regarded me closely. “I need someone to assist on the computers and do all the heavy lifting. The other person that I hired today was hired for the same thing, and I’m not going to bullshit you, Mr. Finley. The girl got hired to man the registers, and the guy got hired to stock the shelves.” Even though I was sitting down, her eyes still raked over me. “You look like you can carry a box or two.”
“Thanks,” I deadpanned.
Jersey’s amber-colored eyes twinkled as she leaned her arms on her desk. “I’m going to be honest with you, Mr. Finley-”
“Hunter,” I insisted, interrupting her. “Please call me Hunter. I’m too young to be a mister anything.”
Her lips twitched a bit at that. “Fair enough,” she said as she leaned back in her chair. “As I was saying, I want to be very honest about the type of employer that I am, Hunter.”
“By all means.”
“While I am a huge champion of women in general, I’m not an extremist,” she said. “If there’s heavy lifting to be done in my shop, then I expect the men to do it.”
I liked Jersey Montague.
“Now, if you want to sue me for saying that, then get in line,” she went on. “You’ll get your money, but it’ll be a while because I’ve offended a shitload of people way before you, and they’re still waiting for their day in court. As you know, these things take time.”
I had no idea if she was serious or not, but that had me cracking a smile. “Rest assured, Ms. Montague, if there’s any heavy lifting to do, I have no problem doing it.”
“Call me Jersey,” she instructed. “I hate being called Ms. Montague.”
“Of course,” I agreed easily.
“At any rate, if you work here, you’re going to see a lot of shit that isn’t socially or politically correct, and if that’s going to be a problem, then I’d really appreciate it if you let me know now.”
“I’m not here to change the world, Jersey,” I told her. “I’m here for the chance to earn a paycheck; nothing more, nothing less.”
She nodded. “That being said, there are three things that I will not tolerate in my store,” she said pointedly. “Racism of any kind, sexual harassment of any kind, and any rudeness towards the customers that come here.”
I just shot her a look.
Jersey rolled her eyes, and she really was something else. “Look, if you’re dating someone here and she doesn’t mind you slapping her ass in public, then I don’t care about that,” she clarified, doing her best not to be a hypocrite. When I’d met her earlier, I had walked into the store to her boyfriend kissing her on the lips like he’d been away at sea for months, and it must have been business as usual, because no one else in the store had seemed surprised. “I’m talking about asking a customer out and not taking no for an answer. That’s the kind of shit I’m referring to.”
