Chapter 9
NINE
At the end of the day, I send off one last email with a satisfied sigh. I’ve only been here two days, but oddly, I’m enjoying myself. It’s not groundbreaking work. If I did it every day forever, I might go crazy, but I like the variety—it’s a fun job.
And I have to admit, even to myself, that every time I think about returning to teaching next fall, dread curls in my stomach. With that in mind, I push the feeling aside, gather my things, sling my bag over my shoulder, and walk to Graham’s office to knock on the frame.
“I’m heading out for the night.”
He looks at me and sighs, a sound deep with exhaustion.
“I told you you don’t have to announce your departure, June.”
“Some of us have manners, Graham.”
He glares at me, and I glare back before he sighs.
“Goodnight, June. Thank you for your work today. I will see you tomorrow. Happy?” Warmth sparks in my chest at his acquiescence, no matter how begrudging.
“Radiant. Bye, Graham!” I say, and then, not wanting to push my luck, wave and walk out the door.
I am so going to win him over.
I’m still smiling over that as I move down the boardwalk to the large recreation building where I’m meeting Claire.
“Hey, June!” she says when I walk in, pulling me in for a big hug. “I just have a few more things to do if you don’t mind.”
Last summer, Claire came down to Seaside Point to work as a lifeguard and fit in so well that Maggie, the former Director of Recreation, offered to train her to take her place.
Over the last year, it’s become increasingly obvious that it was the right choice, with Claire raising more money for the programs than ever before and getting the entire town involved.
“No, you’re fine,” I say, looking at the piles of papers—probably a mix of lifeguard applications and notes for the summer festival she runs. I sit, taking in the view of the beach and ocean, and after a moment, she finishes writing and turns to me, expectant.
“Okay, tell me everything!” She tried calling yesterday for details about my first day, but my mind was too twisted up, and I needed to sort through my thoughts alone.
Instead, I texted her, saying I was exhausted and would give her the full breakdown at dinner.
“Since you’ve avoided the topic, I’m guessing it went badly.
I’ll have to yell at Sutton, since she promised me it’d be a great fit. ” I sigh and rub my face.
“It is, I’m sure. The work is simple and interesting enough.
Right now, I’m working on combing through applications for different jobs for my boss.
” She nods, waiting for me to drop the but she senses is coming.
I take in a deep breath, preparing myself for the chaos that’s about to break through.
“But, my boss is the hot guy from the convenience store,” I blurt out.
There’s a moment of silence before she blinks twice.
“I’m sorry?”
“Graham, my new boss, is the guy who lent me a penny for the scratch off that made me quit my job.”
“Which means…” Her eyes are wide as the concept sinks in.
“Which means I had a one-night stand with my boss the day before I started working with him. It also means because of our unusual meeting, he thinks I’m some flaky woman who quit her job on a whim based on a scratch-off result.”
Silence fills the room before Claire bursts out laughing.
“It’s not funny!” I whine, letting my head fall to the counter with a resounding thud.
Her hand comes to pat my back in the fakest show of support I’ve ever experienced, laughter still in her voice when she speaks.
“You’re right, it’s not funny. It’s hilarious.” I just groan into the table. “Okay, so he’s obviously hot, and you have a crush on him—”
I sit up quickly and glare at her. “I do not–”
“Babe, you specifically called him the hot guy from the convenience store. A crush is kind of a given.”
“You can think someone is hot without having a crush on them,” I grumble, and she tilts her head, looking at me with a raised brow.
“I can, yes, but you can not. You’re June, my sweet, optimistic best friend.
You don’t call people “hot” and not have at least a teeny-tiny crush on them.
Not to mention the entire fact that you had a one-night stand with him, a night you still haven’t given me all the details about.
But we can sift through your delusion later.
How was the rest of the day?” I glare at her, trying to decide if it’s worth it to argue my point, then sigh, my shoulders slouching a bit with defeat, knowing it is not, in fact, worth it.
“I think he hates me.”
“Hate you? How could anyone hate you? You’re June.
That’s like hating rainbows or butterflies.
” I shrug, not knowing, because I have always prided myself on being likable.
Maybe that’s why I’m so determined to make him be friends with me.
“Is he… is he being mean to you? Is he giving you a hard time because you two—”
“No,” I say quickly, because for some strange reason I don’t look at too closely, I don’t want Claire to have the wrong idea about him. “He just… he seems to be both irritated and confused by everything I do. He told me my outfit was too colorful today.”
She leans back, looking over what I’m wearing, and shrugs. “Looks like a normal June outfit to me.”
“Well, he’s very boring—I’ve only ever seen him in black and white clothes, his office is completely undecorated—so I think any color shocks him, to be fair. I told him I need bright colors to offset his gloom. He wasn’t impressed.” Claire lets out a loud laugh.
“I bet he wasn’t. Maybe he’s in love with you,” she says.
I roll my eyes at her dramatics, but nods as if it’s a logical concept.
“Being annoyed and grumpy with me was the number one sign Miles was completely obsessed and in love with me. I know we shouldn’t encourage the whole ‘he’s mean because he likes you,’ thing, but sometimes there’s truth there.
Boys are stupid, simple creatures who don’t know how to process real emotions.
Maybe he’s grumpy because he’s in love with you and doesn’t know what to do. ”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s the case here,” I laugh. “Miles was in love with you long before last summer. The man was holding seashells in his pocket for you for years.”
“Well, when we find out in six years that he’s been doing something unhinged for you all along, I don’t want to hear about it.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath. I threatened to be friends with him, and he looked like I told him I was going to blow up the building.”
Claire tips her head, brows furrowing. “How does one threaten to be friends with someone?”
“I asked him why he didn’t like me, and he said it wasn’t personal, that there was no reason for a relationship beyond work.” A small smile tips on my lips, remembering the look of confusion and shock on Graham’s face. “So I told him we’d be friends by summer’s end.”
“What did he say to that?” Claire asks, crossing her arms on her chest, looking fully entertained.
“Good luck with that,” I repeat in a gruff voice, and she tips her head back, a deep laugh falling from her lips.
“So, he has no idea who he’s dealing with, does he?” she asks, and I lift a shoulder, a similar humor bubbling in my chest.
“What’s so funny, you two?” Maggie says as she comes in, sliding her sunglasses to her head.
She brushes sand from her shins before hugging me from behind as I sit in the chair.
“Good to see you, Junie B.” I smile over my shoulder at her, a familiar warmth spreading in my chest, tinged with grief.
It was a name my grandmother used to call me as a kid because I was obsessed with the Junie B.
Jones books. Maggie was a good friend of my grandparents before they passed, since they were both active in the rec department for years, with Grandma teaching art classes and Grandpa stepping in to coach any team that needed someone.
Somewhere along the way, Maggie started to call me that, as well.
“June got a new job, and her boss doesn’t believe in making friends,” Claire explains to her mentor.
“And he hired June?” Maggie asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Technically, Sutton hired me.” She nods as if it all makes sense, and I guess in a way, it does.
“How is it going over there? Sorry to hear about them cutting back on classes. They should have canned Cece Stevens, not you.” I bite back an agreement, a grimace crossing my face at the mention of my personal and slightly irrational nemesis.
“It happens. All’s well that ends well.” Maggie looks me over in a way I know from experience can’t mean anything good.
“You know, I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been meaning to seek you out.”
“Oh?” I ask, unsure. If Maggie is seeking me out, either there’s an issue with a kid, she needs Grant to fix something, or…
“The town council is accepting bids for the new mural at the entrance to town.” My eyes widen.
There’s a large wall on the overpass before the only road in and out, and the town’s been discussing adding a mural to brighten up the space for years.
I’m surprised they finally agreed on anything.
“Proposals are due by July’s end, but Chet is hiding it—buried under website red tape—so his daughter will get it if no other proposals come in.
” Chet Stevens, the town’s zoning administrator, is on the town council and is constantly making everyone in Seaside Point miserable.
He’s passed that trait down to his kids, Carl, who owns Grant’s rival contracting company, and Cece Stevens.
Cece is two years older than me and a spoiled rich girl who has taken pride in making me miserable ever since Joey Gooding took me to prom her senior year instead of her.
We previously had to work together often, since she’s also a fifth-grade teacher, and I’m sure my layoff made her day.