Chapter 5
“Parties after hours. Drinking on the job. Drug paraphernalia. No-shows. Theft.” The man frowned at me. “Security breaches!”
I didn’t know what kind of security breach could happen at a warehouse store, but people could probably cause problems anywhere. “I wouldn’t get involved with any of that stuff,” I promised solemnly.
“How about faking a slip-and-fall for an insurance payout? What about pretending that you were scared to go to your car in the parking lot and then you got ‘kidnapped?’” He used finger-quotes around the last word and rolled his eyes as he said it.
“Wait a minute, did someone actually get kidnapped from the parking lot here?” I asked.
Despite the way he scoffed at my question, I had apparently done ok in the rest of the interview.
He hadn’t actually asked me a lot else about myself, because he was mostly complaining about the woman who had held the position until very recently and describing the bad stuff she had done.
But they had kept her on until she had quit and apparently, I had emailed him at exactly the right time.
They suddenly needed someone desperately, starting immediately.
I would be stocking on the third shift, nine PM to six AM, which would work out because I would take the car and bring it back to the motel at times when Callum didn’t need it.
I thought he would be thrilled.
“Do you really want to work there?” he asked when I called him with my news. “I don’t know about that.”
“Why? I don’t think that anyone actually got kidnapped.” I probably shouldn’t have told him that part of the story, and I was glad I’d kept back the rest. “This is a safe area.” It was much, much safer than the place I’d lived in Los Angeles, before moving into Damian’s rented residence.
“It only takes one person to make it unsafe for you. I—” There was yelling in the background. “They’re making fun of my phone and I have to go, anyway. Let’s talk about this tonight, ok?” He said something else but there was more yelling and I couldn’t quite make it out.
“Ok, I’ll talk to you later!” I said loudly and I definitely heard him answer “bye.” I had called to discuss the job offer, which I had been pretty excited about.
This was the first real possibility I’d had, because before (if I’d even gotten a response), they had wanted to ask me about work experience.
Then they’d found out that I had none and our contact had ceased.
It was hard to explain how I’d reached the age of twenty-three and had nothing to show for it, no prior references or previous places of employment to write down—at least, none that would lead people to hire me.
Saying that I was part of an entourage didn’t mean anything, especially because I was reluctant to explain what my actual duties had been.
When I looked back on the years since I’d left home, they seemed like a blur.
I’d shown up in California just after my twentieth birthday and then what had I done?
Scenes from parties filled my mind. I heard loud voices and music, and I imagined swallowing pills and drinks.
There had been good parts but there was so much more that I wasn’t going to think about.
And that was ok, because I didn’t have to!
The past was over and done. I could forget it all, like it never even happened…
except when potential employers were asking me about what I had accomplished in the five years since high school.
Then I was forced to admit that I had nothing to show for it, no savings, no bank account, no credit card, no clothes, no friends, no family. I was starting from scratch.
I walked to the nearest bus stop and sat on the bench under the little roof.
The weather was beautiful here but I’d already heard from several people about how I was going to hate it in the winter.
I didn’t believe them. Eastern Washington wasn’t known for its warm, sunny Januarys either, and if Callum was playing for the Woodsmen?
Then every day was going to be like Hawaii, or what I assumed Hawaii must have been.
Damian had often talked about taking us there, but it had never happened.
He had said a lot of stuff and made a lot of promises, and at first, I had believed him.
It had taken a while to understand that he was full of it, because he put on a pretty good show.
It had reminded me of my aunt, Simone, who had also done a lot of untrustworthy stuff.
When someone lied all the time, it was hard to pick out the truth.
My phone started to ring and that only happened when Callum called—but I didn’t recognize this number. It was local and I got excited, because it could have been about a different job that I’d applied for.
It wasn’t, but it was also good. “Hi, is this Rainey?”
“Yes?”
“My name’s Victoria and we met the other day,” she started, and I broke in.
“Yes, thank you so much for helping Callum! Is everything ok with his per diem? We went and set up a bank account for him yesterday.” It had been the first time he’d been able to get over there during business hours.
“He can receive direct deposits via ACH transfers,” I continued.
It wasn’t just football vocab that I’d learned lately.
“Yes, his money will go to his new account now. When I talked to him again, he gave me your number and said it was ok if I contacted you. He also said to call because it’s better to talk, rather than writing.”
“I know he feels that way,” I answered. “He hates texting because he has a flip phone, so it takes him too long to do it. Can I help you with something?”
She wanted to talk about a topic that surprised me. “I told him that I had been watching the videos you two made and he was really happy. He says you’ve been working hard on those.”
“They’re fun,” I answered. “Callum wasn’t thrilled with them at first, but now he doesn’t mind as much. I’m surprised that you’ve seen them.”
“I’m really into the Woodsmen,” she confessed.
That wouldn’t have set her apart from anyone else I’d met around here. Even the nutso guy who had just interviewed me had the football schedule taped to his wall, and he had briefly halted our conversation to check his phone to see if there was any news about the final roster.
No, there was nothing except rumors and guesses. But it was supposed to be released tomorrow and today was the final day for Callum to impress the coaches...he would do it. I knew he would.
“I love your content,” she said. “It’s so cute and I really like the stuff you wear. Do you make a lot of your clothes?”
“Do they look homemade?” Shoot.
“No, I mean that you don’t wear anything I’ve seen before, so it’s special,” she explained, and that was really nice. “Are you into fashion?”
“Yes,” I heard myself admit. I had just been telling the interviewer that the only thing I wanted to do in life was stock shelves, but I actually did care about clothes.
Of course, they weren’t as important to me as they had been to Sage.
A few times, she had experienced what she called a wardrobe crisis and had refused to leave the hotel room, which risked Damian getting really mad at all of us.
I fell somewhere in the middle of her and Callum, who didn’t care what he had on as long as he was covered enough not to get arrested for indecent exposure.
But I did enjoy dressing in cute stuff and I had fun sewing.
“Your boyfriend told me that you’re looking for a job,” she said next.
“Did he?”
“He wanted to know if there was anything in my department,” Victoria explained. “There isn’t, unfortunately. I did ask around about openings but it doesn’t seem like anything’s coming up.”
That was fine, because I was sure they required a college degree. I had mine from high school, but just barely.
“Do you want to meet for drinks?”
When I paused before I answered her, it was only because I had to question why. Why would this woman, who had a career and a kid, want to connect with me? What could I have done for her?
But then I realized that I was thinking about it in the wrong way.
The question really was, what could she have done for Callum?
Could someone in the Woodsmen accounting and payroll department be able to influence anything with the team?
I doubted it—I had dealt with enough small fry in Hollywood who had inflated ideas about their influence (like the delivery guy who moonlighted as an acting coach, and had told Sage that he could get her a meeting with the biggest talent agent in town).
But it couldn’t have hurt to check it out and determine if Victoria might know someone on the coaching staff, for example.
Also, I was a little lonely. Callum was gone all the time, which was good because it meant he was still working to become a Woodsmen. But it also meant that I was alone since I had no family, no friends…
My hesitation took less than a second and I was quickly saying, “Sure, that sounds good. Where should we meet?”
She said that if I could come to the stadium, she could drive us from there. “Then I can take you over to the practice facility so you can get a ride home.”
He must have told her about us sharing a car.
“Sure,” I said again. I stood to check the bus map and figure out how to get myself to Woodsmen Stadium, and I told her that I was on my way.
I left a voice message for Callum so he would know to wait for me after his practices and meetings were over, and I patted my hair.
I was still using his grandma’s rollers and I honestly loved this bounce.