Big Pickle: A Secret Boss Romantic Comedy - JJ Knight Page 0,15
slam the phone down when someone gets pushy.
Since the manager’s office is already open, I step inside and take the call at Susan’s old desk.
“Austin Pickle. This is Nova. Can I help you?”
“Hi. This is Audra, Jace Pickle’s assistant.”
Her again. Her melodious voice sets me on edge. She sounds perfect. She probably wears some trendy business suit with a clever scarf and four-inch heels that don’t trip her every third step.
“Yeah?” I don’t hide my annoyance at her call.
She almost laughs. “I understand Jason caused a problem for you today.”
“I caught him snooping. If Jace Pickle wants to spy on his own deli, he can do it himself. He shouldn’t send a stooge. And if Jason wasn’t authorized to be combing through the manager’s computer, then you should be glad I kicked him out.”
Now this woman’s laugh is full-throated. “I heard you were something else.”
My jaw clamps tight. What does that mean?
Audra goes on. “Look, personally, I think Jason is a big pain in the ass. I think he should go back to his playpen with his rich little friends and stop trying to act like he cares about running a business. He’s about as suited for it as a monkey in a pile of manure.”
Okay, that gets a laugh out of me. Maybe I like this woman.
“So, what do we do?”
“I spoke with Jace about it, but he is adamant we let Jason fail.”
Seriously? I grip the phone tightly. “So we’re trying to teach this boneheaded rich kid a lesson. And I have to be the one who takes it? No. I’m not going to do that.”
“I’m with you, but—”
“No! You are not with me. You’re not here. Having to deal with him. He can do his internship somewhere else. Not a store where we don’t really have a manager. I can’t even figure out how to stop the cheesecakes from coming. We’ve got the wrong pickles. And I don’t have access to any ordering or delivery systems. Do you realize when I need more pickles, I have to pay in cash? I’ve got stupid sticky notes everywhere to keep track. This is no way to run a business. The last thing I need is a snot-nosed MBA coming in here and trying to tell me I’m doing it wrong. I know I’m doing it wrong. I don’t have a choice!”
I realize everyone on staff is standing in the kitchen, staring at me through the open door of the manager’s office.
Audra is quiet for a moment, then she says, “I can try talking to him, Nova. But he’s determined to keep Jason there.”
“Then you give Mr. Jace Pickle a message from me,” I say, my voice low and threatening. “Until I speak to him directly, I will call the cops the first moment I see Jason Packwood enter this establishment. And if that’s not good enough, he should remember the only thing standing between locking up his deli and shutting it down until he shows up to run it himself, is ME.”
I hang up the phone.
Everyone still stares at me. Elda covers her mouth with her hand.
Of course they’re anxious. I threatened their jobs.
Thinking about my own damn self.
I stand as straight as I can and walk between them, through the door and into the empty front room of the deli. I check that the doors are locked. That the sign is switched to closed. I run my hand along the sandwich line, waiting to be emptied and cleaned.
I stare at the cash register, wishing I could go back in time and redo that conversation. Not strike fear into the hearts of my crew.
But I did mean it. I can’t keep going as if I’m in charge. Jace Pickle needs to man up and talk to his acting manager.
And as for me, I need to work on my phone skills.
And my temper.
7
Jace
Well, Audra isn’t going to help anymore.
I hang up the phone and fall back onto the sofa in my condo.
Nova Strong threatened to shut down my deli. Could she do that?
As best as I can tell, I only have a couple of full-time employees and a handful of part-timers. Audra put in a couple of calls to the original manager, but in return only got identical auto-generated emails saying she’s at a doctor’s appointment.
Something is wrong. I know for a fact Susan has not stepped foot in her office for six months, and yet she’s drawn her paycheck just the same. Audra forwarded all the pay receipts.