Big Pickle: A Secret Boss Romantic Comedy - JJ Knight Page 0,32
“You’re doing better. Your weekday sales kick both mine and Anthony’s butts. It’s probably your downtown location. We make up for it on the weekends.”
I sit up. “Should I open more on the weekends?”
“Dunno. Ask your manager. But weekdays are your jam. And you’re going up.”
“Nova hasn’t said anything about more business.”
“Well, your profits are increasing. A couple thou a week. That’s all I can tell you. Unlocking why means a deep dive into your numbers.”
I stand up and start pacing the room. “Do they separate the cash versus credit transactions in the report?”
“Not that I can see. Why?”
“Just a theory. Is there any way to separate those? Can I call the accountant and ask them to do that for me?”
“Probably. The cash should be deposited manually by your manager, or somebody she appoints to do it. You think something’s up?”
Susan’s gone. She’s been gone. She can’t steal cash from the safe if she isn’t there. And if Nova wasn’t keeping track of it from register to bank, then it would be her fault.
Damn. I don’t know.
“What’s turning in your head, Jace?”
“I’ll let you know if it pans out to anything.”
“You can always put Audra on it,” Max says. “She’s got more brains than the three of us put together.”
“Good idea. Thanks.”
Max chuckles. “Don’t stay up too late Netflix and chilling with yourself.”
“You can shut the hell up.”
He keeps laughing, so I kill the call. Brothers. Assholes.
But he did have a point about the books. And I need to know more about the cash transactions going in and out of my deli. If Susan’s been gone six months, the only reason they’d increase since I’ve been there would because—I’m there. Watching.
I drop back onto the sofa, my head in my hands. I refuse to believe Nova has anything to do with the losses. But the fact is, once I arrived at the deli, it stopped happening. Maybe my presence got in somebody’s way. It could be Lamonte. Or Kate or Elda or Arush. Who knows? Maybe even the cleaning crew got access to the safe.
But I do know one thing for sure. I need Audra to pinpoint the exact moment when profit started to rise and if it was cash-related.
And second, I need to get Nova to move me up to working the register so I can see for myself.
16
Nova
It’s six a.m. and Mom is not home.
I jerk a brush through my hair, my eye on the phone screen. I’ve texted her three times. I have to arrive at work at seven to start the bread. No one can do this for me.
Leah and I were up late last night watching old episodes of I Love Lucy. So my baby sister is still crashed in her bed, and I can’t leave her alone.
I pull on a pair of distressed jeans and a green hoodie. Austin is being Austin today and dropped from warm and pleasant yesterday to freezing this morning. The cold is not improving my mood. Low-end apartments don’t come with smart thermostats, so our place got chilly before I woke up this morning and cranked the heat.
I stand below the vent, letting the warm air blow my hair back.
My phone buzzes with the alarm that I have to start driving in fifteen minutes to make it.
Dang it. Mom? Where are you?
Back in the days when Susan opened the deli, it didn’t matter if I wound up late. My pay got docked, but that was the only consequence.
Now I’m in charge, and the schedule is all on me. I wait five more minutes, and then I have no choice. Even if Mom does reply at this point, she can’t get home in time for me to make the drive.
I pop into Leah’s bedroom, dim and softly pink from the unicorn nightlight near her bed.
I gently shake her awake. “Leah, baby, I’m so sorry. I have to take you to work with me. Mom’s not here.”
Leah sits up in a rush. “Where is she? What happened?”
“I think she was out late with her friends. Don’t worry. But I need you to get ready.”
“Can’t I stay here by myself?”
“Not yet. Maybe when you’re twelve. But not in fourth grade.”
Leah whines a little more, but she doesn’t argue. I pull a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt from her drawer and pass it to her. “I’ll make you some breakfast at the deli.”
“Can I have cheesecake?” Her eyes light up, seeing a loophole she can exploit.