Betrayal of the Dove - By Capri Montgomery Page 0,3
still be shorter than he was, but not so much so that she would end up with a pain in her neck from tilting her head back to look up at him all the time. Why was she still thinking in terms of having a relationship with this man? He was hired, and she knew that, even if she hadn’t said as much yet. His new status as her employee meant no romantic entanglements with the guy.
“I’m sorry; the position has just been filled,” she said as she smiled at the man who was dropping off his resume. “I can keep your resume on file.”
He grumbled, snatched the resume off her counter and stomped out the door uttering several curses.
“Well, that was rude,” she said.
“So I have the job?”
“You have the job. When can you start?”
“Right now,” he said.
“Oh, I have to do the background check and verify that you are eligible to work in the U.S. Arizona has some harsh laws for businesses who hire illegal workers and I won’t have my store shut down because you’re not allowed to work here.” He looked at her as if she had two heads. “Don’t think just because you look white that I’m not going to cross all of the t’s and dot all of the i’s.” She tacked her hands to her hips.
“How about I start getting this place brought out of the Dark Ages of security into the twenty-first century and you put me on the books and pay me once you’ve finished all the verifications. They have e-verify you know?”
“I know that,” she said. She also knew it wasn’t cheap. “I guess it’s okay. I mean you did, per your CV, serve our country so you must be okay. I’ll let you start, but if there’s even one red flag I’m kicking you out.”
“I’d expect nothing less from a law abiding citizen.”
“Now,” she pushed her spiraled tresses back behind her shoulder. “About this bringing me into the twenty-first century thing,” she didn’t have the money for that at all. She was going to have to stay in the proverbial Dark Ages of security equipment until she had more money. “I can’t afford that. We’ll have to work with what we have.”
He shook his head no. Did he not realize that she was the boss? Well, maybe she just needed to remind him. “Me boss; you employee,” she said in a Tarzan kind of way. She loved old movies and it wasn’t out of her usual norm to slip into mixing up their quotes.
He laughed. “You boss of store,” he said in the same tone. “Me boss of security.” God he was so serious yet playful that it made her laugh.
“I really can’t afford it.”
“I’ve got it covered.”
“So you’re working for practically free and you’re upgrading my security for free. Wow! You must be desperate for work on the Row.” The Row wasn’t just one long street of shops; it was several blocks. It’s just that her shop was situated in the heart of the district of stores, galleries, and upscale food establishments. She knew, no matter where the vacant store became available, people jumped at the chance to own a spot in this high-class district. She had gotten lucky; or more like her hard work had paid off, because she managed to get her bid in on her spot the same day the store went up for sale. With her preapproval in hand and all required paperwork, she managed to blissfully beat the competition to the punch and at the end of the race for one of the most coveted spots in the shopping district, she was the one who took home the key.
“I couldn’t care less about the status of the Row. No place is safe, but you all walk around here as if the name, the location, and the prestige alone will keep you safe. I guess you all now see that it won’t.”
She nodded. “It was nice while the peacefulness lasted.” She had to admit that. There was so much craziness in the world, and in Arizona too. There was the serial rapist on the loose in Chandler. There had been several apartment shootings in Mesa. Areas of Phoenix were quickly becoming areas to avoid even in the daylight hours and now the Row had been hit. There just never seemed to be any place to go where a person could be safe without fear of the next major attack from some whack job lunatic.