up, so people wouldn’t know there was a door here. I constantly get guys staring at me, wondering why I’m walking to the wall until they see I can indeed pull on the side of it and slide it open. That, of course, opens up all kinds of different questions about what’s behind there and what kind of secret lair I have uncovered.
I don’t bother telling them it’s the entrance to my dream, the business I created from the ground up. Most of the time, I just smile and act like I didn’t hear them as I walk by.
When I enter my portion of the building, I hear blaring rap music coming from the kitchen. I walk down the hallway to see Shawn, my one and only employee, putting together gift boxes and bobbing his head to the beat.
“I’m back!” I shout.
He doesn’t hear me, so I walk up to the speaker sitting off to the side and lower the volume. His voice continues rapping the song even though it isn’t playing anymore, and I have to stifle a laugh.
“What the—” He doesn’t finish his sentence when he sees me standing here with my eyebrows raised in question, making him change his tone. “You came back fast.”
“There was no line at the post office,” I say as I turn the radio back up but keep it down a few—or ten—notches. “Loud much?”
“I had to drown out the gym rats.” He points to the wall. “Some dude kept grunting. That is not a sound I need to hear.”
Shawn is a no-bullshit kind of guy. He says it like it is and doesn’t beat around the bush for anything. He’s still in school at the Institute of Culinary Arts, and he works for me part-time, which is why I can afford him. When this loan comes through, I’m going to snatch him up full-time before someone else does.
Shawn is a chocolate dream. He’s always on time, he’s incredibly neat, and he follows each recipe to the utmost precision. He says working with chocolate gives him peace in his messed up head that’s always thinking a mile a minute. All I know is, he brings Zen to my world by getting his work done without having to be told twice.
“You know how the afternoon crowd gets. All testosterone, all the time. They’re here to get shredded.”
“Like the guy who screams out like a crow when he squats.” Shawn rolls his head back and mimics, “Cawww!”
“I was getting my mail the other day when I heard these two guys talking, saying, ‘Bro, you’re looking good,’ followed by, ‘Nah, man, you’re the best-looking guy in the gym.’ I turned around, and they were identical twins!”
Shawn laughs. “I’d ask what the hell you were thinking, renting a kitchen at this place, but I know your situation. Soon though, you’ll be out of here and soaring.”
“Your lips to God’s ears, my friend.” I walk into my office. “Have you seen a UPS box anywhere? I’m expecting a new roll of stickers.”
I glance over and see I left my bra hanging on the side of the futon from when I took it off last night. It’s lacy and black and definitely not something you want your employee to see. I quickly pick it up and tuck it in my suitcase, which doubles as a closet.
“Yep, it came while you were out. I placed it on your desk,” Shawn calls. “It’s across from that sexy-ass bra you have lying around in there.”
Damn it, of course he saw it.
I lean out my door to eye him, and he holds his hands up in defense.
“I’m a hot-blooded American male. I saw lingerie, so of course, I was going to look. Sue me.”
The words sue me ring in my ears. Hearing him mentioning a legal action puts unease in my stomach.
I turn around and head toward my desk and start up my laptop, trying not to think about this debacle I’m in. Spreadsheet and invoices will certainly do the trick. Every day, we fulfill anywhere between twenty to thirty orders, and seeing our numbers standing steady always fills me with pride.
A loud bang on the alleyway door gets my attention.
As Shawn walks over to open it, he calls out, “Your girl is here.”
I laugh at how he knows without having to look at the security camera. Only my best friend, Charity, bangs on the door with her fist like she’s making a drug bust. She says it’s the sketchy path you have