Read The Job for Free Online Page A

prospective
early day.
    Still,
I’m not so sure I want to rock the boat when Jessica and I are just barely
trying to make some inroads.
    “You
know,” Linda says, leaning forward over the counter, her elbows in just the
right position to press her breasts together as the front of her shirt falls
open a little, “I don’t think I can be alone right now.”
    Really,
I’m not sure that Jessica and I are ever really going to see eye to eye. Maybe
it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to cut out a little early. Still, the rational
part of my mind is just edging out a small lead.
    “I
don’t know,” I tell her. “If it’s something serious and she comes back to find
everyone’s abandoned the store, she’s probably not going to be too happy about
it.”
    “I’ll
tell you what,” Linda says. “Let me give her a call and see what she thinks we
should do. That way, everyone’s covered.”
    That’s
perfectly reasonable.
    “Even
if it does mean I have to stand over here all by myself, trying to occupy
myself with whatever comes to mind, being completely unable to do anything
about it.”
    My
rational mind takes a body blow, but it’s still technically in control.
    “Let’s
just see what she says,” I tell her, and I go back to work.
    “Everything
cool, boss?” Ian asks.
    “I
have no idea,” I tell them. “Oh, and it looks like we’re going to have another
change to our plans.”
    José’s
the only one that doesn’t groan. Even the new guy, Derek or Dylan or whatever
his name is, rolls his eyes.
    “We’re
never going to get this thing done if she keeps changing everything on us,”
Alec says. “Maybe you should have a talk to her about it.”
    “I’ve
talked to her about it pretty much every day since we started,” I tell him. “I
think we just need to realize that this is her store and what she says goes.
She’s been good about bumping up the payment cap whenever we need to make a
change, so it’s not that big of a deal.”
    “Yeah,
but do you know how this looks to people on the outside?” Ian asks. “They see
us come in here for a quick remodel and we’re already here almost a month,
hardly closer to finishing than when we started.”
    “Everyone’s
had a client who changes their mind,” I tell him. “Besides, maybe we should
stop thinking about what potential clients think and start worrying more about
what our actual client—our only actual client, I might add—thinks.”
    “You’re
getting soft, boss,” Alec jeers.
    “Not
too soft, I hope,” Linda says from somewhere behind me. “I just got off the
phone with Jessica,” she says. “She said that we can all take the rest of the
day. I don’t know what you guys want to do, but I’m going to close up.”
    “What
do you think?” I ask my crew.
    “I’ll
stay,” José says quickly, putting a lot of pressure on the rest of the guys.
Unfortunately, it’s not quite enough.
    “I
think we should probably go when they go,” Alec says.
    “Yeah,”
Ian assents and Drake—that’s his name—nods, too.
    “All
right,” I tell them. “You guys can take the rest of the day, but I want
everyone here an hour early tomorrow, and I do mean everyone.”
    José
shakes his head a bit. When I decide to give up the company, it’s definitely
going to him. He is, by far, the best worker in the crew; he never complains,
he’s always early, and always hardworking. If he was at all approachable
regarding anything other than work, I think he and I would probably be better
friends than Alec and me.
    The
guys put their tools up and cover the work area, making sure to put up the
grating that we’re using to keep the store secure while we’re working on the
windows. I help where I can, but they’ve pretty much got it taken care of.
    “So,”
Linda says, “you wanna get out of here?”
    “Did
you really call Jessica?” I ask.
    She
seems offended. “Of course I did,” she says. “I wouldn’t just capitalize on my
boss’s life problems. She