Page 18 of Bear In Mind

Her brows creased as she glanced at the clock on the wall.“She was in here about forty minutes ago.She asked if I had any openings but took off right after.”

“Thanks.”I didn’t give her a chance to be nosy.Pushing through the door, I searched up and down the both streets that intersected in front of the dive, but there was no sign of her.Shit.

Inhaling deep, I tried to locate her scent in the air, but it was long gone.Black Fall sat well above sea level.The higher altitude meant cooler weather, colder winters and plenty of breezes year round.And that’s exactly where my curvy mate was: in the wind.

Chapter Fourteen

Bryn

I’d stood outside a solid five minutes debating with myself before coming inside the hardware store.Nuts & Boltswas the only store of its kind in town, which meant Bear did a lot of business with them.After striking out with five other shops before this one, my need for a job finally won out over my desire to avoid the attractive shifter.

The bell rang above the door, alerting Mr.Adler of my arrival.Almost immediately, the older man appeared.He was well-built for fifty-something, a bit rough around the edges, but he was always polite, a gentle lumberjack dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt year round.“Well, hello, Bryn.”It was obvious he wasn’t expecting to see me, which upped my nerves.“What brings a pretty young lady like you into a hardware store?”

Harry was a regular atMugs.Jane’swas a block from his business, butMugswas on the other end of town, closer to home and convenient on his route to work he said.Every morning he stopped in for a black coffee and a-

I froze as it dawned on me.The greying male was the last person I suspected of being a shifter.He didn’t put honey in his coffee, but he was a big fan ofJane’shoney buns, which were fresh baked daily and glazed in a honey icing.Mrs.Adler passed away five years ago, shortly after I was hired at the coffee shop.In speaking with the man, I knew he’d missed his wife’s baking.Unwilling to make a mistake and betray Bear, though, I assumed the safest thing: that he simply liked black coffee and honey buns for breakfast.

Awareness crept in as the patient male stared expectantly at me.Plastering a grin on my face, I clung to my purse straps.“A job.”I swallowed as his brows arched upwards.“With Junior away at college, I didn’t know if you were in need of an extra set of hands.”

“Finally had enough, huh?”Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he considered me.

Feeling my cheeks heat, I shifted.Mr.Adler had been in the store that morning Stuart asked if I was a retard.He’d assured me the customers didn’t think that before placing his usual order.“Um, not quite.”

He frowned.“Don’t tell me the idiot fired you.”

I stared at him, stiff smile in place.It wasn’t a subject I wanted to discuss at the moment.The wounds were fresh.

The silence was deafening.One of the benefits and curses of living in a small town was that, for the most part, everyone knew everyone.Spring and Summer saw an upswing in tourist and contractors, hired as seasonal workers byOrson Constructionduring their busiest time of year, but, on any given day, you knew who you were doing business with, and they knew you.Which meant nothing was private, and there was no blending in.

“I’m sorry, hun.For what it’s worth, you were a great employee.He didn’t deserve you.”

My expression lost a bit of its tension.Sincerity shone in his eyes, putting me at ease.“Thank you.”

He nodded his head.Adjusting his stance, he looked around the store.“Now about that job, I’m not in need of another grunt worker, but refresh an old man’s memory.What were you going to school for?

“Business Management and New Media Marketing.It’s a new hybrid degree that’s tailored for people looking to own or run a business, and covers everything associated: operations, communications, bookkeeping, classic and new media or internet marketing, statistics and a few other components.”When I first chose the program, I was hoping to be made store manager atMugs,secretly wishing that Stuart would go back to the city and let me run things.Now, if money was no object, I would buy the empty store front across from his and give him a run for his money.Of course, knowing how many customersMugshad daily, it would probably fail in a matter of months.The better plan would be to buy Stuart out and take over the business.Knowing what I did about the profit margins, the man was making a fortune and paid his employees far less than he could afford to, meaning it’d be cheaper to compete than to buy him out.

“Bookkeeping you said?”He ran his fingers through is peppered beard.

“Yes, sir.Invoicing, accounts receivable, double checking payables, profit margins, taxes, tally sheets and just accounting in general.”I smother the hope welling in my chest; I didn’t want to be disappointed if he was simply inquiring for memory’s sake.

He pursed his lips, nodding.“Well, I could definitely use one of those, but I’m afraid it’d only be part time, around twenty to twenty five hours a week.”He shifted, as if he were uncomfortable.“I’m not sure what you were earning over there, but I could only offer you about three or four dollars above minimum wage an hour with a limited coverage health plan.I’m flexible on the hours and wouldn’t mind you working from home sometimes, though.Hell, if you can use some of that fancy media stuff to increase business for the store, I’ll give you a cut of the profits.Junior’s been bustin’ me for years about going online but, well, let’s just say that’s not this old man’s forte.”

I did a quick calculation.Despite being a couple dollars more than myMugswage, I would still be short for what I needed every month.But, it was a solid job offer, and if I could talk Tiff into helping me build a website for online sales, create social media accounts for the store to network and attract other contractors, I could more than replace my previous income.

“One condition.”I bit my inner lip, my nerves doubling.

He grunted.“What’s that?”

“You give me the budget for a website and grant me full control of the e-business.I’d be willing to sign a contract agreeing not to tarnish or hinder your reputation.”I held my breath.I’d just taken the biggest risk of my adult life.I didn’t know much about fixtures and hardware, but I was willing to learn.

Stroking the fur on his chin, he studied me.“You think it’s worth it?”

“I can show you stats and articles proving an online presence increases your customer reach, and selling your products in store and online is almost guaranteed to double that, particularly if you plug into biggest e-tailors like Amazon and eBay.If we made a good deal with a shipping company, you could potentially go bigger and transition from a store to a nationwide third party supplier, but that would be down the road, of course.”I was dressed to sit around in a restaurant, drinking, eating and moping, yet here I was discussing major business moves with a new employer.I hadn’t planned it this way, but I was a firm believer in ‘everything happens for a reason.’

Excitement bubble inside me at the prospect of it all.It would be challenging, more time consuming than the twenty-five hours a week he could pay me for.If I succeeded, though, this pay off would exceed any salary Stuart would have offered me, and potentially, more than any other corporation that hired me.This was like joining a start up company, complete with stock options.

His expression turned pensive as he mulled it over.My heart beat a little faster as each second ticked by.He was unreadable, indiscernible.“How long would something like that take to get going?”

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