Page 9 of Hiding for the Holidays
An hour later and I’m heading towards my new job. I don’t have any other clothes, so I’m wearing the same worn jeans and black hoodie from yesterday. But I have no other option. The t-shirt I sleep in is huge and no better than what I’m wearing now, and I have only ten dollars left in cash.
I had another dry ham sandwich for breakfast and decided to just wait until I get home to eat again. It wouldn’t kill me to skip lunch. My mind wanders to how Scott would encourage me to skip meals, and my body shivers with unease.
I pull my hood up and glance around as the feeling of being watched skates over my skin. I don’t see anyone looking my way so I try to calm myself down. Scott wouldn’t stalk me anyway. If he saw me, he’d just grab me and shove me in his car… or beat me to death.
My hand wraps around the small switchblade in my pocket as I try to reassure myself that that isn’t going to happen. Scott had a job, a pretty important one that he loved. He couldn’t just take weeks off to track me around the country. I’m not even in the same state anymore.
By the time I reach Iron Oaks, I feel on edge. It’s not exactly how I want to start my first day at work, but I’d rather be inside there than standing around out in the cold.
I step inside, but don’t see anyone. Not even any clients. The music is playing softly overhead, and I start to walk towards the back, my head swiveling back and forth, trying to find one of the owners. When I reach the back where the self-defense class had been, with no sign of anyone, I call out, “Hello?”
I hear a couple of footsteps, and Grant steps out from a doorway at the back I had missed. “Clara! You’re early. Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”
I wasn’t sure what the time was as I had no phone or watch,so I take a quick glance around and see a clock on the wall above the mirrors in the open space. Eight forty-five. Only fifteen minutes early then.
“Sorry, I wasn't sure where to go.”
“No apologies needed. Would you like to come back here and I’ll show you around?” I nod and make my way over to him. He gestures into the doorway and places his hand on my lower back to guide me through.
His touch is reassuring and somehow eases something in me as I glance at the short hallway.
“This is the staff room, feel free to use it whenever you like.” I peek in and see a kitchenette, a small table with four chairs and a few lockers for storage. “You can hang your jacket and bag in one of those lockers.” I shrug off my coat and hang both of them in the middle locker before following him back out into the hall.
“This is the staff bathroom. There is one for customers in the back corner near the class space.” The bathroom is a simple room with a toilet and sink.
“And this is the office.” He uses his hand on my back to guide me into the room, and I slowly look around. There’s a large desk with a computer on it and a small couch opposite it. I see a couple of filing cabinets on the back wall and not much else.
“Who does your bookkeeping?” I ask when I see some invoices on the desk.
“I do, I was paying some bills when you came in.”
“Did you want me to handle that, too?” I ask, turning to look up at him.
His storm-gray eyes look at me in surprise. “You know how to do that?”
I nod. “Yeah. I didn’t at my last job, but I have a business degree. I know how to do it. Only if it’s something you need meto do, though. But it will help me to come up with a proper business plan for you, if I have a real picture of your expenses.”
“I think I have that all taken care of, but thanks for the offer. I can share my spreadsheets with you, though. It shows all our expenses and profits, and should tell you everything you need to know.”
“Oh, that’s great! I can come up with a plan much quicker then.”
“You know, I really appreciate you offering to help us, Clara.”
I press my lips together to fight my smile. I was pretty sure they offered this job for my benefit, not theirs. But that didn’t matter; I was going to do a damn good job, regardless. I could see potential here, and taking it from drab to fab could be fun. I just hoped they were open to change.
“I appreciate you taking a chance on me,” I tell him with a smile.
He smiles back, then clears his throat and gestures to the desk. “There’s an employment form on the corner of the desk there for you, if you can fill it out by the end of the day?”
“Yes, of course.” I almost ask about not having a social security number but hold my tongue, deciding to look over the form first.
“Do you want me to show you the spreadsheets?”
“Actually, I’d like to look around on my own for a while, if that’s okay?”
“I can show you, if you like?”
I shake my head. “No, I want to take it all from the view of someone new to the gym. Do you have a clipboard and some paper I can use to take notes?”
