yeah. It’s one of those ugly rodent things.”
Her eyes widened with surprise, then she laughed out loud, exposing her perfect teeth. Dylan had the same choppers, thanks to the weird but cool phenomenon of heredity. “Not that kind of gopher. I mean the kind of go-fer who works for a business, does odd jobs. Copying, filing, refilling the brochure racks, taking packages to the post office. That sort of thing.”
“I hadn’t heard of that kind, no,” I said, feeling dumb. And dumber. But why did they refer to this person as a gopher anyway?
She crossed her legs to the side and sort of studied me over her shoulder. “We could use one here at the agency.”
“A gopher?” My heart gave a thunk, and I glanced behind me toward the front display window. “Really? I didn’t notice a help wanted sign—”
“That’s because we haven’t been actively looking,” she said, then held up a hand. “I know, totally uncool to work for your boyfriend’s mom and all that—”
“No,” I lied in a rush, desperate for any option, even that. “That’s not what I was thinking.” Even though it maybe kinda was. I swallowed and gripped my coffee mug tighter, not wanting to appear even more ignorant by making assumptions that she might be offering me the job, even if all clues pointed to that. “Are you…am I—?”
“Would you like the job?”
My tummy took the express elevator to the bottom floor, crashing somewhere around my feet. “You mean I don’t have to interview or anything?”
Chloe laughed again. “I think I know you well enough to vouch for you.”
A zing of guilt rushed through me. Maybe, but she didn’t know me well enough to realize that my goal for the summer was to break up her and my dad. Still, I wasn’t about to turn down this chance. “I’d love the job. Really?”
“Really.”
I blew out a huge breath of relief. “I thought I was going to have to settle for Burger Wonder, even though I’m tenth on the waiting list, so it would’ve been a while. Still, God, have you seen those embarrassing uniforms?”
“No uniforms here,” she said with a smile. “Just nice, casual clothes. Slacks, skirts. And since you’ll be carrying packages and things, jeans are fine for you, too. Just no shorts unless our air-conditioning breaks, which it usually does about once a summer on the only day we really need it.”
I smiled. “Okay.” I sipped my coffee, noticing my hands had begun to shake. After I’d swallowed, I thought I should act at least a little professional. I asked, “What, um, exactly will the job entail?”
“Well, I’d need you four hours a day, Monday through Friday. Morning’s fine if that works for you, so it doesn’t cut into your fun time too much. Or whenever.”
“Morning’s great,” I assured her. That was usually when Dylan worked. Sweet.
“Like I said, you’ll be doing all the busywork that takes away valuable booking time from the travel agents. Making copies, sending faxes, shipping things, restocking, sorting and distributing mail. The occasional coffee or lunch run. Does that sound tolerable?”
Tolerable? “It sounds fine.”
“Wonderful. I can pay you ten dollars an hour—”
“What?” My eyes bugged and I almost dropped my coffee.
“I’m sorry, that’s all the budget will allow.”
“No, I meant that’s great! Burger Wonder pays crap—excuse my language—and they make you wear those hats that look like a thing of French fries.”
“Don’t forget having to say ‘Have a Burger Wonderful Day’ to customers as they leave,” she teased.
“So you’ve been there,” I said with a smirk.
“Who hasn’t? The outfits are hideous, to be sure, but they have great burgers.”
True enough. I did quick salary calculations in my head. At ten bucks an hour, twenty hours a week, I just might be able to pay my dad off by the end of the summer if I scrimped. “I really appreciate you helping me out like this, Chloe. But, um…well, this is
Her eyes widened with surprise, then she laughed out loud, exposing her perfect teeth. Dylan had the same choppers, thanks to the weird but cool phenomenon of heredity. “Not that kind of gopher. I mean the kind of go-fer who works for a business, does odd jobs. Copying, filing, refilling the brochure racks, taking packages to the post office. That sort of thing.”
“I hadn’t heard of that kind, no,” I said, feeling dumb. And dumber. But why did they refer to this person as a gopher anyway?
She crossed her legs to the side and sort of studied me over her shoulder. “We could use one here at the agency.”
“A gopher?” My heart gave a thunk, and I glanced behind me toward the front display window. “Really? I didn’t notice a help wanted sign—”
“That’s because we haven’t been actively looking,” she said, then held up a hand. “I know, totally uncool to work for your boyfriend’s mom and all that—”
“No,” I lied in a rush, desperate for any option, even that. “That’s not what I was thinking.” Even though it maybe kinda was. I swallowed and gripped my coffee mug tighter, not wanting to appear even more ignorant by making assumptions that she might be offering me the job, even if all clues pointed to that. “Are you…am I—?”
“Would you like the job?”
My tummy took the express elevator to the bottom floor, crashing somewhere around my feet. “You mean I don’t have to interview or anything?”
Chloe laughed again. “I think I know you well enough to vouch for you.”
A zing of guilt rushed through me. Maybe, but she didn’t know me well enough to realize that my goal for the summer was to break up her and my dad. Still, I wasn’t about to turn down this chance. “I’d love the job. Really?”
“Really.”
I blew out a huge breath of relief. “I thought I was going to have to settle for Burger Wonder, even though I’m tenth on the waiting list, so it would’ve been a while. Still, God, have you seen those embarrassing uniforms?”
“No uniforms here,” she said with a smile. “Just nice, casual clothes. Slacks, skirts. And since you’ll be carrying packages and things, jeans are fine for you, too. Just no shorts unless our air-conditioning breaks, which it usually does about once a summer on the only day we really need it.”
I smiled. “Okay.” I sipped my coffee, noticing my hands had begun to shake. After I’d swallowed, I thought I should act at least a little professional. I asked, “What, um, exactly will the job entail?”
“Well, I’d need you four hours a day, Monday through Friday. Morning’s fine if that works for you, so it doesn’t cut into your fun time too much. Or whenever.”
“Morning’s great,” I assured her. That was usually when Dylan worked. Sweet.
“Like I said, you’ll be doing all the busywork that takes away valuable booking time from the travel agents. Making copies, sending faxes, shipping things, restocking, sorting and distributing mail. The occasional coffee or lunch run. Does that sound tolerable?”
Tolerable? “It sounds fine.”
“Wonderful. I can pay you ten dollars an hour—”
“What?” My eyes bugged and I almost dropped my coffee.
“I’m sorry, that’s all the budget will allow.”
“No, I meant that’s great! Burger Wonder pays crap—excuse my language—and they make you wear those hats that look like a thing of French fries.”
“Don’t forget having to say ‘Have a Burger Wonderful Day’ to customers as they leave,” she teased.
“So you’ve been there,” I said with a smirk.
“Who hasn’t? The outfits are hideous, to be sure, but they have great burgers.”
True enough. I did quick salary calculations in my head. At ten bucks an hour, twenty hours a week, I just might be able to pay my dad off by the end of the summer if I scrimped. “I really appreciate you helping me out like this, Chloe. But, um…well, this is
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