InstructionbySeduction by Jessica Shin Page A

said
because she was the manager.
    “Okay, Rusty. Have it your way.” Leah turned to go back into
the building.
    “Why don’t you run and tell Bob on me. Tell him how bad I’m
being.”
    Leah ignored him, but he was right. She would have to tattle
to her manager to get Rusty in trouble. Leah gritted her teeth. Why did he have
to be such an asshole?
    “Rusty may not be coming back,” Leah told Nick. She pulled a
box off the stack and began shelving canned cat food. “I’ll help until he gets
here.”
    “He sick or something?”
    Sick in the head .
    “No.”
    “Then why isn’t he coming?”
    “He’s just not.”
    “Uh huh.” Nick looked at her like she was incompetent.
    Maybe I am , Leah thought. I can’t even get a
belligerent jerk to come in and do his job.
    Leah got home with just enough energy to crawl into bed. She
curled up into a ball and hugged herself. When Rusty had finally come back from
his “break” he’d been nothing but an ass, smarting off at every chance he got
whether other people were around or not. It didn’t matter what Leah said to
him. He just wouldn’t stop.
    Leah knew she was going to have to turn him in to Bob. She
couldn’t handle Rusty on her own and his attitude was infecting the other
employees.
    Leah tossed and turned trying to sleep but every time she
closed her eyes she saw Rusty and his shit-eating grin. Scott , she
thought. Think of Scott . His image appeared in her mind and she smiled.
She didn’t know anything about him but she could invent something. By the time
she drifted off to sleep she’d created an entire life for Scott, from where he
was born to the color of his toothbrush.
    Saturday morning brought an early shift for Leah. She rolled
out of bed, wanting nothing more than to roll right back in. She didn’t want to
look like a failure already to Bob but she had no choice.
    Leah cast a glance at the box as she left her bedroom. What
will Hale say ?
    * * * * *
    “Bob,” Leah said, knocking on the office door. Bob was in
the middle of a cheese Danish. He looked up at her, nodded and motioned her in.
    Bob washed down his bite with a drink of coffee. “How did
everything go yesterday?”
    “Well, that’s what I need to see you about.”
    “Uh oh.”
    “It’s not…well, it is kind of bad.”
    “Can you shut the door please?”
    Leah shut the door and sat down at Bob’s desk to face him.
    “It’s Rusty. He was…belligerent. He went on break and stayed
outside smoking for like forty-five minutes. I went out and told him to get
back inside and he just wouldn’t do it. He stood there and said no. I didn’t
know what to do.”
    Bob leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples with his
fingers. “I swear I curse the day I hired him.”
    Leah breathed a silent sigh of relief. She’d been worried
that Bob would look at her like a moron, maybe even take Rusty’s side. After
all, she was the manager and there was an employee outside smoking for almost
an hour. She couldn’t even wrangle in one bad employee. Not good .
    “I’m sorry he did that to you, Leah. Guy’s got a problem
with taking direction from anyone, so don’t feel too bad.”
    “I felt incompetent.”
    “I’ll talk to him. Make sure he understands that if he
doesn’t get his act together we’re going to have a problem. He’s walking a fine
line already.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Anything else?” Bob asked.
    Yes! Leah’s brain screamed. I need training! I
need authority! I have all the responsibility of a manager and none of the
benefits! I need to know how to manage, not just get thrown to the wolves!
    But no words came out of Leah’s mouth. She shook her head.
    “Good then. Can you help Darla this morning over on register
four? She’s new and still getting the hang of how to ring up things that won’t
scan.”
    “Sure.” Leah got up and left the office. Why the hell
didn’t you tell him how you feel? she asked herself. Why didn’t you say
something ? She had questions