The Whole Package

Chapter 1

Bailey

“I should have brought a change of clothes,” I tell Kyle as I take my purse out of my locker then close it again. “It’s too late now.”

I’ll never be able to drive home and still make it to the meeting on time. Not that I really have anything nicer than my work uniform I could wear. I have no clue what people wear to a shareholders meeting. Not that I even know what a shareholders meeting is. All I really want is a minute of Mr. Reed’s time, and I know he’ll be at the meeting.

He’s the CEO and holds the majority shares for Community Mart grocery stores. It’s an employee-owned grocery store, which means all the employees who work at the grocery store have stock in the company. It’s part of being an employee, but it also means you can go to the quarterly meeting if you like. I’ve never known anyone to actually go before, but I don’t have any other options. Talking to the CEO is my last shot. He could make or break things for my sister Hazel and me.

“Who cares? It’s your work uniform and it’s a company meeting. If they don’t like these uniforms, then they should change them.” Kyle plops down onto the bench and opens up his lunch. He digs into the bag and it reminds me that I haven’t eaten today. By the time I got off the phone with one of my sister’s doctors, I’d been out of time to eat and had to get back to my register.

“The uniform isn’t that bad.”

Kyle makes a face at me as if I’ve lost my mind, but I’m not sure he’d find any uniform to his liking. He told me the other day it needed a pop of color. We wear black pants with a white polo and our name tags. If you ask me, I think we’re pretty lucky and I’m not going to complain about it. Over at Sun Price grocery store they have to wear these ridiculous hats that have a spinning propeller on top of it.

“I could blend into the walls wearing this.”

“With the customers we get, sometimes I wish I could blend in with the walls. I don’t need any flair to draw attention to me.” You’d be shocked how mean some people can be over expired coupons or us running out of a product. Not that they’re all bad. I do have a ton of customers I love who always seek out my line.

“Ain’t that the truth. Mr. Sims is always on the lookout for you.” Kyle wiggles his eyebrows and I have to fight a groan. Who doesn’t that man notice? I think his only preference is vagina.

“Please don’t start with that.” I sit down next to Kyle on the bench and he hands me an apple slice. I take it knowing this will be it until I get home and have dinner tonight.

“Just saying he’s a hottie.”

“He’s also our boss,” I remind him. I have no desire to get tangled up with my boss and then end up without a job when things inevitably go south. The store manager, Mason Sims, thinks he’s a ladies’ man. I think he’s only into me because I never flirt with him like everyone else does. He’s so creepy. He’s our freaking manager and he flirts with everyone. Not just employees but customers, too.

“Don’t forget a manwhore,” Kyle adds, reading my mind. He scrunches up his nose and shakes his head. “Who knows how many holes he’s stuck his D into.”

I smack his arm. “Shh,” I half-heartedly scold him, not wanting us to get busted talking shit on the boss. “That’s gross,” I add. I don’t want to think about Mason’s D.

Don’t get me wrong. I can see why it’s so easy for Mason to land as many women as he does with his looks. He’s got that whole all-American thing going on with blond hair and blue eyes. He’s also good at his job, except for the flirting crap. Still, he rubs me the wrong way. Those baby-blue eyes of his linger too long on my body and it makes me uneasy. He’s clever, though; he makes sure to do it when no one else is around.

“You going to make it home before Annie needs to leave? I can always go over when I get off my shift,” Kyle offers, making sure I have someone to take care of my little sister if I can’t get home fast enough.

He knows my sister Hazel can’t be home alone. She gets off school at three, and the state helps with after school care three days a week because she is special needs. The other two, Annie comes to the grocery store and helps bag groceries. She loves it. She spends all the money she makes on feeding her animals.