“My given name is Jagger.”
She pulls the spoon from her mouth and smiles. “It’s nice to meet you, Jagger.”
***
I nod at the Prospect at the door as I move inside the dispensary. The place is like Fort Knox. The amount of product is potentially enough to make an idiot feel brave. It’s the chillest work environment I’ve ever been in. Half the time people are high. You have to test the product in order to recommend it, and Stone trusts us to set our own limits. I take the occasional toke, but I’m here to be more muscles than business man, so I like to stay sharp.
“How was it?” I ask Dixie Rose as she comes out of the back.
“Pretty good. We had a nice little rush about an hour ago. I just finished doing some restock, and we have a new strain in, fruity pebbles.”
“What?”
She laughs. “Dude it’s neon red and orange, it blows my mind.”
“You try it?”
“Come on, you know I’m getting ready to start a government job at the school.”
“I do know that. How’s training going?” I ask looking for Tinley.
“Good. She’s ready to run the shop for sure. She knows the products, procedures, and gives great customer services. I see a smooth transition.”
“Where’s she at?”
“Taking her lunch break. Tinley’s bro brought baby boy by to visit her, so I gave her an hour. She should be back in another thirty minutes. I know you can handle yourself alone.”
“You know I hate dealing with customers.”
She laughs. “Why? They’re too scared to be a dick to you.”
“But not you?”
“You’re nice to me.”
I shake my head. “Cause you don’t try to talk me to death.” Too many hours in a small space broke down barriers between us quickly. Dixie Rose has a laid back vibe that makes her easy to work with. We can be in the shop for an hour and not say more than a few sentences. Tinley is a different story.
“She’s not that bad.”
I grunt.
“You gotta admit she’s better now than she was.”
“Hell yeah, she is. We need to get another girl in here for her to commune with, or whatever ya’ll do.”
“I think you secretly love us, Freeze.”
“Twin pains in my asses is more like it,” I mutter.
The bell chimes and she straightens and offers up a smile. “Welcome to Kings. What can I help you with today?”
“I was looking for some candy medication.”
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you our selection. We’ve got the best variety in the county. Everything from lollipops, to gummy leaves, and chocolate.” Her voice fades slightly as they move to the far corner. I examine the thin man in baggy khakis and a faded White Snake t-shirt. His dark hair is long, but well kept, and he has a chill vibe of most stoners. I mean card carriers. I don’t sense a threat. I doubt he even knows how to operate a weapon. I relax as I do a perimeter check. Nothing seems out of place. A glance outside shows the area is clear. We have brothers driving by pretty much on the hour to discourage robbery. We invested a lot of money to open up shop. Green always greases the wheels when it comes to paperwork. We want to keep earning, so we can open up a second location. We’re on track for it so far. I’m good with numbers, so they threw me in here when it first opened.
When I travel, Dixie Rose has always taken over. Now the job will fall to Tinley. I shake my head. The girl’s book smart. What she lacks is street smarts. She wasn’t raised in this life, which makes her green, but Stone insists she can do it. I think the President has a soft spot for the single mother. The door chimes again and I frown at the sight of Warped.
“What’s up, brother?”