Ronny shrugged, looking bored. He sighed. They were standing in his trailer which he pretended to work from. The guys she worked with all joked that he spent the day watching porn and jacking off. She’d never taken much notice. It hadn’t seemed right to gossip about the boss
.
Even if he was a little cockroach.
Now, she looked around the messy place in disgust. The trash was overflowing, empty food containers lay everywhere and it stunk of sweat, garbage and old food. She wouldn’t be surprised if there were actual cockroaches living in this dump.
Ronny hitched up his ugly shorts that were part of their uniform. His huge belly fell over the top of them, the buttons of his shirt straining over his stomach.
“Look, girly, I got places to go.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. His father had been the one to hire her. And he’d always treated her with respect. She was the only woman who worked here and once he’d seen she knew what she was doing, he’d started giving her the more complicated jobs. The ones that required brains rather than just brawn. Which is all some of the guys had.
“You can’t just fire me without telling me why.”
He raised his arm. She grimaced at the pit-stains on his shirt, the smell wafting out. Her eyes watered. Jesus. Did he ever shower?
“It’s the fucking economy. I’m losing money here.”
Then why didn’t he do some work instead of watching porn and masturbating?
She could feel her shoulders hunching over. She nearly left without another word, but then she remembered that she had a mortgage and bills to pay.
She needed this job.
She didn’t want to lose it.
“So why me? Why not one of the other guys?” Most of whom took extra-long breaks and were always getting to work late and leaving early. Not one of them brought in as much revenue as she did. She was sure of it.
So why fire her?
Because you rejected him last week.
She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She knew she shouldn’t have gone to Friday night drinks. But Kev, one of the older guys she worked with who she actually liked, had asked her and she was tired of going home to a quiet, empty house.
It was so lonely.
But she should have listened to her instincts. The whole night had been uncomfortable and weird. She wasn’t a drinker, and she’d felt a little silly ordering a sparkling water. Then when she’d gone to the bathroom before heading home, because she always seemed to need the toilet as soon as she got in the car, she’d encountered Ronny walking back into the bar.
He’d been stumbling, already drunk and when she’d reached out to help him as he’d tripped, he’d pushed her against the wall and kissed her. She’d tried to fight him off, but he had at least a hundred pounds on her.
He’d slobbered all over her, his breath reeking of garlic and bourbon, his over-powering body odor almost making her gag. She’d only managed to get away because another guy from the bar had come along and asked if she was okay.
She’d thought he hadn’t remembered because he hadn’t acted any differently towards her.
Until now.
Her body was trembling. This couldn’t be happening. What would she do? Paying out Greg had left her with a hefty mortgage, she lived cheaply but she’d lose her home if she couldn’t find another job quickly.
“I bring in more money than anyone else—”
“Now, that’s just not true, sweetheart,” Ronny drawled condescendingly. “Please don’t beg me. It’s a little pathetic and I really don’t have time to listen to you. It’s a simple matter of last on, first off.”
Her mouth dropped open. That. . .that cockroach!
“I was not the last hire! You only hired Seb four weeks ago!” And he was completely useless. Spent more time taking photos of himself and posting them to Instagram than he did actually working.
“Yeah, but Seb is a friend. You’re not. Now, don’t cry, it makes you look pathetic. See, this is why my dad shouldn’t have hired a woman to do a man’s job.”