Where was I going to find someone like that?
Chapter Two
Jess
I ran up to the entrance of Baker’s Brothers Records, holding the hood of my jacket tight against my face. I shouldn’t have even bothered to straighten my hair that morning. Even with the slick yellow jacket, the rain somehow managed to turn my brown hair into a rat’s nest.
The door opened, and I stepped back, letting some guy out first. He barely looked at me as he sprinted toward his car to avoid the thick raindrops from assaulting him. By the time I registered what had happened, the door had closed in my face.
“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath and pulled open the door, stepping inside of the warm record shop.
Whenever my best friend, Sierra, worked at Baker’s Brothers, she always cranked the heat since she claimed she was cold-blooded. But we both knew it was her lack of body fat. Usually, I sweltered, but today it was perfect.
I slipped off my jacket and hung it on the coat rack next to the entryway. I shivered and tossed my wet strands over my shoulder. In the heat of the room, I was sure my locks would be dry by the time I left.
“Oh, thank God you’re here,” Sierra said from the back of the room.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Sierra rushed over to me and held my arms in place by my side. “I need you to tell me if this shirt does anything for my chest.”
She posed in front of me, and I inspected her black tunic with spaghetti straps. The neckline plunged down to almost reaching her belly button, making it obvious she wasn’t wearing a bra. With her thin frame, Sierra was obsessed with making her chest look bigger. I didn’t know how many times I told her she couldn’t have it both ways. She preferred the thigh gap over chest size, but that didn’t stop her from trying.
“It draws some attention,” I said.
She grinned, placing her now bright red wavy locks over her shoulders to finish the look. She had a tendency to go with eccentric hair. “That’s what I was going for.” She headed to the front desk, and I followed her, draping myself over the counter.
She started unpacking a box of records and organizing them on the surface. “One week of unemployment and you’re already sulking?”
“I hate not working,” I moaned.
“Give yourself some time to relax before getting back on the horse,” she said.
“I don’t know how to relax,” I said.
“I’ve noticed,” she said with a smile. She adjusted the gold chain that linked her double piercings.
“It would have been great if Ricky didn’t age at all and could stay at home forever with me as his nanny. He was the perfect kid,” I said.
“I’m sure it helped that his parents were rich as hell,” Sierra said.
Her obsession with wealth and superficial things always boggled my mind since she was the one to shop in vintage discount stores. “I’m really going to miss that paycheck each week. But the family was lovely too. Not seeing them every day makes me a little down. With Ricky’s mom being older, she felt like a surrogate mom for me. And his dad always invited me on their little weekend getaways.”
“Now you’re making me want to be a nanny for a wealthy family,” Sierra said.
“You taking care of a child?” I asked sardonically.
She made a face. “Nah, you’re right. I’ll stick to what I know.” She pulled out a few more records. “With a recommendation from his parents, I know you’ll be able to get something soon. If that’s what you want.”
“It’s more about what I need right now. I have a little saved up, but I want to keep working.”
“You know, you can always work here in the meantime,” Sierra said. “It would be so fun working together!”
“I doubt Harold would go for it,” I said.
“He’s a pushover. If I play my cards right, I might get a promotion out of it.” She winked at me.
Working at a record shop wasn’t of any interest to me, but I didn’t want to offend Sierra with her choice in career. Besides, I wasn’t in the habit of burning bridges. If a nanny job didn’t show up soon, I might need to take her up on that offer at least as a way to pay my bills.