Down to You by M. Leighton

no
intention of waiting around for Cash like a puppy dog. Even if he
is my employer. It’s the principle of the thing. I remember
thinking that he’s just like all the other bad boys. Fun-loving,
exciting, and, ultimately, unfaithful.
    Not that it seems he has anyone to be
faithful to, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he
did.
    Shaking off the thoughts, I remind myself
that I don’t care about Cash. He’s my employer and that’s it. End
of story.
    “I didn’t want to interrupt you and Taryn,” I
explain, hating the waspish bite to my tone. I soften it a bit
with, “Marco showed me everything I needed to do anyway. No big
deal.”
    “Marco, huh?”
    Is it my imagination or is there some
venom in his voice now?
    “Yeah. He’s great.”
    He humphs and then pauses for a second
before continuing. “Taryn had some concerns she needed to address
with me before tonight, which is why I’m calling you.”
    I’m relieved. Instantly. And I hate that I
am. It irritates me. But more than that, now I’m worried. This call
seems ominous.
    “Is there a problem?”
    “Look, I’m not the type to beat around the
bush or to get involved in petty rivalries, so I’m just gonna be
straight with you. Taryn isn’t particularly interested in training
you. She doesn’t have a specific reason; she just isn’t. I won’t
tell you what I think it is, because it doesn’t matter. What
matters is that I want you working at Dual. I know you need a
specific shift. If she can’t work with you, that’s her problem and
she can find something else that might make her happy.”
    “So, what does this mean? What are you
saying?”
    “Well, when given those options, Taryn
decided that she’d rather stay. So, I’m leaving your training up to
you. If you want Taryn to train you, she will. If not, then I’ll do
it.”
    My pulse speeds up just thinking about
spending so much time with Cash. And in such close quarters.
    “Can’t Marco train me?”
    There’s a protracted pause before Cash
answers. When he does, his tone is clipped. “No. That’s not Marco’s
job.”
    My mind is racing with a thousand thoughts,
not the least of which is that it makes me smile to think Cash
might be a tad bit jealous of Marco.
    “I don’t know what to say. I mean, I don’t
want Taryn to think I’m backing down from her. I’m not going to let
her run me off. But at the same time, I don’t want to put her in a
bad position if she’s got a problem with me.”
    “Her job is not to like you, it’s to train
you. You aren’t putting her in a bad position.”
    My hesitation is minimal. Regardless of my
feelings on the issue with Taryn, I know it won’t bode well for me
if I let Cash train me. I just don’t trust myself around him. Not
completely anyway.
    “Then I’ll let her train me.”
    “Okay. But if she gives you a hard time, I
want you to come to me immediately.”
    “I will,” I agree, having no intention of
doing any such thing. No, I’ll have to sort out things with Taryn
on my own. We’ll either learn to get along or learn to work with
someone we hate.
    I drag a hand through my tangled hair. I hope
it’s the former rather than the latter. Working with someone who
hates me will be stressful in a big, big way.
    “She’s asked off for tonight, so you won’t
have to work again until next weekend. Unless you want to pick up
an extra shift Wednesday night when she works.”
    Actually, I need the money. And my classes
don’t start until 11:00 on Thursday, so I could probably swing
that, as long as it doesn’t become a habit.
    “Wednesday’s good. I can do that.”
    “Good,” he says. I think I hear a smile in
his voice. I’m glad he didn’t take it personally that I don’t want
to be trained specifically by him.
    I bet his ego is so big he didn’t give it a
second thought.
    “Well, if there’s anything you need, give me
a call. I’ve always got my cell phone with me.”
    “How did you get my number