Sandwich, With a Side of Romance

by Krista Phillips

  She picked it up and dangled it between her thumb and index finger until Reuben’s eye caught the gesture.

  He plucked the quote from her fingers, frowned at her, then turned his attention back to the caller. “Sorry about the wait. Found it. Let me see,” his eyes scanned the sheet. “Looks competitive enough, but I do have two more quotes I’m waiting for. I’ll let you know for sure by end of week. Will that work?”

  He ended the call and hung up the phone. “Where were we?”

  Maddie sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “You were telling me how much you needed an administrative assistant, and that I’d be perfect for the job.”

  “When did I say that?”

  Leaning forward, she tapped a finger on the disarray of papers covering his desk. “You didn’t have to.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows. “So you’re telling me you’re qualified to be an office assistant?”

  Qualified and capable were two different, but related, words. “What I’m qualified to be is a hairdresser, but since you got me fired, yes, I think I could find my way around an office. I helped out as the school receptionist while I got my cosmetology license.” The job had only been part-time. But she’d enjoyed it, got compliments from her boss, and could probably even call and wrangle out a reference if needed.

  “Okay, let’s say I agree to this. What exactly would you do?”

  Maddie thought for a moment. She needed to make it so appealing he couldn’t resist. “I would screen your phone calls for you, organize your filing, run your errands, keep on top of appointments and meetings, help with paperwork.”

  The wary look in his eyes slowly morphed into interest. He tapped a finger on the desk as he stared at her, then slapped down his hand, causing her to jump. “You’re right. I do need an assistant. We actually have three restaurants, one down in Kankakee and another up in Rockford. I’m in the middle of finalizing the financing and building contracts for two more restaurants, too. My dream is to become national.”

  Butterflies performed a waltz in Maddie’s belly. Not only did she have a job, but if she did well, she could ride this venture out. Maybe someday be the executive assistant to the CEO of a major restaurant conglomerate. There was no way the state of Illinois could say no to her custody request if she had that kind of future ahead of her.

  “Then you definitely are going to need an assistant, and I’m perfect for the job. I may not be the greatest at carrying trays of food, but I’m a hard worker and could organize the sand on the shores of Lake Michigan if I had to.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “The sand?”

  Maddie shrugged. “Okay, a little exaggeration. My point is, you won’t be disappointed this time. I promise.”

  They spoke for a few minutes about salary and hours; and since it was after five, they agreed she would officially start on Tuesday. When she stepped out of his office, Maddie couldn’t wipe the smile off her lips if she tried. It took all her power not to skip out to the parking lot.

  Instead, she held off until she was on the sidewalk, then did a little happy jig and squeal, complete with clapping hands and everything.

  A throat cleared behind her.

  Her cheeks burned as she turned to see Reuben standing there, a smirk on his face. “Nice dance.”

  Smoothing her hands over her shirt front, she stood up straight to gather what little dignity she had left. “I, uh, saw a spider.”

  “Clapping for a spider—very environmentally friendly of you.”

  Maddie bit down the comeback that sat on the tip of her tongue. No use making her boss too mad. She propped a hand on her hip. “Did you need something?”

  “No.”

  “Well, I’ll just be going then. See you in the morning.”

  “Eight sharp.”

  “I remember the time. We just discussed it a minute ago.”

  “Well, bye then.” But the man didn’t budge.

  Maddie turned and took a step onto the parking lot, then paused.

  Her car was still at the salon.

  She swiveled back to see Reuben dangling his keys. “Need a ride?”

  4

  Reuben glanced at the woman in the passenger seat with her back turned to him, staring out the window.

  He should have made the stubborn woman walk. The restaurant was only five or six blocks from downtown. She’d have made it fine.

  What had he been thinking to hire her?

  The thought had sounded good at the time. Someone to get all that cursed paperwork off his desk and into a place he could actually find it.

  But his quick decision left him with a moody assistant who, by the looks of it, didn’t even have decent clothes. Her jeans sported a hole in the knee and her button-up purple top had seen too many washes.

  Image aside, he could barely afford the added expense. With the pending business loan for the new restaurants, he was going to be counting his pennies for the next year or so until they opened and started making a profit.

  He should have sent her packing back to Judy’s when he had the chance.

  In fact, he could still probably pull a few strings and get her back on at the salon.

  Reuben cleared his throat, and Maddie twisted her head toward him. “Yes?”

  “I was thinking—”

  An obnoxious drum beat filled the air, and Maddie dug a phone out of her pocket, flipped it open, and turned back toward the window. “Hello?”

  Reuben stopped at a red light and pretended not to eavesdrop.

  “Kyle? Hey, what’s up?”

  Kyle. Interesting.

  Maddie laughed. Different from her usual snark. Nicer.

  “I, uh, I’ve had an okay day. Not exactly what I planned but I’ve got a job, and that’s what matters. It’s actually better than the one I expected to have.”

  Great. Scratch plan B. The light turned green, and Reuben pushed on the gas a little too hard. The tires squealed.

  Maddie glared at him, then turned her attention back to the phone. “Sorry, I’m riding with Mr. Speed Demon here.” She paused. “No, it’s just my boss giving me a ride back to where I parked. Stop being a worry-wart, the Tracker’s fine. Now, how are you doing? Staying out of trouble?”

  There was that laugh again. At least it wasn’t annoying like Livy’s. He loved the woman, but the snort-laugh combination was her least pleasing attribute.

  Reuben pulled into a parking space on Main Street a half a block down from the salon and shifted the car into park.

  Maddie didn’t seemed to notice as her previous smile turned back into the frown he knew too well. “Yeah, you can put her on.”

  Whoever “her” was, he felt sorry for the woman.

  “Mrs. Blakely, how are things?” A pause, then Maddie sat up straight, glanced at him, then turned away as if to create a shield of privacy. “Excuse me? Since when? You have no right.”

  Feeling like an ogre for listening in, Reuben got out of the car and shut the door.

  A minute passed until Maddie got out and slammed the door. “That woman, I could … I could strangle her.”

  Reuben had no doubt the petite brunette, her eyes blazing fire, could accomplish just that. “Something wrong?”

  She paced beside the car, back and forth, mumbling to herself. “If she thinks she can just, just barge in and take over, she has another think coming.”

  Pieces slid together. Mother-in-law trouble, or at least, future mother-in-law, given her ringless left hand.

  No way was he getting in the middle of someone else’s issues though. “Well, if you’re good, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Maddie blinked as if realizing where she was. “Yes, in the morning. Fine. Eight o’clock.”

  Reuben got back in his BMW and shifted into reverse to head back to the restaurant, leaving his basket case of a new employee behind.

  Maddie jumped into the driver’s seat of her fifteen-year-old GEO Tracker and slammed the door.

 
She pounded on the steering wheel until her hands throbbed.

  How dare that woman! Kyle was not hers. He was Maddie’s brother, and blood trumped social status and bank account, right?

  It did in her book, at least.

  Once she got settled into a house and could show a stable income, she’d be eligible to petition the courts to obtain guardianship.

  But if Kyle’s foster parents petitioned first, as they were considering, she had no clue what would happen.

  She should have told Kyle her plans. Gotten him on her side. But she didn’t want to disappoint him if it fell through. She’d wanted it to be a surprise.

  Well, the surprise was now on her.

  Tomorrow, she’d call his social worker. Surely there was something she could do.

  Maddie took a deep breath and blew it out.

  God knew this was all coming. It didn’t surprise him. Everything would get straightened out tomorrow.

  As Rachel, the only decent girlfriend her dad ever had, used to say, “Don’t worry, be happy, friend. God’s got this.”

  Tonight, she needed a plan.

  After digging out her steno pad, she flipped past all her feeble budget attempts, scribbled notes, and daily checklists until she found a blank page.

  Things To Do - Monday:

  • Figure out how to get to the Emporium

  • Eat Dinner

  • Find Laundromat

  • Find cheap place to sleep

  As she pulled out of her parking spot, item number three on her list appeared almost directly across the street. No clue how she’d missed it that morning.

  She’d visit after work tomorrow, as she only had a total of four outfits with her, and between travel and work, she was almost out of clothes.

  She added “used clothing store” on her list of places to find later. Her new job was going to need her to spiff up her wardrobe a bit. No hiding behind an apron anymore. But the two-hundred dollars in her wallet and an even skimpier bank account wouldn’t allow for much.

  Retracing the route Reuben had taken, she found the Emporium easily enough. She wrote down the East Center Street address, vaguely recalling passing it on her way in that morning.

  If memory served her correctly, she could just keep on going down that road to get to both dinner and a place to sleep.

  McDonald’s … and the Walmart parking lot.

  5

  Maddie officially had the most stubborn boss on the planet. “You expect us to share? Really?”

  Reuben scooted a wooden, cushionless chair toward the front of the metal monstrosity of a desk and patted the seat. “I’m gone part of the time anyway visiting the other restaurants. You can sit in my big chair when I’m gone.”

  She put her hands to her cheeks and opened her mouth wide in mock surprise. “Thank you so much. I’ve always wanted to sit in a big-girl chair, Dad.”

  He scowled and sat down in his big-boy leather twirly chair. “Would you rather sit on the floor?”

  Her hips still ached from sleeping in her car the night before, so she clamped her mouth shut and parked her tush. “Where should I begin, Master?”

  “If we’re going to be working together, you might tone down the attitude, Madison.”

  The man was right. No sense in losing a third job this week. The snark was second nature, though, and would be a hard habit to break. “First, the name’s Maddie. Second, how about I start with filing?”

  He nodded and went back to the computer in front of him. “Sounds grand.”

  Maddie surveyed the mess that was Reuben’s desk. It looked like an F5 tornado had come swooping through.

  One thing life had taught her was how to handle messy situations: Purge and start fresh.

  With a sweep of her arms, she gathered most of the papers on the desk and dropped them on the floor behind her.

  Reuben’s eyes were so wide they could have popped out and rolled onto the floor too. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “Filing. The cabinet over there is next.”

  He stood up quicker than a mouse devoured cheese. “You are not throwing everything in my file cabinet on the floor.”

  Maddie jutted her chin out an inch and straightened her back. “Am too. How do you expect me to organize that mess unless I take everything out first? If I had my own desk, I could use that. But since I don’t, the floor will do just fine. You’re the one who suggested it, Boss-man.”

  His steely glare burned into her for a good five seconds, but she stood straight and stared right back.

  “Fine. I’ll get you a desk to put in the corner as soon as I have time. I have an old computer at home we can set up to make Your Highness happy.”

  She folded her arms. “Do I get a fancy leather chair like you have?”

  “Don’t press your luck. This one was a gift from my mother. My old one is in storage; I’ll bring that in for you too.”

  Maddie walked to the file cabinet and began to take out all the files and paperwork with a little more finesse than she’d used with the desk. “You’re odd, you know that? Drive a fancy car, decorate the restaurant to look like some place out of a magazine, but don’t care a lick about your office. I just can’t figure you out.”

  His fingers typed something on the keyboard, his eyes never leaving the monitor. “I think you need to mind your own business and file.”

  She dropped another armful of files onto the growing stack. “Now, that is something I have no problem doing.”

  The typing ceased. “I meant to talk to you about your clothes.”

  Maddie jerked her head around to look at him. “Excuse me? Now who needs to mind his own business?”

  His face flushed. “What I mean is, the dress code. You won’t be dealing with customers, obviously, but you’ll be in and out of the dining area, so you’re representing the Emporium as well.”

  She glanced down at her faded jean Capris, white shirt, and thin black and white striped vest. Shopping was definitely in order, but this was the best outfit she owned. Of course, she’d picked it out to wear as a hair stylist, thinking it looked trendy with a bit of funk to it. “Please don’t tell me you have some all-black dress code or something.”

  “Business casual. Which means no jeans, shorts, or tennis shoes.”

  Fabulous. “I guess I have to do some shopping then, huh?”

  “Don’t you females like that sort of thing?”

  The ones who had money did. But not a female who now had to sleep in her car for a while longer instead of splurging on a hotel for a few nights as previously planned.

  Her first paycheck couldn’t come soon enough. “Speaking of shopping, how often do your employees get paid around here?”

  “Every two weeks, a week behind. We just started a pay period on Monday, so your first check will be two weeks from Friday.” He steeled his eyes on hers. “Don’t tell me you need an advance already.”

  Yes, as a matter of fact, she did. “No, just planning ahead.” Mental To Do List - Tuesday:

  • Buy clothes to appease egotistical boss

  • Decorate backseat of Tracker, aka home-sweet-home

  • Get massive amounts of deodorant

  • Figure out how to sponge bathe at Walmart

  • Call Kyle

  • Call social worker—see if there’s even a chance; otherwise I might as well just quit now

  Maddie tucked her cheap pay-by-the-minute cell phone between her cheek and shoulder as she pushed the Walmart cart toward the women’s clothing section. “Be straight with me, Corina. Do I have a shot?”

  A deep sigh on the other end of the line wasn’t encouraging. “It’s not over ’til it’s over. I’m not going to lie to you. The Blakelys definitely have a leg up. He’s been with them almost four years.”

  “What does he want?”

  “He doesn’t know. And I’m not sure it’s wise to tell him until things are a little more certain.”

  Maddie located the s
ize 6 section of the clearance rack, but only found one pair of pants that fit Reuben’s stupid rules. “Why not? If he knows, he’ll tell the Blakelys he wants to live with me, and that’ll be the end of it.”

  “A judge might see it as you trying to manipulate and coerce him. Kyle’s a tough kid, but for the most part he’s always been pretty good and stayed out of trouble. I could see this pushing him over the edge, especially if it falls through and he can’t come live with you.”

  “Which is why I need to get him out of the city.”

  “How’s it going there, by the way? The salon job working out?”

  “I, uh, actually found something different. Better. Working in an office, kinda like my receptionist job but full-time.”

  “What happened this time, Maddie? Cutting hair was your dream job.”

  No need airing all the details. “I just got a better opportunity. Thought you’d be proud of me.”

  “Have you found a place to stay yet?”

  Yeah, Hotel-de-la-Tracker. “I’ve got it handled. No worries.”

  “Maddie, you know I think the world of you. You’ve come a long way from that sixteen-year-old I picked up from the police station. But at the end of the day, I have to recommend who I think is best for Kyle.”

  “It’ll be me, Corina. I’m what’s best for him.”

  6

  God, I need a place to live. I don’t mean to be selfish, but … I hurt. Maddie peeled her legs off the cracked vinyl backseat of her Tracker and set her wobbly appendages on the asphalt parking lot.

  She’d survived more than a week of sleeping in her car. Only nine days left until she got paid, then maybe she could start looking for an immobile place to live.

  Maddie reached her arms into the air and stretched. The responding pop in her shoulders echoed through the air. Sweet, sweet relief. After she finished cracking her aching joints, she shut the door and got in the driver’s seat.