Mr. Hartley (Alternate Places Book 1) Read online

  So he tried to smile and be nice on that level when he remembered to. It took work and sometimes he just forgot to do it, which made him seem empty and dull. The only person he'd ever met that didn't seem to be bothered by it had been his roomie. Why he wasn't, Zack didn't know, but they'd managed to stay friends without any problems, a virtual first in his experience. Even his grandparents thought he was a bit “unusual” and they were a bit odd themselves.

  The shop did have a lot of candles crammed in it. Some still sitting in shipping boxes collecting grime. It looked a bit more like a storage closet than a retail outlet. Dust and a few cobwebs hung in the corners, surrounding candles even, and dusty footprints on the floor making a trail toward the back. The space ran about twenty feet by forty, which was small for a store of any kind, but it could work well enough, if the place were reorganized a little.

  Or a lot really. It would take days of work to make it look right. It could be done, with enough time.

  The counter had a register, but no clerk. Hence the sign asking for help, he didn't doubt.

  He stood there for a few minutes, looking for a little bell or something to ring, and indicate his presence. There was nothing but slightly spotted glass and papers that didn't seem to have anything to do with the store at all. Schedules and lists of names, mainly hand written.

  “Um, hello?” The shop didn't have a very good line of sight, making it a shoplifting hazard. Still he could tell that no one had just ducked down in the aisles. He'd see their Shadow self, glowing, even through a solid object, unless he made a point to ignore it. Zack tried again to ignore what he saw, and act normal. To just see what everyone else would if they were standing here. It didn't impress him much. The place really was a wreck, as far as stores went. It was actually kind of... dirty. Even if there was magic worked into the very walls of the place, and wards put around the whole thing. Strong ones too, that glowed away merrily. Not that he noticed that kind of thing.

  A sense of movement from the back got his attention. The air rippling in near silent waves, and a sense of Human warmth. Zack looked over quickly and smiled, trying to be charming. It was a woman so he went for harmless seeming, turning his palms up a little and raising his hands just a bit. Not a great way to pick up chicks, but it worked to seem non-hostile.

  “Oh! There is someone here! May I help you?” The woman was dressed in nice, brightly colored clothing. She had a cute face and seemed like she might be around ten years older than Zack, at least at a quick glance. So somewhere around thirty. Troy would have called her a MILF, which Zack understood to be his way of saying he'd like to have sex with a woman even if she might have children. A “Mother I'd like to Fuck”, if it had been described correctly.

  Yeah, that would be about right, except this woman hadn't had a child. It was written all over her hip structure and breast line. He forced his mind away from that and concentrated on the woman's reactions and posture. So far so good...

  “Hi! I noticed you have a help wanted sign out front, is that position still available?” Zack noticed a sudden head bob, very slight, but positive thing, which he hoped meant that the job really existed. Her aura looked funny to him, having a very solid seeming silver-white nimbus of energy that hung in the air, as well as a normal Human presence. In a way it reminded him a little of his grandparents, but that line of thought got shut down fast, since a lot of pain hung around it. Zack loved them, his grandparents, who'd taken him in when his parents had died, but he didn't really trust them, not after they'd sent him away to the institution.

  “It is... Are you interested?” She kept going without giving him a chance to speak, as if by talking enough she'd keep him from saying no. That was odd, since he'd come for a job, but if it made her happy, he'd deal. “It's a clerk position, but if that works out well it can rapidly turn into an assistant manager's job. Forty hours a week, with overtime available if you want it. I've been running the shop by myself for months now since the last... manager went on sabbatical, and as you can see, the place needs some work. When can you start?”

  Zack could see she was actually holding her breath. He could understand that, since he felt a bit like doing that himself. Could she really be wanting to hire him without checking his references? How freaking awesome was that? Not a good plan on her part, but he'd take the gift without complaint.

  “Well, I guess I could start now. I don't have any other plans for the day or anything other than job hunting, so if I have one... That kind of opens things up a lot. Do you want me to fill out some paperwork or something?” Given the way the world seemed to him, Zack didn't fluster that easily any more, or let on when he didn't understand what had happened in most situations. This seemed fast to him really even given that. Too fast, she hadn't even asked his name or anything before offering him the job. She must really need the help, he thought. That... worked for him.

  “Great! Oh, I'm Lisa, by the way, Lisa Penbroke. And your name was...”

  “I'm Zack. Zachary Hartley.”

  “Nice to meet you, Zack! Let me see about that paperwork. Just have a seat behind the counter there and make yourself at home. This could take a while to dig out. W-2's, we can just skip the application... I need contact information though, so I can reach you. What else... let's see...” Lisa said this last while abruptly walking away toward the back. She didn't come back. He did hear papers rustling and movement, meaning she hadn't just run out the back to get away from him. The idea made him smile. Not because it couldn't happen, but just because women didn't generally do things like that unless you asked them out on a date. Then it was all bets off, of course.

  Under the counter in the corner, behind two boxes of candles, there was a bundle of rags and some Windex. Also a half roll of paper towel. Zack figured he might as well clean while waiting for the harried woman, since he apparently had a job here now. A clerk's position, but that meant cleaning at every other place he'd ever worked at. Besides he really wanted her to see what a good worker he could be, so she wouldn't change her mind. Or decide it was important to get references or anything silly like that.

  Dusting first he decided. Then he could clean the glass and see if there was a broom around anywhere. His previous job experience let him know that he needed to use the rags for dust and paper on the glass. Otherwise it would probably make a bigger mess of things, the rags leaving grease and the paper sticking to any rough wood surfaces.

  After dusting the whole shop, which took nearly an hour, he remembered that Lisa should be back with some paperwork soon. Not that he really cared about that part of things. The less he had to write the better the odds that he'd keep the position. Taking initiative he headed toward the back to check on things, just so he wouldn't look too out of place. A normal person would have checked by now, right?

  The first thing he noticed about the back room had to do with scale. It probably had nearly twice the floor space of the storefront. The second thing he noticed had to do with décor. It actually had some for one thing. A couple of nice cushy looking chairs in one corner both a matching deep burgundy color. Also a nice throw rug on the floor with warm browns and golds in it, covering a circle inlaid into the floor it looked like. At least the blue and silver glow of power coming through the carpet looked vaguely like a circle. It had a slightly fuzzy appearance to the glow. It did have a rug over it, which meant that someone probably didn't want it to be noticed. That was likely due to the huge shortcut right over it, floating in the air. Massive and odd looking.

  Ah. More magic? Well, it wasn't his business, unless that was part of the job. So far that had never been the case anyplace else. So Zack ignored it as best he could, looking around for the attractive woman with dark blonde hair.

  Lisa was in a closed office to the right. He saw her Aura moving, through the closed door, even though he knew it to be made of solid wood, nearly an inch thick, which you didn't see a lot with interior doors. Most of the time those were hollow or really thin. This one looked like it could have
stopped almost anything. Maybe she had important papers or something inside? That, or she wanted to know that it could be used as a safe room in an emergency.

  What kind of candle emergency that would be he couldn't imagine. Maybe it was an “and more” situation?

  He knocked gently, then after a moment opened the door. Zack might be crazy, but that didn't mean he couldn't be a bit pushy too, if he tried hard enough. Lisa sat behind a very nice desk. Large and made of polished oak, talking on the phone in a hushed tone, her back toward Zack.

  “No, it's all right, Beth. Let me just call a few people and we'll see about getting you coverage for the whole weekend.... Sure, no problem... Got it. Talk to you in about an hour? I'm on it.”

  Swiveling around in the chair she caught sight of Zack and stopped cold.

  “Oh! Paperwork! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to leave you like that.” She looked at him, chagrined. The body language was clear. Powerfully so. Sorry... Beth needs me more right now. It's an emergency...

  Zack shrugged, it wasn't a problem really.

  “We can deal with that later if you like... In the mean time, do you have a broom? I've started cleaning the store up a little... If that's all right? If the dust and dirt up there is sacred or something... then oops?” It wasn't imbued with power that he could tell, but that wasn't the only thing that made things special.

  Lisa smiled and blew out a gust of air, nodding. “The closet should have what you need for that, next door over. Thanks for being so understanding about this...”

  “No problem. Um, you seem busy, am I allowed to use the till if a customer comes? Do I need a code or anything? Or a key?”

  “Oh, no one will come right now, but if they do, just ring them up. Prices should be on the candles and if not, just make something up that seems reasonable. You can haggle or whatever if you like. The key is in the register, but it opens if you hit cash. Let me know if anyone comes in that has a problem you can't handle on your own... Thanks so much! You don't know it, but you're saving my life here!”

  Nodding, trying to seem happy, and like a good slave boy, he turned to the door and left. After all, the floor wouldn't sweep itself, besides, he still needed to clean all the glass in the place. It was caked with dust and grime and suspiciously free of greasy finger prints. People, customers, always left finger prints. That the glass didn't have them worried him a bit. Could the place really afford to hire him if no money was coming in? Zack would have to change that if it was the case. Get the place earning some money fast. If he got a chance he should arrange some kind of display in the front window as well.... Right now the store looked like someone had just put out boxes of candles and left them there.

  Mainly because someone had done just that, so it wasn't exactly a mystery, was it?

  Maybe looking like a real store would help?

  Something obviously didn't add up, and it seemed clear to Zack that his special ability would be needed here in full force. His ability to ignore strange and odd things and pretend that everything was normal, no matter what. Noting this, he decided to start right then, trying to not notice anything strange. If the candle shop turned out to be a front for some kind of illegal operation, well, as long as no one was getting hurt, he'd deal. Zack knew he didn't really have a choice anymore and couldn't afford to be picky. If they were selling drugs or something, then he'd just have to make sure no one got arrested on his watch, right?

  The first thing to do was make the store not seem like a fiction.

  Zack got the broom and dust pan and decided that sweeping would be the first order of business. The floor looked pretty bad and that's one of the things that he'd noticed first when he came in, meaning someone else might too. Besides, it would take longer to reorder the store into some kind of shape that actually resembled a place that sold candles, instead of just storing them for some reason. Perhaps he could find some other things to sell as well, to round out that “and More” the name of the place promised? Even if the place was a front, being clean and tidy could only help sales, right? Zack wouldn't want to get drugs in a disgusting environment at least.

  When he had the floor cleaned, as well as he could without mopping, he started working on the glass, front windows first, then the interior glass, the stuff on the front counter, which also had a glass top. This ate up another two hours or so. Lisa still hadn't come out, and no one else had come in. She was right about that part at least.

  He walked to the back to see about getting a mop and bucket when Lisa finally rushed out, looking a bit flustered.

  “Look, sorry about... Wow! The store looks really good! No problems then? I... have to run out for a few hours. Do you think you could hold the fort here while I'm gone? We need to stay open till nine, then open up at nine tomorrow morning. That's really important. The store should be fine if you run to the food court or something for dinner. If anything comes up... just use your best judgment. Oh, here...” She scribbled on a piece of paper and handed to him. “That's my cell number. Call me if you really need me, otherwise, just... handle things. Nothing should come up really. If it does, I'll back whatever you decide to do, as long as it doesn't involve murder or burning the place down. I don't know if I'll be in early tomorrow, can you open? I know it's a hard turn around for the first day, but it would really help...”

  Her body spoke of how serious and tense things were for her. Zack felt confused, but just shrugged with a happy smile. Why not?

  “Um, all right. I can be here in the morning and close at nine. Just hit the lights and lock the doors? I don't know your procedure here for balancing the till or anything...” He held a half shrug, not a normal movement, but the situation was odd too, so it kind of worked.

  “Oh, we don't bother with that. If you need money for anything just get it from the till. Try to leave enough to get through tomorrow and I'll fix it when I get back. If I have to be gone for more than a day, I'll call. If you quit... leave the key on the desk and lock up, but I hope you won't. You've already done more for the store in a few hours than I've managed in weeks.”

  Lisa shook her head. “This must seem incredibly bizarre, but you seem like a good guy and we really, really need the help. Oh! There, may or may not be people coming in and out of the back... If you see anyone, don't worry about it, even if they look a little strange... As long as the store opens and closes on time, more or less, everything will be all right.”

  She had a look that implored him to stay at least, the kind of look women used with their guy friends when they didn't want to do something, but knew it had to be done. Or when they were begging favors.

  “I... don't want to seem crass or anything, but, I get paid for this, right?” Zack said, hoping that it didn't seem like a rude question. Sometimes he couldn't tell what people would think of as being strange or mean. Like an autistic person, he guessed, even though the doctors had all agreed that whatever he had wrong with him, it was different than that. Not that they'd had real help for him.

  “Yes, of course. Don't worry about that. I know things are weird here, but I promise I'll explain as soon as I can. Thank you so much, I just know you'll fit in here famously!”

  Zack smiled at her back as she left through the front door.

  Given how strange this place seemed, he may fit in at that. Then again, if Zack just didn't, he could always try to fake it. In that area, he had skills, after all. Faking it. Really, he had mad skills. The kind that would be spelled with a z on the end if that hadn't gone out of style when he was six.

  No one came in while he rearranged the store and planned out a stacked display of candles for the front window, to replace the pile of boxes that was there right now.

  The girl, or woman, from the YoGurt shop watched him closely, while pretending not to. Not that he blamed her, since the mall still didn't seem to have any customers in it right now. Her shop, he noticed, fairly gleamed. She cleaned, one surface then another and repeated that at least twice while she watched him work.

 
He made a point of smiling and waving at her a couple of times. She probably assumed he was the new drug dealer for the store or something. Then again, for all he knew, that was the case. If so... people were going to be a little disappointed, because Lisa hadn't clued him in on where that merchandise was. There was no price list either. The idea got a smile from him as he worked. After all, no one had mentioned drugs to him at all. Lisa seemed like she was on something, but he probably did too, so who was he to judge? A lot of people thought that his distracted and dreamy demeanor and frequent smiles meant something it didn't, so maybe he should give Lisa the benefit of the doubt too? Even if the store did something illegal to make ends meet it could be anything, right? Money laundering maybe.

  That still needed a realistic store front. So he kept working. With a smile.

  At about six in the evening a very large woman walked past, craning her neck to look in. A single, long braid of very light blond hair poured down her back. She wasn't fat, just huge, and muscular but with enough curves left that you instantly knew her gender. Really, she looked funny to him. Massive in size, like a power lifter, but somehow not mannish looking. Pretty. More than pretty really, if he stopped to consider it. Giant, but hot.

  It was obvious to Zack that the woman didn't want him to notice her looking at him, but her actions became nearly comical as she kept tilting backwards to look at him as she walked past. On her third trip he smiled and waved at her. Zack wondered where she worked in the Mall, because a customer would have just have walked in, or so it seemed to him. Then again, she could have just walked in too. Double checking, he made sure the open sign hung in the window.

  Apparently three passes did the trick, as she didn't come around for a fourth.

  “I hope it wasn't something, I said.” Zack muttered to himself, a small grin on his face.

  Music. This store needs music! Taking money from the till to buy a stereo system seemed like a little too much, for the first day. Or any day.