Special - Ch 2
I got to work early the next day, and instead of coming in the back door, I parked out front and walked in the main entrance. Sweeping my gaze across the open-air displays, I was pleased to see things were tidy and everyone appeared to be in their assigned places.
The moment the doors slid open, peals of laughter drew my attention to the produce section. Somehow I immediately recognized Charlotte’s, and my heart kicked up a notch.
Curious, I followed the sound around the corner and froze.
Charlotte was juggling three apples and an orange. I started forward her to stop her, then noticed the crowd around her. A ring of customers and my three produce workers were laughing and pointing. One of the customers stood in front of her with another orange.
“Okay.” Charlotte never took her eyes off the fruit in the air. “When I count to three, toss it into my left hand.”
Black hair streamed down her back, and the dark green polo skimmed every curve of her upper body. My chest tightened at the concentrated look on her beautiful face. She was completely focused on what she was doing, and it was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
I watched her graceful arms move as she caught and released each fruit as it dropped perfectly into her palms. As she began to count, I leaned against the corner.
“One.” Toss.
“Two.” Toss, toss.
“Three.” The customer pitched the orange perfectly into Charlotte’s hand, and all five fruit rotated into the air as she kept them moving, adding the new one flawlessly.
The crowd cheered until one by one; she caught and tossed them to the customer still standing in front of her who put them back in place on the appropriate piles.
I clapped slowly and loudly.
Everyone’s eyes swung to me and Charlotte’s widened.
“Mr. Matthews.” She blushed and stammered as the employees suddenly found work to do, and the customers watched us. “I - I didn’t know you would be in the store today.” She closed her eyes. “Not that I was doing anything I wouldn’t want you to see, I just…” She bit her lips together and closed her eyes as the blush continued to deepen on her cheeks.
“That was amazing.” I pushed off the wall and approached her, smiling at the customers who began to wander off now that they knew I wasn’t upset. “Where did you learn to do that?”
She ducked her head, and I resisted reaching out to lift her chin. Her cheeks looked painfully red, and I mentally cursed myself for embarrassing her again.
“My dad taught me. He was with the circus for a while. Well, not with the circus as a performer, but as their accountant. He liked to hang out behind the curtain, and…never mind.” She clamped her mouth shut, her fists clenching. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“Why not?” I arched an eyebrow as her eyes snapped to mine in surprise. “Looks like the customers enjoyed it, and you clearly know what you’re doing.” I cocked my head at her with a grin, not sure where my next words came from. “But if you drop one, you have to agree to go on a date with me.”
“A — a date?” If she was surprised a second ago, now her eyes were wide with shock. “With you?”
“I think that’s what I said.” I crossed my arms and waited for her response.
A mischievous look crept into her expression and I shivered. “So, I can juggle any time I want?”
“Yes.”
“But if I drop one, I have to go out with you?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
She studied me, and I could almost see the gears turning in her mind. Without looking away, she reached over and picked up three oranges.
I widened my stance, and she bit her lip as she held the oranges lightly in her hands.
My breathing shortened when she licked her lips before tossing one, then another of the oranges into the air. The third one sailed out of her hand, and she had all three moving without ever looking away from me.
“Tell me again what happens if I drop one of these.” My stomach fluttered when she smiled faintly.
I dropped my chin and lowered my voice. “If you drop one of those oranges, I get to take you out on a date.” I sensed an audience at my back and watched a shiver run across her shoulders.
“That’s what I thought you said,” she whispered.
Her hands stopped moving, letting all three oranges plop to the ground.
“What happens now that I’ve dropped three?”
I’d expected her to drop one as a taunt, but the hungry look in her eyes and the proud way she lifted her chin said it wasn’t just a taunt.
She’s asking me out. Three times.
Her clear challenge sent something heated through me, and I resisted the urge to haul her into my arms for a kiss.
Laughter erupted behind us, and I was reminded of where we were standing. I clapped slowly again.
“Well done, Mays.” I walked toward her, and she watched me, half terrified and half excited. I leaned over to pick up one of the now bruised fruit.
As I stepped past, I bent close to her ear and whispered, “I checked the schedule. Tomorrow you pay for this one.” I handed it to her and kept walking. Her shaky exhale was loud, and I smirked. “Wear a dress. I’ll pick you up at five.”
“But you don’t know where I live.” I didn’t turn but heard what was probably her palm meeting her forehead and bit back a bark of laughter when she mumbled, “Stupid, he’s got your address on your application.”
Snickers of amusement at our exchange made me look back to be sure she wasn’t freaked out by the audience who’d witnessed our obvious flirting. I was glad to see she was surrounded by a couple of the staff and Penny, who met my eyes.
I pretended not to understand the anger I saw in the older woman’s expression. I ticked my head toward the office, and she nodded, tight lipped.
Once we were inside, I clicked the door shut. “What’s wrong?”
“What are you doing?” She crossed her arms and glared at me.
“I’m a little out of practice, but I think they call it flirting.”
She was not amused. “Andrew, that girl is an employee!”
“Penelope, I don’t care.” I laughed when she threw her hands in the air. “Look. You know me. I haven’t shown interest in anyone for years. She’s different.”
“She’s special.” Penny glared. “I don’t want to see her hurt.”
“What makes you think that will happen? It’s a date.” I raked a hand through my hair. “I don’t know why, but I want to get to know her. She’s so…innocent.”
Where did that come from?
“Exactly!” Penny sat behind her desk. “She’s fresh out of college, lived at home until a few weeks ago, and as far as I know she doesn’t have any friends. At least none here.” Penny mumbled the last.
I braced my hips against my desk. “So, she’s in a new place. All the more reason to get to know her. What’s wrong with that?”
Seeing she wasn’t going to change my mind; Penny folded her hands on her desk. “Just be careful, okay? She’s not the only one who could get hurt by this.”
“I appreciate your concern and your advice is noted.” I nodded at the stack of orders on her desk. “Now, how about you tell me how the new inventory system is going. Did Charlotte get started on it today?”
“She’s done.” Penny reached over and punched a key on her keyboard.
“What?” I leaned closer. “How can she have all our inventory uploaded already? The whole store?”
“Yep.” Penny tipped her chair back. “She finished a few minutes before you got here. When I asked her how, she said she was a really fast typer.” Gesturing at the screen, Penny stood. “Check for yourself.”
I clicked through screen after screen in awe. “That’s thousands of items. She had to have found a way to export the data we didn’t know about.”
Penny shrugged and left the office. “I told you she’s special.”
“Yeah.” I sat in Penny’s chair and flipped through the stacks of files until I found Charlotte’s. Twenty-three, with a business accounting degree from a local college, and her address put her on the border between the decent and not so decent sides of town.
I frowned. She had no previous address listed, and no references other than one of her college professors. Penny had hired her to do basic data entry, but clearly she was overqualified for that.
Shutting the folder, I stood and checked my watch. Charlotte would already be gone, but I would see her tomorrow. I found I couldn’t wait.
'Special' is unpublished and unedited. Short stories may or may not be complete and may end on a cliffhanger. All works are the sole property of Michelle Bolanger and published through Risen Fiction. Copyright 2025 Michelle Bolanger. All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be copied or reproduced without written consent from the author.