Flirting with the HR Girl

Chapter 34

The next day dawned rainy and cold, but it would not put a damper on Jennifer's mood. Today was the day of her secret date with Austin. She glanced over and saw her date outfit all laid out and ready to go. She hadn't thought to ask him where he made these special reservations and wondered if the outfit was appropriate. So, she texted him:

Can I have a hint about tonight? Just wanna know for clothing options

She smiled as she slid into her car and headed off to work. She didn't mind being stuck in traffic for once. She hadn't realized how much she hated her job until she didn't. And it wasn't the store or the people. It was her. She was the one convinced that she would be punished again if she tried to have a good time. She was starting to see that that wasn't true. And that Selena was right, and she should have been more willing to do fun things. Her phone buzzed after she pulled into the parking lot.

Bring a pair of athletic shoes

Was he taking her somewhere to do something sporty? The shirt dress and tights she had decided on suddenly seemed out of place. Now she was worried she needed to get out of work early to plan her outfit. She mentally went through all of her clothes as she walked to the office, and barely heard Blanche say good morning.

"It is a good morning," Jennifer said before realizing how silly she sounded. "I mean other than the rain of course."

"It's not like we can see sunny or rainy days from in here anyway," Blanche said seemingly unannoyed by Jennifer's snark the day before. The old store admin had a way of getting over things very quickly. Probably due to her long existence in retail, she knew that everyone had an off day sometimes. "And both of our bosses are out of the office today."

Jennifer gave Dorothy a high five and then left before Gary could ask what they were talking about. She made her way back into the office and decided that she could still wear her outfit with her cutest pair of tennis shoes. Where on earth could he be taking her?

The morning went by quickly, with new hires to fill the time and no Todd to bother her. Cynthia called from another store but didn't have anything important to say. No one was on to them. Jennifer got more and more excited by the minute and decided that maybe she just needed a little more make-up. Nothing expensive. Something small. Like a lipstick.

On her lunch break, she went downstairs and waved to Shantell in Estee Lauder before she found Destiny behind the Mac counter.

"Hey, how is that makeup working out for you?" She was putting away a few blushers. "I've noticed what you've been wearing looks great."

"Yes, thank you so much again for showing me how to do it." Jennifer felt decidedly less worldly around women like Destiny. Women who seemed to have it all together and always look so good. It always made Jennifer feel younger than she was even if the woman, like this girl, was younger than her. "Actually, I was wondering if I could get another lipstick."

"Sure!" Destiny said rummaging under the counter. "I have a ton of samples right here."

"Oh, no," Jennifer said holding up her hands. "I can buy this one. I'm just not sure which one to get."

"That's why you should just take all of these samples, silly," Destiny said popping them into a bag before Jennifer could object. "That's the perk of working in a department store, girl. You gotta embrace it!"

"Yes, honey, there should be one upside to working in this place," the Lancôme lady had apparently been listening and she added her two cents with a chortle.

"There has to be something!" Clinique piped up. It must have been a slow morning.

"Here you go," Destiny said waving Jennifer's card away.

"Well, thank you so much," Jennifer said taking the bag and feeling like she should give something to Destiny. "If you ever need any help with your new hires or training or anything like that, just let me know."

"I will," Destiny said suddenly looking mischievous. "As long as you tell me anything that happens with that cute menswear manager."

"Yeah, honey, you need to share," Clinique said checking her own makeup in a mirror propped on the counter. "Lord knows, we don't see enough of him over here."

"I've just been working with him on his new hires," Jennifer said suddenly feeling trapped and not sure what to say.

"Girl, I would love to be his new hire," the woman at Lancôme said to the nods of Clinique and even old Betty in Estee Lauder.

"Are you sure y'all are just friends?" Destiny said. Jennifer remembered Selena telling her that Austin had been asking Destiny about her. If this was the price she had to pay for free lipstick, it wasn't worth it. "He just may have a little crush on you, girl."

"Oh, I don't think so," Jennifer said quickly grabbing her bag.

"Don't run from it, dear." This time Betty shook her finger at Jennifer as Shantell smiled next to her. "Love only comes around a few times in a girl's life. I should know I've only had three great loves in my thirty years."

"Thirty years, Betty?" Clinique lifted an eyebrow at Lancôme.

"Yes, honey, and they were all fantastic lovers," Betty said to an eruption of giggles throughout the cosmetic department.

"Girls!" Selena showed up just in time to rescue Jennifer. "Less yapping and more working," Selena said taking her arm and leading her to the escalator. "What are you doing down here?"

"I was just coming down to look at lipsticks in Mac and Destiny gave me some," Jennifer said acutely aware of her friend staring at her.

"You already need more lipstick?" Selena asked innocently enough but Jennifer knew right where she was leading.

"I thought I might need some new ones if we want to go out this weekend," she said hoping this would alleviate her guilt over lying to her friend.

"You want to go out? Awesome, I'll tell Todd that we can go," Selena said excitedly.

Before Jennifer could correct her, Selena disappeared back into cosmetics. Jennifer sighed, deciding she would worry about that later. She was busy with new hires the rest of the afternoon. She was able to get her work done and get out of the office a few minutes early to beat the traffic home.

It was time to get ready for the date. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought of being alone with him. Without the chance for anyone to interrupt them at any given moment. Suddenly, it felt very grown up. Like she wasn't a teenager waiting for her mom to come down to the basement and catch her. She was just applying her makeup when Zack started to cough.

"Oh, poor kitty," she said as she reached down and petted him. In the medicine cabinet, she found one of his old steroids. She would give him one to hold him over till the weekend when she could get his inhaler. She hated giving him pills. He was not an easygoing cat, to begin with, and just the idea of shoving something down his throat exerted her. She was worried she would need a shower afterward. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom, snuck up behind him, and threw it around him. She burrito-wrapped him up before he had a chance to run away. Thrusting her fingers into his mouth, she tossed the pill down the back of his throat as he growled at her. Ignoring his indignation, she held his mouth shut until she was sure he swallowed. She released him and he ran off.

"It's for your own good," she called after him, but she knew she wouldn't have seen him for the rest of the night if she had been home.

Then the doorbell rang.