Pelican's Landing

Chapter Fourteen

Jordan waited until Brandon had finished with his customer, then waved him back. The smile that was almost always on his face faltered a bit.

“You wanted to see me, boss?”

Jordan led him into the office. She had stopped asking him to call her “Jordan” instead of “boss.” It had made no difference. He still called her “boss.” She assumed it was because of her dress—the business suits. She’d hoped that once she started dressing like them, in shorts, that he would loosen up, but no.

She motioned to the visitor’s chair. “Sit down,” she said.

“Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?”

She stared at him. “I don’t know. Did you?”

The color left his face. “I don’t think so,” he said.

She smiled, trying to get him to relax. “Then why do you look guilty?”

“Because this is like being called back to the principal’s office. You never ask any of us to come back here.”

She leaned her elbows on the desk. “Why are you here?”

He frowned. “What?”

“Here. At Fat Larry’s. Annie tells me you have your degree.”

“Yes.”

“So?”

He shrugged. “I’ve worked here since high school,” he said.

“Right. And now you have your degree. In fact, you got it in December.”

“You don’t like me working here?” he asked hesitantly.

“I love you working here. You’re a natural with the customers. You’re friendly. And you flirt just enough with the ladies but don’t ever cross the line. At least, not that I’ve seen.”

He actually blushed, and it made him look even more handsome, she noted.

“I guess I don’t understand your line of questioning,” he said.

“What are your goals, Brandon?”

He nodded. “Oh, I see. Is this like a…‘where do you see yourself in five years?’ kind of a thing?”

“Exactly.”

He smiled and brushed his blond hair off his tanned face. “I’m just…you know, hanging out. Enjoying myself. I’m into sailboarding,” he said. “So working here, the hours are flexible, I can still hit the water whenever I want.”

“You have your degree. You work part-time. Your goal is…sailboarding?”

“Look, money is not that big a deal,” he said. “I have a roommate. My Jeep is paid for.” He glanced over his shoulder as if making sure they were still alone. “I have money,” he said quietly. “My uncle…well, he paid for my college. Paid for my Jeep. He and my father were the only children and he never married. And I don’t have any siblings.” He paused. “He’s kinda rich.”

“And he gives you money?”

“Yeah. I’m on his payroll.”

“Unbelievable,” she murmured.

“Yeah. It’s sweet.”

“So if you’ve got it so sweet, why do you work here?”

“I love it here. Like I said, it’s flexible. And I’ve got to do something productive with my life. I can’t sailboard all day long.” He paused. “Besides, I started working here in high school. This is like home to me.”

She leaned back in her chair. “So if I offered you more money, that’s not really an incentive to you, seeing as you’ve got another job that you don’t actually have to work at.”

“I’m always open for more money,” he said with a smile. “What do you have in mind?”

She wondered if this was a good idea, but hell, she liked the guy. And she thought she could trust him. So, she gave voice to what she’d been contemplating for the last couple of weeks.

“Right now, Annie and I take turns closing the store. And I understand that before, Matt would always close.”

“Yes. And?”

“And I want to train you to close. If it works out, I’ll give you a raise.” She shrugged. “I was going to offer you more hours too, but that might cut into your sailboarding,” she said with a smile.

“Like close on my own?”

“Yes. Like be in charge of clearing out the cash register, reconciling the receipts, that sort of thing. Obviously, locking up and setting the alarm when you leave.”

“Cool.”

“Cool? You interested?”

“Sure. And I could take a few more hours too, boss.”

“Great. We’ll start training today.”