The Slut Store Bundle
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2012 Francie Mars
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The Slut Store: Hard Management
Jason hurried through the automatic doors of the electronics store. It was five minutes before closing time on the day before Thanksgiving. The sales floor was empty, but he wasn't here to buy anything. He shifted the box under his arm and looked for the customer service desk.
One of the few remaining employees was turning off the TVs on display.
"Where do I go to return this?" he asked, motioning to the blu-ray player he was holding.
"Returns is over there." The scrawny employee didn't even look up.
“Thanks,” Jason said. The employee seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place his voice.
Jason walked toward the far corner of the store, hoping that someone would still be there. As he went past the refrigerators, it clicked- that employee was Brad-Something, the freshman who tried to rush Phi Alpha last year. Brad was the first of many rushees Jason and his brothers had rejected that year.
An announcement from a bored voice came on the PA system. "Attention Circuit Depot shoppers, the store is closing in 5 minutes. Happy Thanksgiving."
As he arrived at the counter in the corner of the store, Jason was relieved to find someone still there.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"Uh yeah, I think. I need to return this. It doesn't work."
Jason put the box on the counter and looked over the woman behind the counter. She wasn't wearing the normal yellow polo shirt that Circuit Depot employees wear. Hers was black, but it had the store logo on it. Her nametag said "Tanya" in big letters and "Manager" in little letters.
"OK, do you have your receipt?" Tanya asked, visibly annoyed at having to work these last minutes before the holiday.
"Uh, no. Sorry. Can't you look it up with my credit card or something?" Jason asked.
Tanya sighed. "I'll try."
He dug his wallet from his back pocket and found his credit card.
"I think I used this one," he said.
Tanya took the card from Jason and started typing at the cash register. As she worked, Jason examined her more closely. She looked like she was about 40 and had short brown hair. Her simple earrings and light makeup suggested she was all business. Her loose-fitting store shirt was tucked in to her khaki pants. She stood straight up as she worked the cash register.
"I have no record of this purchase," she said bluntly.
"Oh, um, maybe I used this card," Jason said, handing over his debit card.
Tanya looked at Jason sideways as she typed on her register again. She rolled her eyes and scanned the box with a hand scanner.
"It's not in here," she said. "But you know what..." she trailed off, reading from the screen.
"What?" Jason asked.
"This serial number here," she tapped the box, "has been flagged stolen. Is this stolen merchandise, sir?"
"What? I... I never stole anything!" Jason stammered.
"I don't think you're telling the truth. I think you stole this and now you're trying to return it for cash."
"I didn't!" was all Jason could say.
Tanya looked at the debit card again, closely.
"Jason R. Daniels. Jason, come with me."
Shocked at what was happening, Jason put his wallet back in his pocket and followed Tanya. She opened a section of the counter and led him to a door marked "Employees Only". He paused at the door.
“Come with me, Jason,” Tanya said.
Jason couldn’t believe it. He walked through the door and into a long hallway. Heels clicking on the hard floor, Tanya led him past several doors and up a long flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a large break room area with big windows on one wall. The windows looked over the whole store. From here he could see that most of the lights had been turned off. Only a few people remained on the floor below, mostly chatting in pairs.
"Come on," Tanya said sternly.
She led Jason though another door at the back of the break room. The sign of this door said “Store Manager.”
“Sit down,” she said, closing the door behind her.
Jason sat in one of the two chairs in front of the desk. The office was cluttered with paperwork, boxes and those yellow shirts everyone here wore. Tanya sat in her chair behind her desk.
“Shoplifting is serious,” she said. She let a silence fill the room as Jason fidgeted in his seat.
“I didn’t steal anything,” he finally said, defiantly.
Tanya leaned forward in her chair and put her elbows on her desk. She looked at him and waited for him to speak again. She could tell that she was making him nervous.
Jason panicked quietly to himself. He had not, in fact stolen the blu-ray player. He knew that getting arrested would get him kicked out of Phi Alpha. It was all he could do to keep himself together as this woman looked at him menacingly.
“I didn’t steal anything,” he repeated. “I’ll show you the charge for it on my phone.” He took his smartphone out of his pocket and started to log in to his banking app.
“Put that away,” she commanded.
“Well how can I prove it to you then?” Jason asked.
Tanya’s scowl loosened slightly. She stood up from her chair and began to pace her small office.
“Store policy on shoplifting is clear, Jason,” she said. “Shoplifters must be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows.”
She paused and faced him, her arms crossed in front of her. Jason sat upright in the cheap chair and returned her stare. He tried to look confident.