Annie had been in Matt’s grade in school, yet she had no recollection of her. She looked younger than the twenty-nine she claimed to be. Blond hair and blue-green eyes, she was certainly attractive. Matt was a fool if he hadn’t tried to date her.
Oh well. Right now, all she cared about was Annie helping her run the store. Maybe by the end of summer, when Annie went back to college and Jordan could escape back to Chicago, she’d have hired someone to manage it for them. That is, if her father would trust an outsider to run the business. Because even though the store had Matt’s stamp all over it, her father had started it many, many years ago, even before they’d opened the restaurant. At the time, it was simply a little store that sold nothing more than trinkets and shells and a handful of T-shirts. Once they’d opened the restaurant, they’d almost neglected the store. But Matt had taken it over and made it what it was today…a landmark in Rockport. And tourists came to the store to buy a memento or two of their vacation—and to take a picture with Fat Larry, the pudgy, purple pelican.
Chapter Five
Annie was ten minutes early, yet Jordan had beaten her again to the store. She found the coffee already made and heard her rustling in Matt’s office. Well, Jordan’s office now, she supposed. She still wasn’t certain what to make of Jordan Sims. In looks, she certainly favored Matt, although she was not nearly as tall as Matt had been. But dark hair, dark eyes, an easy smile—they were alike in that regard. She suspected Jordan’s personality was a little more on the serious side, a little more purposeful than Matt had been. Matt liked to have fun and never wanted to cause waves. His employees loved him because he didn’t have a lot of rules. She guessed that was about to change.
She poured a cup of coffee, then stuck her head in the office. It hardly looked like the same place. She eyed the trash bag, seeing it stuffed with papers. Jordan was busy delving into one of Matt’s drawers. Annie noted that again, Jordan was dressed in pressed slacks and a crisp blouse. She looked down at her own bare legs and flip-flops. The only time she wore jeans or slacks were during the few really cold days in January or February.
“Good morning,” she said as she took a sip of coffee.
Jordan looked up from her task, smiling as she saw Annie. “Hey. Is it eight already?”
“Just about.” She stared at the trash, then raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t stand the clutter?”
“Not a second longer,” Jordan said. “Besides, I took a look at his books. All of this,” she said, motioning to the papers in the trash bag, “is documented, at your fingertips with a click of the mouse.”
“Yes, he was a bit old school when it came to paper copies,” she said. “Can I get you some coffee?”
Jordan nodded. “Thanks. I made it but completely forgot about it.”
“How do you take it?”
“Black,” Jordan said as she pulled out another pile of papers from a drawer. “And thanks for doing payroll yesterday.”
“No problem.”
Annie filled a mug with coffee and brought it back, setting it carefully on the edge of the desk before sitting down across from it. “Did you get the punch clock add-on you were telling me about?”
“Yes. It’s already loaded to QuickBooks. I’ll show you how to use it, then you can teach everyone else.” Jordan sipped from her coffee. “I also ordered another laptop for them to use. We’ll keep it out there,” she said.
“Don’t want them in here?” Annie guessed.
Jordan smiled but didn’t answer. Instead, she asked, “Are Saturdays the busiest days?”
“Usually,” Annie said. “But once school is out and the tourists come, then every day is about the same.”
“And we’re only open on Sundays during the summer?”
“There’s not a set start date,” she said. “Whenever things begin picking up, like the spring migration, then we start opening on Sundays. Right now, it’s only noon until five.”
“So who works it?”
Annie smiled. “Matt always did. So I guess you.”
Jordan’s eyes widened. “Alone? You’d leave me here alone?”
Annie laughed. “Well, you are the boss.”
“Yeah. Back here,” Jordan said, pointing to the laptop. “In the office, with the finances and stuff. Not out there with, you know, people.”
Annie thought Jordan was surely teasing but the look in her eyes said the fright was genuine. “So you and Matt…just the opposite, huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“Matt loved being out with the customers. He hated office work,” she said. “Which is why he taught me a lot of it.”
Jordan nodded. “My experience with working with customers is over the phone or email. I rarely meet our clients in person.”
“What is it that you do?”
“The company I’m with…well, we’re diverse. Financial sector, like I said. We do investing, acquisitions. Buy small companies and then either sell them or merge them. We have clients all over the world.”
“Wall Street stuff?”
“That too. But we’re based in Chicago.”
“So our little operation here is—”
“Scary. It involves real people.”
“And yours doesn’t?”
“No, not really. It’s…well, it’s only numbers.”
The outer door to the store opened and Annie turned in her seat, seeing Jessica sneaking in. Before she could say anything, Jordan got up and walked out to her.
“You’re fifteen minutes late,” Jordan said. “Do you not like working here or what?”
Jessica’s eyes widened. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
“So you want to change your hours then? Instead of eight, you want to make it eight thirty?”
Annie very nearly felt sorry for Jessica. The girl apparently didn’t have a clue as to what Jordan was trying to say to her. Jessica looked past Jordan to her, but Annie simply stared at her.
“I guess…I guess I could come in at eight thirty,” she finally said.
“Good,” Jordan said. “I’ll change the schedule then. And if you’re late again…you’re fired.”
“But…Matt—”
“Matt is not here. I am.”
Jordan turned and headed back to the office, and Annie noticed that she had to hide a smile. It was a cushy job and they all knew it. Besides, Matt was paying them all a dollar more an hour than any of the other shops in town paid. She suspected Jessica would be early from now on.
“So…where were we?”
Annie smiled at her. “You were saying you were scared of people.”
“Oh, yeah. So does that mean you’ll work on Sunday?”
Annie nodded. “I can work on Sunday. But remember, I won’t be here all next week. I need to show you how to close and reconcile.”
“Right. And you’ll start full time the following week?”
“Yes. I’m actually looking forward to it.”
“Great. Then we’ll learn how to do inventory and order stuff together. Because I don’t have a clue.”
“Maybe your father—”
“No. I promised them I would handle this. They’ve got their hands full with the restaurant. Besides, my mother…well, she’s not really back to normal yet.”
“I know she and Matt were close,” Annie said. “I’m sure it’ll take time for her to get over it.” She stood. “I should go help Jessica get ready. Saturdays are busy.”
Jordan nodded. “Brandon comes in at ten?”
“Yes. Staci works the afternoon.”
“Okay.”
Annie turned to go, but Jordan called her back.
“Annie?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. I’d be lost if you weren’t here.”
Annie smiled. “I know.” She paused before leaving. “And Jordan…we do have a dress code here. No slacks are allowed in the summer.”