Rinn was about to argue that she wasn’t kissing up, and that she honestly was never trying to, when the phone—a putty-colored landline with a cord and everything—trilled into the silent store. Rinn did her best not to jump, but she flinched at the noise, it was so unexpected.

Briiiiing.

Briiiing.

BRIIIIIIIIING.

Rinn stared at the phone. She was not picking it up. She looked at Daniella. From the look on her face, Daniella was also not picking it up. Neither of them moved as the phone continued to rattle and ring.

They waited until the answering machine clicked over, echoing scratchy feedback for a moment before the caller left a message. “Hello—Josephine, this is Mr. Hunt. I was calling to check in with you about last night’s sales numbers, but I’m concerned that you’re not already in the office—”

At that, Rinn caved and picked up. “Hello, Mr. Hunt!”

“Josephine, is that you?” Archer Hunt Junior had one of those deep, smoothed-out Midwestern accents that people from places like Ohio liked to brag about—the kind of accent that every newscaster in America was taught to adopt because it was considered neutral.

It disturbed Rinn to hear a voice so proudly scrubbed of any location markers. It also disturbed her that Archer Hunt Junior had employed Jo for five or six years and he couldn’t remember that her name was Joelle.

Daniella reached out her hand, ready to take over the phone now that she knew it was the boss. Except, Rinn was not about to hand over the phone to Daniella. She didn’t cave that easily under pressure.

“No, sir, this is Rinn Olivera. One of the employees. Just made it to the phone.”

Daniella held her hand out more insistently and more in Rinn’s face. Rinn swatted Daniella’s hand away. She would not be intimidated by Daniella and her cool bleached-blond hair and her ability to show up to work in an outfit that Rinn wouldn’t even be able to wear to the convenience store with confidence.

“Was nobody manning the register?” Archer barked back.

“Sir?” Rinn didn’t understand the question. Of course nobody was at the register. The store wasn’t open yet. Why had her heartbeat kicked up a notch? Rinn knew she wasn’t wrong. She looked around, double-checking herself. No customers were there yet.

“I said—was nobody manning the register? How could you have possibly been so far from the phone? I made sure the phone was installed right by the cash register.” He was so insistent, so sure of himself, that for a moment Rinn faltered.

Daniella took the opportunity to snatch the phone out from Rinn’s hands. “Hello, Mr. Hunt! Apologies, Rinn is one of our newer employees; she’s a little slow on the uptake.”

Rinn bugged her eyes at Daniella; Daniella stuck out her tongue.