Trust in Me Read Online Free PDF Page B

She tugged the hairs at her nape free of the apron ties and winced when they pulled at her scalp. She'd make a point of wearing her hair up in the future.
    "Who are you?" the raven-haired teen asked, still gawking.
    She held out her hand. "Claire Albritton. I start work here today as a cashier."
    The teen gave a raucous laugh and scratched his chest. "Well, hot damn! Where the hell did Kevin find you? D'you lose your job at Hooters and decide to go slumming?"
    Claire wrinkled her nose. "Hooters?"
    Just as the guy finally reached for the hand Claire offered, Kevin came skidding through the office door huffing for a breath. He wedged himself between Claire and the teen and said breathlessly, "Claire, this is Ray Lowery. Ray, Claire. There. Intros all done. Ray, out. Get to work."
    Kevin planted his hands on Ray's chest and pushed the burly teen toward the door. The manager's rude behavior baffled Claire. He'd been so polite to her earlier when she arrived.
    "Lowery?" she said, looking around Kevin to speak to Ray. "The same Lowery as the—"
    "Yeah, I'm the owner." A smug grin split the teen's face.
    "Your father's the owner, Ray. You're the stock clerk, and the truck from Georgia just arrived. Have at it."
    "I'm talking to Claire."
    Kevin shoved Ray a few steps closer to the door. "No, you're not."
    The stock clerk scowled and knocked Kevin's hands away from his chest with an angry sweep of his arm. "Back off, man. I'm going." But he didn't go. He stood in the office door and stared at Claire. "Trying to keep her to yourself, are you?" Ray scoffed. "Like she'd ever want a toad like you, Fuller."
    Kevin stiffened. "Get to work, Ray."
    Claire watched the tense exchange with an uneasy quiver in her stomach. Had she done something wrong that caused this altercation?
    Ray slid his gaze over Claire slowly, lingering on her chest, then arched a thick eyebrow. "See you later, dollface."
    Ray's perusal left her skin feeling somehow dirtied, and she shivered. She'd never had a man ogle her quite so blatantly or with such a lascivious gleam in his eyes.
    "Sorry about that. I forgot to warn you last night about Ray, our resident throwback to the cavemen." Kevin glanced at her with a sheepish grin. "I'll do my best to keep him away from you."
    She shook her head. "Why would you do that? If we're going to be working together, it seems like we'd be around each other all day."
    "I just mean I'll try to buffer you from the worst of his...well..."
    While Kevin fumbled for a word, Claire let another one sink in. Buffer .
    Kevin intended to shield her from Ray. Did he think she was incapable to taking care of herself around the stock clerk? That she couldn't manage without him there to pave the way? Certainly that's how her father had felt. And the point of her being here, working in this hardware store and striking out on her own, was to prove how wrong her father was. To prove to herself she didn't need to be coddled. To rebuild the self-confidence her father had stolen through years of treating her as an incompetent.
    "Don't." The word came out more sharply than she intended, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Thank you, but I don't need you to buffer me from Ray. I'll be fine."
    Kevin eyed her worriedly. "You don't know Ray the way I do."
    "Then I'll learn. That's why I'm here. I want experience with real life. No holds barred."
    Kevin rubbed his chin, his chocolate eyes still concerned and skeptical, but he nodded. "In that case, let me show you how the register works. We open in ten minutes."
    Excitement ballooned inside her. She could do this. And it would be fun. She'd meet interesting new people, sample a side of American life she'd only heard about, and learn new things in the process. She was ready to get her hands dirty and experience the real world.
    "How'd it go with Mrs. Proctor last night?" Kevin asked as he punched a few keys on the register, setting it up for business. "Did she agree to let you rent a room?"
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