[Author's note: do not try this at home. Obviously, the characters in this story are at low risk from the dangers of suffocation, cramping, claustrophobia, restricted blood supply, etc. because they are *fictional*. Real people, not so much....]
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Finally, the constant stream of customers began to slacken off as we approached closing time. I took a break in the back, chewing a sandwich that I'd started at about two o'clock, sitting between two pallets of flat pack wardrobes. Hayley wandered in.
"I'm bloody starving," I said.
She fidgeted nervously in the doorway to the warehouse area. "Yeah," she said, "I thought we were good by three but that rush came out of nowhere. I need some water."
Hayley was in her mid-twenties, about a head shorter than me with a long mane of auburn hair tied back into a business-like bun. She flattered the Harbingers Home and Garden store uniform, her pert breasts demure but noticeable under the branded blue and white shirt. She went to the kitchenette, took a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. My eyes lingered on the way the company-regulation grey knee-length skirt showed off her firm, rounded bottom, and the way the low heels shaped her calves. It was the kind of view I could imagine sidling up to and gently placing my hand on. I wondered idly how she would react.
Technically I was her boss, but we had become good friends despite a ten-year age-gap. I knew she needed to work a couple of jobs to make ends meet, which is why I eventually let her into the after-hours click-and-collect service I offered to customers. I finished my sandwich and followed Hayley back onto the floor.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
Hayley gave me a look. I could see the nerves.
"You'll do great," I assured her, "You know what to do and you've watched me. It's pretty easy money."
"I don't want to fuck up, that's all."
"You'll be great. Look, how about you close up? I'll get the stuff."
"I just feel a bit," Hayley wrinkled her nose, "A bit sleazy."
"I'd do it myself, but the delivery instructions are pretty specific. You're really helping me out here."
I watched her pretty face intently, her beautiful green eyes danced between me and the front doors. Eventually she nodded and walked over to the front of the store.
I began to work my way through the aisles, informing customers that the store was closing, gently herding them to the checkouts and the doors. Milly was finishing up on register two with a customer.
"That it Tom?" she called.
I nodded from across the floor. "Yeah. Quittin' time."
Milly smiled. "Do you want help closing up?"
"Nah, Hayley's on that."
Milly closed the till out and took out the cash tray.
"I'm sure she's very capable," she said as she walked past me to dump the tray in the office.
I watched her go. She was mid-forties with a strawberry blonde bob and an accommodating nature, always very easy to talk to. She had liked Hayley immediately as soon as I'd hired the young girl and had made no secret of her opinion that maybe screwing the crew wasn't the end of the world. Apparently, it would do me good. Getting laid was good for the stress hormones, which would make me in turn a better boss. I had no doubt she thought that having Hayley to myself to close up was more than me being generous to Milly, letting her get back home to her husband and kids half an hour early.
Milly swished past me towards the doors, pulling her jacket around her.
"Have fun," she said, with a knowing half-smile.
She was half right, there would be fun, but in a way that I'm sure Milly wouldn't ever have imagined.
I did a last sweep of the floor for stragglers and began to dim the lights. Hayley was locking up when I saw a man trot up to the doors. I was too far away to hear the exchange, but I could tell from the body language that he was slightly flustered. Hayley let him speak, and then smiled warmly, letting him into the store and directing him with her hand towards the customer service counter at the back of the store. Behind him, Hayley locked the door.
I made my way over to meet him at the counter.
"Hi," I said, "What can I do for you?"
The man was maybe a few years younger than Milly. I could see immediately that he was tense and slightly out of breath.
"Can I do click and collect?" he said.
I moved behind the counter and made a show of looking at the computer screen. "Sure," I said. "Name?"
The man swallowed, "Hugh," he said, "Though it might be under my wife's name, Bethany."
I smiled reassuringly, "Of course, ready for you now. If you'd just like to step through to the warehouse."
Hugh hesitated. It felt like an awkward moment. I could see Hayley making her way to the back of the store, her lock-up duties completed.
"Hayley will be right through to take care of you," I said.
The man seemed to relax. Hayley arrived at the desk, straightened her hair and faced our customer.
"If you'd just like to follow me?" she said and led the way through to the back.
I followed, noting the change in body language in both of them. Hayley had picked up a swish in her step, the tight skirt revealing the delicious movement of her bottom as she walked. Hugh was much more at ease, and I realised that he had not expected to be talking to me. Hayley would be easier for him to deal with, which in the end was all that mattered. Happy customers are repeat customers.