Jenny, better now, leaned back in her chair in the breakroom. The familiar white walls surrounded her, commercial flooring, and a wall of red lockers adjoining the sink and microwave. She frowned at the snack vending machine.
"He didn't come in again?" The store owned the machine, which was contracted to an outside vendor. He hadn't been doing a good job of stocking, and a lot of items hung up. Charlie'd explained to her that meant it was badly stocked. Jenny stared at the half-empty vending machines, empty coils everywhere.
"Yeah," Lavon replied, his bald black head shining under the fluorescent lights. "And the soda machine's stealing coins." Jenny muttered in disgust. A coin jam, left untended, continued to rip of every new customer. "Do you think your husband might want the contract?" Jenny shrugged and tried to look uninterested.
"I don't know" she sighed. She didn't trust Charlie any more than she had a month ago, when she never expected to hear from him again. He wanted to just walk into her life as if he'd never left it, but he had, and she'd moved on. She wasn't the same woman.
Lavon leaned back in his chair, his work polo straining over his broad shoulders, and steepled his hands under his chin. His gold wedding band gleamed in the light as he caught her eyes.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with Doctor Death, now, would it?" Jenny flinched. Her across the street neighbor, Dr Steven Black, worked for the medical examiner's office. They were good friends - too good, according to Lavon, who'd believed she should cut off all contact, and that was before Charlie had made his big return.
"Lavon" she started, as their boss came into the room. He looked around at her, Lavon, Javier, and Maria, chattering on her cell phone. Javier scrolled on his smart phone, snickering now and then. When Mr Jackson got to the vending machines, he paused, and growled.
"Don't get a soda" Jenny warned. "It's got a coin jam." Mr Jackson, his pasty white skin gleaming, frowned and took a key out of his pocket, then looked around. "Does anyone know how to fix this?" His thinning brown hair featured an unfortunate comb-over. His white oxford and chinos looked wilted.
Mr Jackson, bad hair aside, was the best and most understanding boss Jenny had ever had. He took out his phone, dialed, and hung up when he went to voicemail. He frowned at the machine, fingering the key.
"I know a guy" Jenny started as Lavon grinned. "He can give you a fair deal and I know he'll keep them stocked."
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