"This is business" Jenny hissed at Charlie, while giving Lavon a sharp glance. "Mr Jackson needs a vendor. You're the only one I know. You're here to make his life better."
Charlie sighed and ran his hand through his hair. It had been a long day with multiple problems. Sales were down. Jenny had put herself behind a wall sometime during the time she'd been sick, and he couldn't get her out. "I'll take care of it, Baby."
Jenny tensed. He had no right to use that name with her again, as if he'd never - she'd never - never had to leave her husband. He made me leave, she reminded herself. She sighed, fisted her hands, and glanced at the clock. Thank God, she could go back to work. Frozen pizzas never looked so good. She left without saying goodbye.
Charlie watched her leave, and turned to the vending machines. First order of business, the coin jam. He opened the lock, popping the crossbar out and rotating it until the machine swung open. Charlie separated the inner door from the outer door, and hissed as he saw the coin jam. What a mess. He got to work.
"Man" Charlie raised his head, almost hitting it on the lockbar, and peered around the door. "It's not my business, but I'll tell you anyway." Lavon took a deep breath. "You've got a lot of work." Charlie stared at him, baffled, and Lavon leaned forward. "I'm a pastor. She'll talk to me, sometimes. I try to encourage her on God's path." Lavon looked around the empty breakroom. "You burned her bad. When you didn't come after her, you left a hole. Some men might be looking to fill it." Charlie bristled and came out around the machine. "NOT me. But she might have a friend... hoping." Lavon swallowed. "You didn't hear it from me." Lavon got out of his chair, punched the time clock, and left the room, and Charlie alone with his thoughts.
Charlie prayed for a while as he cleared the coin jam and cleaned the mechanism. A few minutes of routine maintenence would have saved the employees a lot of aggravation. He put the money in a zip top plastic bag and gave it to Mr Jackson. He came back and reviewed the soda selection.
Too many diet selections for night-shift workers. Not enough caffeine. He added another type of Mountain Dew and removed the Diet Lemon Lime. He moved the Cokes to a double column and test vended every selection. He removed a panel and adjusted a slipping rotor, then closed everything up and cleaned the machine with a basic spray cleanser.
He taped one of his cards onto the vending machine, with "For service or refunds, call..." highlighted. Charlie then moved on to the snack machine and whistled sadly. Fingerprints smudged the front of the machine. Wide products were stocked into narrow coils, ensuring hang-ups and annoyed customers. Three pastry items were out of code.
He had a quick talk with Mr Jackson about demographics and reloaded the machine. Hot peanuts, hot Cheetos, and pork rinds made it into the lineup. Baked chips came out of their too-narrow coils and returned to store inventory. Pretzels were gone, but he added a new flavored pretzel bite. They'd done well at his other location. Charlie scoffed at the stuffed row of graham crackers. What was this, daycare? He pulled his handcart closer and got to work.
Charlie had left by the time Jenny came back for her last break, but the machines looked fantastic. The employees stood around, exclaiming over the selections and buying snacks. They couldn't stop talking about the new vendor. Maria liked his butt.
She hadn't thought of this. Charlie had followed her to work. He'd be spending every break and lunch with her for the future. Worse, she'd invited him.
At least Mr Jackon looked happy, munching on a Moon pie and Mountain Dew. A red one, no less. Who knew?
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