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"Dave, can you man the counter for a bit?" Stephanie asked. "Dom and Connor are taking their lunch breaks, and I have a ton of shelf-stocking I need to do."
"No problem, Stephanie," Dave replied as he stepped behind the front counter.
It had been a fairly busy day at Oh Em Gee, but things we finally starting to calm down. So Stephanie took the opportunity to head into the back and gather up extra copies of their more in-demand comics.
By the time she stepped back onto the showfloor, she heard the door chime. And when she saw who walked in, her heart sank.
Aw crap, not this bastard.
"Welcome to Oh Em Gee Comics. How may we help you today?" Dave innocently asked as he spotted Keke walking in.
"Oh, I'm not here to buy," Keke replied. "I saw that there was a new person at the counter through the window, and curiosity got the better of me."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Keke, this is Dave. Dave, this is Lucif-- I mean Keke."
"You, I'm ignoring," Keke replied, causing Stephanie to sigh and return to her stocking. "Dave, she said your name was?"
"Yeah. I'm new around here," Dave explained with an awkward giggle. "Not really caught up on...whatever drama you've got going on with my boss over there."
"You don't seem new," said Keke. "You've got the whole 'polished customer service' vibe down!"
"...Thank you?"
Is she just here to give backhanded compliments and freak out the new guy?
Actually, that would be very typical of her.
"You know," Keke continued, leaning on the desk as if sharing a secret with Dave, "I'm really good at reading people. Especially when they seem to be hiding things from my bastard ex-girlfriend over there."
At this, Dave got visibly nervous. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're not new," Keke reiterated. "And the fact that you're sweating right now proves it."
"I'm not -- I mean -- It's just hot out."
"It's January. And we're indoors."
"It's...hot inside."
Oh, poor Dave! He clearly doesn't know how to handle Keke like the rest of us do.
"That's it!" Stephanie put down her comics and marched over to her ex. "In case you forgot, I run this store, and I have the right to refuse service to anyone!"
"Clearly, you're not doing a very good job of it, if you can't tell when someone's lying to you."
"Oh, because you've always been honest with me? Look, I can handle whatever you say to me, but you will not come in here and heckle my employees! Do you understand me?"
Keke scoffs. "Fine. But don't act like I didn't warn you."
With that, Keke turned on her heels and left the store.
Stephanie turned towards Dave, who looked like he was breathing multiple sighs of relief at once. "Thank you," he said in a single breath.
"Of course! You don't deserve to be berated like that," she replied with a soft grin, before deciding: "You know what? Why don't you take care of the stocking? I've got the desk."
Dave nodded, and the two switched places. Stephanie then sighed again.
Keke is a twisted human being.
Dave is such a sweet guy. There's no way he's hiding anything from me.