Free Perfectly Dateless by Kristin Billerbeck Page B

on Friday because they’re too busy to call us.
    “Hi, everybody.”
    “So . . . how’s school?” Lindy, my supervisor, is head customer-service rep. She’s from Peru, tiny, serious-natured, and supports her family (including her mom and sisters) with this crappy job. She’s also the youngest besides me, but the most mature—which isn’t saying much. She takes her job seriously but puts up with the rest of us. And our need to vent. Lindy is the type of girl who brushes past all the negativity on the line with her very genuine friendliness. “You made it through your first week.”
    “School is the same. Lots of homework, plenty of fashioni-stas, not much fun.” I decide not to venture into the territory of my parents bustin’ a rhyme.
    “Who cares about that? Any cute guys this year?” Kat asks. “We keep hoping for you, honey.”
    “If there are guys, they’re nowhere near me.”
    “Oh, honey, you come to Kat and I’ll get you all set up. Such a pretty girl like you, so smart and all. You should have a boyfriend.”
    “She’s not allowed to have a boyfriend,” Lindy reminds her.
    “I’ve never heard of such a thing. My son has had girlfriends her age,” she says. “You gonna be a nun, honey?”
    Her son also lives with her and has a baby mama, but that’s hardly the point. There has to be some middle ground. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. The world is not black and white. Despite what my parents think. Despite what Claire thinks.
    “It’s a quiet day,” Lindy says. “We had that mad rush there, but otherwise it’s been very quiet all day. I think Gil had some numbers he wanted you to check too.”
    A moment later Kat slams down the phone. “I ain’t showing no public school moron my paystub to take no handout. They can kiss my derriere.”
    Kat’s a single mother and smells like an ashtray with a chaser of stale coffee. She wears a cheap perfume to cover the odor, but honestly, the sharp stench is worse. But if you’re ever in a battle? You want Kat on your side. She is the sweetest lady, but she could probably take on Evander Holyfield, so if I didn’t work with her, I wouldn’t know the kind heart that lurks behind her linebacker presence. In fact, if I met her on the street, I’d probably cross it to avoid a confrontation. Don’t like what that says about me, but I’m glad she’s on my side.
    “You getting your homework done with this job, Daisy?” Kat asks. “You work so much. You should take it easy.”
    I nod. “Not really an option in my house. All my parents have to keep up with is me, so they tend to check on me regularly.”
    “You get your education, baby. You don’t want to do this kind of job forever. Your parents know all about it. You find a job you love and every day is like a party.” She pauses to hack a few minutes. “That’s what they tell me anyway.”
    Gil comes out of his office. “What’s all this talking? You girls file if the phones are quiet!” He reminds me of the young teacher trying to earn respect. He barks most everything but then waits to see if he’s been heard. If we ask him a question, he gets flustered and acts as though he already made himself clear.
    Gil Keegan is the owner’s son. He cannot stand to watch anyone sit still—it’s a personal affront to him. He’s stuck in this job because his father has bigger fish to fry, and Gil’s determined to feed his ego from the job, if nothing else. He’s darling, though, only twenty-four, recently out of college, and he looks like Josh Lucas. When he talks, no matter what he says or how rude he sounds, I find myself drifting into the movie Sweet Home Alabama and seeing the prince hiding behind the redneck. Or, in this case, the prince behind the powerless owner’s son. Hey, my dream life helps me get through the day, all right?
    Anyway, Gil is cute, achingly so. And if he laid a hand on me, both our fathers would kill us, so there is this unrequited, Shakespearian