Free The Second Chance Shoe Shop by Marcie Steele Page A

are good quality shoes.’
    ‘They are,’ said Riley, ‘but they aren’t necessarily fashionable.’
    ‘And how would you know that?’
    ‘I follow the trends. I can definitely tell that those sandals I showed you are going to be popular in summer and―’
    ‘There won’t be a shop here in summer at this rate. It’s been almost two weeks since I instigated the sales competition.’
    ‘If she listened and stopped interrupting all the time,’ Dan spoke under his breath. He looked up to see Suzanne glaring at him.
    ‘Did you say something?’ she asked.
    ‘Yes. We worked so hard on Saturday. We can get the people into the shop but we can’t close the sales unless we have what they want.’
    ‘Or we reduce the prices enough,’ added Sadie.
    ‘Well, if we can’t compete by having a sale, then we’ll just have to open longer hours.’ Suzanne pointed to them each in turn. ‘From this weekend, I want the shop opening on Sundays, too.’
    ‘We need more notice than that!’ said Riley. Although she’d been expecting this to happen for some time, they’d have to work out either extra wages or new shift rotas so they could take time off during the week in lieu of the extra weekend hours. ‘There are only three of us,’ she added.
    ‘If the shop closes, you’ll have to work Sundays in the shopping centre, no doubt,’ said Suzanne. ‘So you might as well get used to it. We’ll trial it for the next three months.’
    ‘And you’re going to pay us for the extra hours what , precisely? Double time?’ asked Riley, knowing that as well as herself, she had to protect Dan and Sadie.
    ‘Of course you’ll be paid for the extra hours, but first we’ll have you each on a rota so you won’t have to do any. The shop will open on Sundays for four hours, from eleven until three. If that’s successful, then we will open from ten until four. You can each have the four hours off during the week to make up for it. The afternoons are dead so the shop can manage with two of you for three days.’
    ‘And have a Sunday off . . . when?’ Riley demanded to know.
    ‘For the first three months, there will be no Sundays allowed off work at all. You all want to continue working together, don’t you?’ Suzanne glared at them. ‘I’m sure you’ll figure it out between you.’
    ‘She can’t do this, can she?’ said Sadie once Suzanne had left.
    ‘She can,’ said Riley. ‘It’s a pain, but we knew this might come eventually.’
    ‘Yes, but we expected to be paid for it!’
    ‘I’ll sort something out for you,’ she replied. ‘And if not, we’ll just have to stay closed one or two of them.’
    ‘But,’ Sadie spoke with tears welling in her eyes, ‘you know what our Sundays mean to me.’
    ‘We’ll just have to postpone lunch until we’ve finished,’ Riley reassured her. Even so, she was wondering why she herself was trying so hard to please a snotty-nosed cow like Suzanne. ‘We mustn’t let this get us down. We have to give the shop three months.’
    ‘Don’t you find it strange that Max has gone quiet, all of a sudden?’ Sadie asked.
    ‘If he has anything about him, he’ll stay overseas,’ said Dan. ‘I wouldn’t want to be within ten feet of Suzanne if I didn’t have to.’
    Riley said nothing. Dan wasn’t one to mince his words but this time she had to agree with him.

    O n Tuesday evening , Riley was just getting home from work as Ash came out of their building. They almost collided in the doorway.
    ‘You’re late,’ Ash said, giving her a hug.
    ‘I’ve been stocktaking. It took me a lot longer than I thought it would.’ Riley looked her up and down, noticing another new outfit. ‘You smell divine. Are you going out with the youngster again?’
    Ash’s cheeks reddened as she nodded.
    ‘This seems to be getting serious,’ Riley teased. ‘Are you sure you can handle someone so young long-term? He’ll wear you out.’
    ‘I’m getting it while I can,’ she grinned. ‘You should