Cold droplets of water danced on Liandra's skin, and she shivered, as she lathered herself with the scented soap she had taken from her work, and quickly rinsed her body before she caught her death cold.
Liandra wrapped herself with the huge bathtowel, and stepped out of the tub. After drying herself, and combing her long blonde hair, she slipped into her underwear, threw on her worn out jeans, and grabbed her tee shirt that was laying on the sink, as she ran out of the bathroom in a hurry.
"I'm late!" she muttered to herself angrily, this would mark the third time this week she would be late for work!
Throwing her tee shirt over her head backwards, Liandra bent over to grab her gym shoes from the corner.
"I'm going to get fired and I won't have money to pay this months rent again!" She cried as she finished tying her shoelaces, and grabbed her jacket and purse.
Running down the flight of stairs, Liandra raked her brain to see if she had paid the gas bill. she probably hadn't, that would explain the cold freezing water in the shower, and the freezing temperature in her tiny studio apartment.
My life sucks! She thought as she pushed the door open and stepped out of the building she lived in.
The cold air blasted around her this cold winter morning, and Liandra prayed it would not snow again. Pulling her hood over her head, she knew she would catch her death cold today. She hadn't time to blow dry her hair, and her long golden tresses were still damp.
Liandra took a short cut to work hoping to get there before her boss did, but be it as it may, as soon as she opened the door to the thrift shop, the old hag was waiting for her with her hands on her hips, and cold, black eyes that were narrowed at her.
"You're late! Again!" Mable barked angrily.
"I'm sorry Mable, I promise not to be late ever again." I told her and took my jacket off. "My alarm clock failed to go off and I woke up late."
Mable raised an eye brow, and sneered, "It's always one excuse or another with you! I swear if you come late to work one more time, I shall give you your two week notice!"
I kept my mouth shut and went to the back room to hang up my jacket. I hate my job, and I can't stand Mable, but I need to keep working to pay my bills. I was in a desperate situation.
"Liandra! Don't waste company time hanging out in the back room! Get your ass out here, we got a new shipment today and I expect you to take care of it!"
Liandra took a deep inhalation of breath and walked out of the office. "Yes mam, where do you wish me to start?"
"Over there," she pointed her long finger to the pile of boxes in the corner. "the big box of junk that is sitting on top of the pile, start there!" Mable growled,
Liandra did as she was told, and walked over to the pile of boxes, grabbed the top heavy one, and dropped it to the floor.
"Remember our store policy, if you break something it's your's and you shall have to pay for it!" The hag said when she heard the junk rattle in the box. "I'm going to run some errands, when I come back, everything better be put away, don't disappoint me Liandra, my patience is running thin with you!"
Liandra heard the door behind her open and close, and only then did she allow herself the luxury of crying. This last month had been very hard on her. She was fired from her second job because her coworkers were jealous of her and they lied just to get her fired, and now she was behind on all her bills, and if that was not enough, two days ago she received an eviction notice, and just yesterday a letter came in the mail and she was denied a Government loan to go to law school. A string of misfortune hit her and she was overwhelmed with grief.
In two weeks she will be out on the streets with no where to go, unless she calls Sam, but even his name made her want to barf! She knew that Sam waited patiently for an opportunity like this for her to run to him. He was handsome, and very successful, but she didn't care for him. He was cold and heartless and just wanted to get into her pants.
It was pure torture to think that she might have to go to him for help if her luck didn't change. She choked back a sob and flipped the box of junk over, and all the stuff in it scattered across the floor.
It was all junk just as Mable had said, but she knew that one persons junk was anothers treasure, so she collected all the stuff that had scattered across the floor and threw everything back into the box, took it to the front if the store and dropped it contents into the huge basket that lay on the floor next to the door.
Everything in the thrift shop was donated by the people in the neighborhood. Liandras looked around the shop and wondered as she grabbed the empty box and walked back to the pile of boxes, where all the money went that was donated.
It was as she lifted the next box and placed it on the floor when she noticed a beautiful gold colored chain behind the pile of boxes that was attached to a small, glass, tinted bottle. Grabbing the necklace in her hand she pulled herself up and examined it.
Liandra found the piece interesting enough and decided to try it on. Placing it over her head, she walked over to a mirror that hung on the wall and admired it. At that moment the door to the shop swung opened and a few customers walked in.
Pulling the necklace over her head, Liandra hung it on a hook and went to help the ladies.
***********
Bruce braced his hands on the tinted glass and stared at the beautiful woman. Her beauty took his breath away.
