Don't Quit Your Day Job:
My first story, I've been writing this for quite some time now.
Chapter One- The Premise
"Bartowski?"
Chuck was dreamily leaning over the edge of the Nerd Herd desk in the Burbank BuyMore, arms folded and face buried.
"Bartowski!" a deep voice barked.
"Ah huh!" Chuck shot out of his sleepy stupor, rubbing his eyes with haste. He glanced up, eyes adjusting to the light. "Yes, ah….Hi Big Mike…." He tried to salvage an already desperate situation, glancing at his boss looming before him.
"I don't pay you the big bucks to sit around on the clock, Bartowski." Even though there was a threat, an underlying tone of compassion was detected as well. Chuck nodded carefully. "Understand?"
"Ah sorry, of course sir."
"Good kid." He grunted, carrying his clipboard. "Now where the hell is Patel? Scrawny little one always getting his ass on the line…." His voice and grumbling slowly faded, and was instead replaced with a familiar voice.
"Hey bud." Morgan Grimes, certified best friend of Chuck Bartowski was standing before him. "Heard that…Can't say I blame you. This place is snooze Ville, even on the sales floor."
"Big bucks…" Chuck scoffed, rubbing his eyes. "Eleven bucks and hour and that's considered big bucks?"
"Well, you have your side job, don't you? The one that's keeping you up in the wee hours of the morning?" he added the last bit with a hint of amusement.
"Morgan, I love kids-" he began slowly, tiredly. "But baby-sitting Mrs. Wheeler's kids when she's out of town…They're like evil little elves."
"They're not past eight, Chuck." Morgan remarked, twirling his pen. "How bad can they be?"
"They don't sleep…." Chuck sighed, leaning back. "They don't eat….well, anything besides candy. But, they're funny, I'll give them that."
"Funny doesn't get you shut-eye, though." Morgan smiled. "How's Ellie's schooling?"
"Morg…." Chuck glanced up at him. "She's in love with it. And then there's Awesome….she loves him….."
"Ouch." Morgan nodded, turning as a lady tapped him on the shoulder. "Stop the press!" he grinned, but Chuck was too busy glancing at his shoes to notice. "Is that…..Vicky Vale?"
Chuck grinned, proceeding to sing the Vicky Vale song into the telephone beside him as he rose, starting to get into it as he became oblivious to the world around him.
"Excuse me….I hope I'm not interrupting something?" A voice as soft as velvet broke the trance that he was in.
Chuck glanced up, dropping the phone as he saw the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. "Oh my….uh…." he took a second to gulp. "No, no." His eyes took in her beautiful golden hair that framed her almost angelic face, all the way down to her business suit.
"Oh good." The girl smiled, handing her phone to him. "My phone...it shuts off randomly." She told him, as Chuck noticed the telltale signs of stress. "I need it to be in working condition again." She suddenly glanced around, seeming to be in a hurry.
"Uh sure….sure…" He glanced at the model. "An intelli-cell, huh? Usually we get Iphone customers." He smiled. "I'm Chuck, by the way." He smiled.
She glanced up at him, taking a moment to notice his cute features; he was tall, he had cute curly brown hair…..but those eyes. Those warm, chocolate eyes. She shook it off. "I didn't know people still named their kids Chuck…." She laughed. "And about the phone…I needed a change. That's why I moved here." Information poured out of her. "I'll look into that Iphone." Her eyes widened in shock. She began to school her features.
"Well…..it looks like this is going to take a few hours." Chuck apologized. "It's just a minor problem though; you can pick it up in a few hours."
Sarah bit her lip. "Okay…." She sighed, nodding. "Thank you."
"My job." Chuck replied graciously, handing her some forms to fill out. "So…."Chuck nodded, writing her information down and then transferring it to the computer in front of him. "Where are you coming from?" he began politely.
"Wisconsin." She replied, feeling a sting in her gut. That was partly true…
"So you found work here? Mrs…" he fished for a name casually.
"Ms….." she corrected. "Ms. Sarah Walker, ah….real estate." She mentally slapped herself. Again with the needless exchange of information. She needed the damn phone back. It wasn't traceable, and it was the only one she could afford to use freely. She was hoping for a quick fix.
"Well Ms. Walker." He smiled. "Must be tough to sell an area you don't know yourself."
'Of course it is….oh god I'm so stupid' She recovered the only way she could. "Maybe you could show me around." She felt her usual flirtatious smile appear, but something felt odd….she wasn't really controlling it this time. "At least….until my phone is fixed."
"Ah….." Chuck bumbled nervously. "I ah…" he glanced at Morgan afar, who was giving him two thumbs up and a grin. "I'd love to!" he tried not to sound too enthusiastic, but failed.
Chuck glanced at his watch. It was 4:54. The store closed around seven, it was Sunday.
"If it's not too much trouble…"Sarah added with a grin.
"No no….I can open the back door and we can grab your phone then." Chuck offered kindly.
"Thank you….Chuck." his name sounded soft on her lips.
"Oh yeah…it's no problem at all. When can I pick you up?"
"Chuck I can't believe this!" Ellie squealed happily, watching Chuck fist bump her boyfriend.
"Bro…that's awesome." Devon smiled, watching Chuck laugh.
"Yeah….I better go find something to wear….."
"Like hell I'm going to let you get away wearing whatever it is you think is cool." Ellie brushed past him into her room. "You've got to let me do all the work."
"Oh boy…." Chuck grumbled less than enthusiastically.
After almost an hour of trying on several get-up's Ellie had selected, they finally found the one. It was a light green button up with jeans. They'd tamed his hair to perfection; he was almost fit to be with Sarah Walker.
"Oh, and one more thing…." Ellie smiled, handing him a bouquet of flowers. "Now you'll sweep her off her feet."
"I hope so." Chuck murmured, stepping out the door nervously. This would be his first date in a while- he didn't want to screw anything up.
"And so you call him captain awesome?" Sarah's laugh sent Chuck's heart fluttering.
"Ha….yeah." Chuck smiled fondly. He'd found that Sarah was easy to talk to; once he'd gotten over how gorgeous she looked dressed up for a night out. "Everything he does is awesome; I mean everything. Flossing….even jumping out of planes."
Sarah had found the same exact thing about Chuck. Something about him was so…..inviting. "Your family seems great, Chuck."
"They are." He smiled. "Ellie raised me…" he didn't mention why, which left Sarah with a pit of sympathy. "And now that she's finishing med school…..I really help her finance it. It's all I can do and frankly…..the Buymore doesn't pay a king's salary." He couldn't believe he'd just admitted that to an utter stranger. "No, I'm sorry….god…..Ellie warned me not to get boring on dates." He turned red.
"No…." Sarah's heart sank at hearing his story. Here was a man who was kind, polite, and well mannered; he could've been doing anything. And yet he was stuck in a rut, and only wanted his sister's happiness. She was truly unworthy. "That's not boring at all….it's inspiring." She smiled. But what good was she? Since her father had left her, she'd been a cheat. He could never respect that.
"That's enough of me….how about you?" He asked, sipping his drink.
"Well….it looks like we're from the same boat family wise, Chuck." She bit her lip as she admitted this to him. Had her father been there…..oh, she'd get it from him. "I'm actually….alone."
"Really?" Chuck frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. Sorry…..did I push it too far?"
"No no…." Sarah assured him with a smile. "That's all my doing. And honestly…It feels good to talk about it with someone who understands."
Chuck smiled, finding her blue eyes once again. It was strange, but this felt like the best date of his life. He couldn't place a name on it, but there was certainly some sort of connection he felt.
However, time flew by, and the evening ended rather quickly for either one's liking.
Chuck opened the door to the Buymore with his keys, leading Sarah in to the herder backroom. Behind the locked cage was her phone, amongst several other people's phones, tablets, and laptops for repair.
"Heavy security…" Sarah remarked.
Chuck smiled. "Yeah, lock and key is needed to protect our hides from robbers."
Sarah felt her stomach flip again. But she wasn't a crook. Was she? No, it was…complicated.
"Ah, and the new software is finished." Chuck smiled, holding up her phone. "Let me just check the-" he froze, cutting himself off. "Oh my god…." He breathed. "What…..what's going on…."
"What?" Sarah's heart froze. "What's going on, Chuck?"
The screen read: Wire transfer complete. Code: 0005473, followed by several text messages from an encrypted number asking about "their share" and threats to turn her in. "Oh my god…..you're…..you're a thief!" Chuck breathed, backing away. "Are you going to kill me? Do you have a gun? Oh god….please….I'll do any-"
"Chuck…." Sarah's heart was racing. She didn't intend for this to happen. Why did she feel so bad when she looked at Chuck's helpless expression. "I…..it's not what you think. I'm not like that."
"So…..what does this mean?" Chuck stammered, as she read the screen.
"Oh shit…" Sarah bit her lip. "I'm overdue."
"Overdue?" Chuck's voice rose. "Oh god…..are you a wanted criminal?"
"No…." Sarah shook her head. "I'm like you, I-"
"Like me?" Chuck shook his head. "I don't think so, I mean…I won't ….I can't…..those threats…."
"They're from a friend…..they're just jokes…" she tried to explain.
Sarah heard a thud at the door, and immediately knew what was coming. "But those aren't. Chuck, we have to run."
"What?" Chuck gasped. "No…..no…..who is it?"
"Some….ah…friends of mine." She insisted as she grabbed his arm.
"Let me guess….." Chuck gulped. "They're here to return the favor?"
Please let me know if you think I should continue or not. I know it's a little far fetched but hey...what is FF for?