Pawnshops and Carousels
AvalonReeseFanFics
A/N: Happy Sunday my wonderful readers! So we've got another chapter that's filled with drama with some cute moments sprinkled in. We're getting closer to the end guys! Are you getting excited? I know I am! As always don't forget to leave a review, or drop a fav or follow and I'll see you guys next Sunday!
Chapter 33
Sabrina: There has been nothing but arguments since our baby shower. Which makes no sense because we should all be happy. But nooooo…. Ashley's all defensive about Karen coming in and she's been picking fights right left and center with everyone. It's starting to get annoying.
Karen had the nerve to tell me that she thought she had to restock the stainless steel section seven times. SEVEN TIMES. She had only been here, what? A couple of weeks and she thinks she's restocked that many times? And what? What? She's just going to rub it in my face like that? I get that enough from my brother, I don't need it from her too. And I won't be taking it either.
So I'm standing in my section, talking with Bobby-J, who's refilling our trays for us, about it. Karen's across the way doing her thing and I'm doing what I do best. Bitch.
"She's supposedly filled the showcases like seven times. She keeps track, do you keep track of how many times you change the showcases?"
Bobby-J doesn't want to be in this conversation. Like a typical man he can't multitask and he clearly wants to pay attention to what he's doing. He also probably doesn't want to be in the drama either.
Still he answers with an absent: "No, no, I just do my job and that's it."
"I mean, I can totally hear you talking about me," Karen calls to us.
Most people would be mortified, but I'm not going to back down in my store. So I call back: "I wasn't whispering."
And that seems to totally shock Karen for all of two seconds before she recovers and moves towards us. Apparently she's not going to back down either.
"So… are you jealous that I had to stock seven times?"
What the hell did she just say to me? "Jealous?" I echoed and then half scoff at her. "No, see, the thing is, we're not working on commission…"
"Do you think I may have not been able to take on the challenge?"
Did she just interrupt me?
"No, Karen…"
"Are you shocked?"
She fucking did it again! "Okay, Karen if you have an issue, we can go discuss this in the office."
"I really don't have an issue," she says, with as much attitude as Karen could muster. "I wanna know what your issue is."
No. She. Didn't!
"No, cause Bobby-J…"
"Cause it sounds like you may be a little bit jealous that I moved product and I surprised you," Karen says completely interrupting me again. I'm legit about to lose it on her. I swear.
"Karen come in the back please," I say trying to remain as composed as I can. It's failing miserably but I'm trying. I have to get points for that, right?
Luckily I only have to say this once, because she says: "Sure," and then walks towards me. But as she comes towards the back, she's saying things like: "Oh this should be good. You guys should grab a bag of popcorn for this one."
And it's just making me angrier.
So as soon as the door shuts behind us, I'm ready. Ready to jump down her fucking throat, but once again she beats me to it.
"All I'm saying is…" "—I actually asked you…" "…No, let me finish!" "—NO! Let me finish!"
And she finally went quiet to let me talk.
"There's some rules in this store for how we handle things. Maybe my dad forgot to explain it to you. If we have an issue come in the back. We don't scream or raise or voices on the showroom sales floor."
"I'm sorry… did you just say that we don't yell on the sales room floor?" Sabrina asks from where she's sitting at her desk outside of Seth's office. She practically has to claw her way into a standing position and I once again wonder why the hell she hasn't just stayed home. I know she's only in her second trimester but she's huge. She has to be carrying twins, she just has to be.
I also happen to know exactly what she's going to say so I want her away from us like ASAP.
"Yeah that's what she said," Karen tells her just as I growl: "Stay out of this."
"Oh well that's funny, so… uh… what did you and Seth constantly get in trouble for before then? Cause I'm pretty sure it was because you two were constantly screaming at each other while on the sales floor."
"Sabrina, stay out of this!" I shout.
But Karen is laughing. "Oh! So this is a regular thing?"
But Sabrina ignores her. "I just think it's funny that you're telling her it's not allowed, all high and mighty like that, when it was legitimately something you used to do. ALL THE TIME!"
"What the hell is your problem, huh?" I shout. "This is none of your business, Reenie! It's not! So go back to your stupid desk and answer Seth's phone…"
I have more to say and I might have gotten around to saying it, except Seth's protect Sabrina sense has fucking amplified since she had gotten pregnant again and he must have sensed a disturbance in the force because he's left the sales floor and is now in between me and Sabrina. I hadn't even noticed him show up.
"Do not yell at my wife!" thunders out of Seth so fucking quickly that I'm actually startled. He's using his height to tower over me and he looks about ready to throw hands at me.
Sabrina puts a hand to him to try and calm him down but it's not working. "It's fine, Seth, it's fine."
But Seth is exactly like me and doesn't want to back down either and, all of a sudden, we're in a four-way argument, where we're all trying to be heard above one another and now my dad is involved, forcing us all into his office for a chat.
Les: Children. I'm working with fucking children. I mean two of them are mine, but like… come on… I watched the grown up… now I'm doubting whether I actually did.
I stare at my family in utter amazement because this is ridiculous.
We all know Ashley's been in a bad mood since I brought Karen in, but for all four of them to end up in a screaming match outside my office is ridiculous. Especially Sabrina because she's usually the calm one.
"I'm sorry," Sabrina says softly. Seth is standing behind her chair, a hand on her shoulder, a dark scowl painting his features because, as we all know, Sabrina probably shouldn't be the one apologizing.
"Of course she's sorry, fucking suck up," Ashley growls and now Seth's dark glare is on his sister.
"Don't fucking…" he starts but I cut him off.
"Stop it! Stop it! Will someone please just tell me what happened?"
"She was screaming at Reenie," Seth says and that explains why he was involved. He probably had no idea what originally started the fight, just that Ashley was screaming at his wife.
"Ashley was lecturing Karen about not fighting on the sales floor like she doesn't scream at you or Seth on the sales floor," Sabrina explains. "I didn't think it was fair that she got to be all high and mighty about it when she does it all the time."
And that sounds like Sabrina, the unofficial fairness police of the office. And now my attention is on my daughter and my niece.
"You two were screaming on the showroom floor?"
Ashley has gone red in her anger because Sabrina's right and she was banking on Sabrina not snitching on her.
"She just started going at me in front of all the staff…" Ashley starts but Karen cuts her right off.
"Only because she was talking about me as if I weren't there."
"Yes, but the staff didn't need to hear us talking like that," Ashley says clearly trying to be the professional one. Problem is, I know my daughter, so when Karen says it was Ashley talking shit first I can believe it.
"Yes but there's really no shouting out on the showroom floor, then how did I hear you shout: Can you believe she restocked the stainless steel seven times?"
"Aw, did you," Sabrina asks suddenly cutting into the argument. "Good job!"
It is a good-job. She probably didn't do it seven times because nothing moves that quick in this store but she has been selling things quite well so that's nice and she has every right to be proud. Ashely should have just said good job.
But as soon as Sabrina has something nice to say to Karen, Ashely has a glare on her. I'm pretty sure the only reason she doesn't jump down Sabrina's throat is because Seth is standing right there glaring at Ashley, daring her to do something, and because she's still trying to pretend that she was the professional one in all of this. And not the person who started it all.
"Okay, you two, why don't you two go back to your office, huh Seth?" I offer and immediately Seth has pulled Sabrina out of that chair and ushered her out of the office. I turn my attention back to the two girls in front of me but before I can say anything Karen's interrupted again.
"I still think you're a little bit jealous."
"We're supposed to be a team out there," Ashley says as if she actually wanted to be a part of the team and she hadn't been icing Karen out the whole time.
"Okay, I'll give you this. I will apologize for raising my voice out on your showroom floor… our showroom floor. But… if I hear my name being brought up in a conversation, then yeah, definitely I'm going to get into that conversation with you as well."
And that is actually a pretty nice deal. It seemed fair, considering it was Ashley's big mouth that got her into this. The problem is Ashley's intimidated by Karen coming in, though why she is makes no sense to me. She needs to get over this fast.
"I think you should take the deal," I tell her which wins me one of her signature glares.
She says nothing but gets up and leaves the office. And I sigh. I love my daughter, but sometimes she drives me to drink
Les: Here I was thinking that things were okay. But next day, what do I find? Karen in the back sorting the furs. Why? Why? Because she broke something while cleaning and Ashley sent her into the back to "minimize damage." I swear to god. I swear. What the hell am I going to do with this girl?
My dad calls me into the back and I'm ready for a fight. He wants to know why I have Karen in the back no doubt, and I'm willing to tell him the truth. She broke a 400 dollar figurine, I want her back here.
What I'm not prepared for is my dad saying: "You have our best jewelry sales person in the back straightening out the fur coats?"
And I'm not going to lie, that stabs me right in the heart to hear my dad say that to me. I am literally so hurt by this I swear I could cry right now.
"She broke the crystal out their dad," I tell him because if it were me and Seth breaking that crystal figurine, he'd be all over us to pay it back.
"And so what?"
"She's a liability dad!"
But he's not listening. "Is it really so important for her to move the furs?"
"To me it is."
"So if you think it's so important to have Karen move all the fur coats and organize them, why don't you help her move them?"
I should have known that this was trap. And I say nothing, instead I watch as my dad moves to leave. Obviously this is a test, either I stand by my guns and help her move or I move her back to the sales floor and forget this happened.
"Because, you know what, why don't you guy stay back here until you both can work together and co-manage the jewelry department. And while you're doing this I'm going to be on the jewelry floor selling the jewelry, that you guys should be taking care of."
Then my dad walks away and I'm left back there with a new job to do.
Karen sighs. "Great now he's mad at us."
"Just don't even talk to me."
God could this get any worse?
Seth: Things were quiet for a while after my dad made Karen and Ashley work together in the back. Like at least a good week, I was actually thinking that things might have turned a corner. Until Karen came up to me and started going on about how Ashley missed having me as a brother and wants me to be nicer to her. Like… WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT GUILT TRIP?! I swear I have never been so fucking upset in my life. Firstly, the problems I have with my sister are her fault, she starts it, every time and Karen should know that. And also… why did she tell Karen all of that sob story shit? Karen didn't need to know that before I did. Why didn't she come to me first? It's a good thing Sabrina's not in today because shit is about to get real!
I'm livid. Really livid. Livid that Ashley spouted that garbage and had Karen come in and talk to me. This is a business not Dr. Phil, what was she fucking thinking?
Luckily when I got out to address the situation like I promised Karen I would, the two of them are together.
"Great, you two are together," I say as I clap my hands together and approach them with a big smile. "Are you two busy?"
Both Ashley and Karen are looking at me like I'm crazy and I wish I could say I cared.
"Yeah," they both say carefully, clearly confused and even though I'm smiling I must be giving off some kind of negative vibe because neither of them look at ease right now.
Well I don't care if they're busy, neither of them cared when they came to bother me while I was busy so now, they were going to get mean Seth. And they couldn't go crying to Sabrina either cause today is her day off.
"So, you decided to broadcast your dirty laundry," I say to Ashley who looks genuinely surprised. I then turn to Karen whose mouth has dropped open realizing that this is not going the way she wanted to. "And you're coming into my office during work hours to talk about our family issues."
Ashley turns to Karen. "What did you say?"
Oh, so Ashley was going to pretend that she had no idea that Karen had come to talk to me. That was how she was going to play this, alright?
Poor Karen looks shook, she literally can't seem to fathom how any of this could have gone wrong. She glances at Ashley and then back to me. "Seth… You are blowing this way out of proportion!"
"What did I say?" Ashley asks again.
"Well, I told Seth that you sometimes want your brother, you want your brother relationship. He's all business."
"This is a workplace, Karen," I remind her and she reels back like I insulted her or something. I don't even bother to see if Ashley will corroborate this feeling, because I know it's nonsense.
"I understand that…"
"Well at work, we work, Karen."
"Yes I understand that. But we're still a family, aren't we?"
Yes, technically but we can't treat our business like a family otherwise we won't be in business anymore.
"We are, but you know what, but we have to handle family issues outside of the office."
"I can't believe you told him all of that, I never said to go talk to him. Why would you tell him that at all?" Ashley cries and now poor Karen is in the middle of two angry Gold siblings.
Karen half scoffs and puts a step of space between the both of us as if we're likely to attack her or something. "You two are blowing this way out of proportion."
"What's going on?"
When the hell did Sabrina get here? She's not supposed to be in today, that was the whole point of me doing this, in the first place.
"I…"
But I'm not quick enough, Karen jumps on Sabrina's appearance, knowing that I won't argue with my pregnant wife and my sweet, hormonal, can't-be-upset wife will side with them if the sob story is good enough.
"I heard Seth screaming at Ashley and she was crying after…"
"No… no…" I start knowing exactly what Sabrina is going to say and she's already looking at me with those big wide eyes of horror.
"You made your sister cry!"
"She is blowing things out of proportion, it's fine."
"No, it's not. He was being tough on her and then she said that she just wants to have sibling conversations with him and she misses him and I just wanted to Seth to know that…"
Sabrina has pressed her hands to her chest. "She wants to have sibling conversations."
"No, she doesn't!" I cry. "She's just saying that! She doesn't mean it!"
"Uh… yes I do… and you're always business, business, business. Sometimes I just want to talk to my brother. Not Seth the manager."
Beside me Sabrina starts to cry. "No, don't… Reenie…"
"She just wants to talk to her brother and you're mean to her," she sobs and turns to me and I'm stuck I know it.
"Look what you've done," I hiss to Ashley and Karen but neither of them care, they're smiling at me because they know that Sabrina is going to make me cave.
She grabs my arm and begins to shake me. "She just wants you to be her brother!"
I sigh and hang my head and she slaps my shoulder. "Apologize for making her cry!" Sabrina cries. "How can you be so horrible to your sister."
Easy because Ashley is horrible to me. "It's just… it was at work… I can be her brother outside of work…"
She slaps my shoulder again and I sigh. "She is your sister, whether you're at work or not. So be nice, apologize and have that stupid sibling conversation with her or so help me, you're sleeping at your parents."
Like hell I'm letting Reenie stay at home without our daughter alone. Fuck no. And she knows it.
"Fine. Fine. Here's what we're going to do," I say, still trying to make this my idea and not because Sabrina is making me cave. "Keep your phone on, five minutes after we close I'll issue you a formal apology. Will that be good enough?"
"No!" Sabrina cries, no longer actually crying but absolutely livid with me. "Seth Gold, you apologize right this instant for making Ashley cry. Go on."
She points at my sister as if to emphasize her point. She has her other hand on her waist, and she's glaring up at me. What really gets me is she's using her scolding voice that she only uses on our cat and our daughter.
"Sabrina."
"I'm going to count to three, young man."
What the shit?
"One…"
"Sabrina that's not going to work on me…"
"Two…"
"Sabrina…"
"Thr…." "—Fine I'm sorry!" I say to Ashley. "There. There, you happy, is everyone happy? I'm sorry. Okay?"
"Yes, I feel better now," Sabrina says and across from me Karen and Ashley are fucking beaming.
"Keep your phone on after work, you and I are gonna have that… sibling chat you wanted to have," I warn her before letting Sabrina drag me away.
"Thank you for apologizing," she says to me, which at least makes it a little better. She always thanks me for bending to her hormonal whims, so at least she's not just expecting me to do it. I mean, I do, because I'm the one who got her pregnant in the first place.
"You're lucky you're cute," I tell her stooping in to kiss her nose and she smiles up at me.
Alright, so it didn't go the way I wanted it to go, but hey, at least it wasn't that bad.
