Chapter 4

Santana was taking the trash to the back door by the loading dock. "Please don't break, please don't break, please don't break," she said as if it were a mantra to keep the bag of bloody packages from breaking. "Okay, so Jacob said to put this by the back door and someone would be by to throw it out later," she said to herself. Although it seemed rude to her to leave the bloody trash for someone else to take out, she really had no other option as the back door was locked and could only be opened by a keyholder such as Ken.

Just as Santana walked back to the meat department, Ken Tanaka paged over the intercom, "MEAT department, come to receiving, NOW!" Well, that was pleasant. NOT. Oh great, what did I do wrong. Santana quickly walked back to the doors by the dock to find Ken staring at the trash and tapping his foot. Hmmm, looks like he's in a good mood.

"You. Did you put this here?" he asked pointing at the bag that was now leaking all over the floor. Okay, first of all, I have a name. And secondly, that bag was totally not leaking when I left it there. I bet the ass tried to move it and it ripped open. Normally, I'd care, but I lost my ability to care when he stopped caring that I have a name. Boy, would I love to go all Lima Heights on his ass. Oh shit, he's still staring at me. I should probably answer now.

"Um, yes. I, Santana," she added in hopes that maybe he'd use her name next time, "put that there. The bag was full and it was time to take it out." So where's the crime?

"Well, Santana," he said as snooty as possible, "it doesn't go there, so STOP doing it." Santana was starting to think Jacob Ben Israel was right for once: this guy was definitely an Ass-man.

"Well, Ken, what am I supposed to do with trash when I can't take it outside because you have the key to the door," she snapped back. He deserved to look like an idiot.

It looked as though Ken hit a mental block and he looked around frantically for a retort. 'Well, what I meant was," he said defiantly, 'that you can't put the trash by the lock or else I can't access it to open the fucking door. That's what I mean. So stop doing it. Also, this bag is open and blood is all over the floor, so clean it up." Is he serious? He ripped it open and I have to clean it up?

"Yes, it's your department, your mess, so you can clean it up. And hurry, we're busy today so you need to get back to your department." He walked off looking smug. What a dick. "I hate that guy," Santana mumbles furiously under her breath as she kneeled down to pick up the mess. "I really, really hate that guy.

Hours later…

"A singer in a smokey room…" Santana heard the male voice singing, but didn't really question it. It was almost as if it were in her own head. She constantly had a soundtrack going, so this just seemed to be the current song on shuffle in her head. Being a naturally gifted singer, she would often burst into song regardless of who was listening.

"The smell of wine and cheap perfuuuume," she sang out. Suddenly she didn't hear the other voice anymore. Hey, where did the music go? Oh, well, I'll just keep singing.

"For a smile they can share the night." Oh, wait, I hear it now. Wait, is that Finn? She looked over and Finn was staring at her with a confused look yet still grinning. He could sing. And she could sing. And neither of them knew. Nor did they know they both enjoyed a good Journey classic.

"It goes on and on and on and on," they continued together.

"Excuse me!" Dammit, a customer cut them off. So much for the meat shop duet, Santana thought in annoyance. "Hey, was that music coming from back here?" the customer inquired.

"Ha, yeah that would be us," Finn said slowly. "We like to keep ourselves entertained while the boss is away." He looked at Santana and winked. She loved this kid more and more each day…platonically, of course.

"Well, you guys are fantastic!" the old man replied. "Just fantastic. Perhaps you should get rid of this satellite crap radio that plays on repeat and we can just broadcast you two throughout the store. I'd certainly enjoy shopping more," he said with a huge cheshire grin."Well thank you, sir," Santana said with a shy smile. "We'll…try to keep up the good work, right Finn?" She winked at Finn. Finn laughed as he turned on the charm. "Uh, yes sir. We will. Now, would you like any meat to go with your song today?" "Oh, don't worry, I'll be sure to buy something pricey. I'll keep the ole' Grinch off your backs." The old man chuckled and wandered on down the aisle with his cart. Ole' Grinch?" Was he referring to Sue? How did that guy know she was a pain in the ass? Perhaps some people aren't so blinded by her bullsh-

"Ladies, ladies, ladies…I feel as though there were too many notes of joyous glee coming from back here." Sue looked around as if to find the culprits yet she already knew it was her two best employees. "Jacob" and "best employee" did not belong in the same sentence of course. "If we sold records," she patronized, "I'm sure that would be appropriate, but what do we sell here?" Sue walked around to the cutting blocks and picked up a rib rack. "Oh, what do we have here?" she asked, turning it around in her hands as if examining a foreign object. Sue could be such a bitch sometimes. Correction, every time. "Ohhh, Finn? What is this?" She stared at him waiting for an answer. Yes, she was really doing this. "Finn?""Uh…it's a rib rack," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that you say? You see, I couldn't hear you as loudly as when you were so gleeful earlier…"

"It's a RIB RACK, Sue. Because we sell ribs here," he continued a little more bravely. He managed to sound brave and uninterested at the same time. Give the monster what she wants and she'll go away. He knew the tricks. Smart kid. "And meat. And Santana sells seafood, too." Oh, now he was just being a smart ass. I love it.

"Well, well," Sue geared up for her big comeback. "It looks like Finn brought balls to the game today, doesn't it Santana?" Oh hell no, she is not bringing me into this. I need a quick save. Come on, come on, think!

"Balls?" a male voice said from beyond the counter. The swinging meat door flew open. "Did somebody say something about balls?" Phew! Saved by the…Tanaka? Seriously? The ass is back…but he just said balls. Santana and Finn immediately looked at each other and struggled to stifle their laughs. Of course Ken would be talking about balls.

"Oh heeeey there, Ken. I was just having a quick team huddle here," she said as she neared Finn and slapped him on the back. He cringed instantly. "We're just discussing our world class customer service, right team?" If any time were a good time, this would be the perfect time to throw Coach Sue under the bus. Finn and I stared at each other. We mentally agreed to let her sweat for one more minute."Yes, Ken, we were," Santana said ending the silence. "We were discussing how proud Sue is of our world class service. Thanks for the support, Sue." Santana glared at Sue. Sue smiled a thin smile as if to say "Just wait until I write the schedule, Lopez. Just wait."Ken stared at each of them wondering why the air was so thick. He also managed to avoid making any unnecessary eye contact with Santana after their previous encounter.

"Well, uh, wonderful. Glad you're doing such a great job leading the team back here, Sue. Way to keep the rookies in line," he added with a wink. Eww. No one in their right mind would hit on Sue…and if Tanaka was making the effort, he was seriously covering for some deep rooted issues. Santana glanced at Finn's disgusted face and almost choked back a laugh."Well, team, I just came by to say that I'll be leaving you soon. And I wanted to say it's been a pleasure working with you…Sue." Um, hello. Finn and Santana may have not been working there long, but they were co-workers, nonetheless. What am I thinking? Good riddance is more like it!

"Ken…noooo….really? So sad to see you go. Why the move?" Sue asked pretending to care. She didn't. She never did.

"Oh," he began awardly, "uh, that's not…quite so important…um, oh wait I think I hear someone calling me. Gotta go, team. Busy, busy day. Plenty of people to say goodbye to, you know." He flashed an uneasy awkward smile and ran through the swinging door.

"Hey, Ken!" Santana shouted as he ran by. "Who will be your replacement? What's his name?" Hopefully, not another tool like Tanaka, and definitely not someone who would even think of hitting on Sue.

"Her name" he yelled back. What? Her name? Well, of course it was possible that it could be a woman. It's just that, even at the store in Lima, she had never had a female assistant manager.

"Oh, it's a woman?" Santana asked to clarify.

"Yes, that's why I said 'her' name," he said with an annoyed look. "But you'll also get to meet the actual store manager, now, too." Yeah, where has she been this whole time? Someone said she was out on sick leave or something.

"You'll love the Beiste. Everyone does," he said with a genuine smile. Um, the Beast? What the hell does that mean?

"Oh, and it's Brittany," Ken said as if Santana and Finn should know exactly what he meant. They looked at each other as clueless as ever. First "the Beast" and now "Brittany?"

"The new assistant manager? Her name," he said with a slight pause, "is Brittany."