Page 21 of Truck Off
“Then why in the hell are half my inks gone?”
I lift the large bottle of black ink and curse again when I see it’s half empty. I just opened that bottle, and it should have been enough to last me a few weeks. Now I’ll be lucky if it lasts one week.
Rob marches over to me with furrowed brows. “What’s missing?”
“My black is half gone. I just opened this bottle on Wednesday.” I dig my hand through my inks and note what’s not there. “And my red, blue, and white are gone.”
Rob shifts his eyes toward Felix and groans. I look between them, and when Felix nods, I know they know who did it.
“Who?” I bark.
“Now, Lina. Calm down.” Rob raises his hands as if he’s trying to calm a wild bear. “I’ll take care of it. Let me check her supplies and see if they’re in her cabinet.”
“Her as in Jane?” I ask.
Rob doesn’t answer me. Instead, he heads to her cabinet and pulls out her inks. I turn to Felix, ready to lose my shit. I don’t have the money to replace inks right now, and I sure as hell know Jane will not pay me back.
“She did an American flag on some dude yesterday,” Felix says. “I didn’t see her anywhere near your cabinet, but I also wasn’t here all day. She could have slipped in when I stepped out to grab lunch.”
“She has all three colors.” Rob says as he heads back to us. “Are you sure these are yours?”
“Look at the bottom of each jar,” I say with my arms crossed over my chest.
He does, and his face immediately contorts into a disappointed grimace. “Fuck.”
He holds the bottles up so we can both see the bottom. Clear as day, Lina is etched along the edge, marking those bottles as mine. That’s something else Felix taught me early on. Always mark all your supplies. Too many sticky fingers in joints like these. That way, no one can call you a liar when they steal from you.
“I’ll take care of it.” Rob hands me my inks back, then he looks around the shop at all the cabinets for the other artists.
We work on the honor system around here. We’re each assigned our own storage space and chair, and we never share. It’s understood. That doesn’t mean we don’t help each other out if we can. All it takes is an ask.
But this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Felix and I have both pushed Rob to update the cabinets with locks. He insists it isn’t necessary and that we can trust our coworkers, but clearly that’s not the case.
“Take stock of everything that’s low and missing.” He turns to leave, but I call out to stop him.
“What does it matter? What are you going to do about it?”
“I said I’d take care of it.” He grumbles and keeps walking. When he reaches his desk, he looks back up at me. “Oh, and can you work a double today? We’re shorthanded tonight.”
“Let me guess. Jane needed the night off.” My glare is so intense it could burn a hole through his skull.
“Can you work or not?” He barks, clearly not wanting to discuss the reasons with me. Probably because I’m right. Not only is that bitch stealing my supplies, but she’s also bailing on her shifts too.
“Sorry, I can’t,” I say without hesitation.
Both of their eyebrows rise. They stare at me like they don’t recognize me. Can’t say I blame them. I never turn down the chance to work more shifts.
“Why the hell not?” Rob says in a tone that suggests he’s pissed. He has no right to be. I’ll work my scheduled shift without question.
“Got plans.” I turn back to my station and get back to organizing my supplies for my first client.
“What kind of plans?” Rob pushes.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I lose my shit. I don’t need to piss off the owner of this place and lose my chair. Not that I think he’d give me the boot, but I need to maintain a good working relationship with him.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve got a date.”
Rob’s frown deepens, but a huge smile spreads across Felix’s face. He’s been trying to set me up with friends of his for years. He’s been happily married for two decades and has three beautiful daughters. He says they make him so insanely happy that he wants that for everyone.