Senpai's Harem Pt. 02

"Fuck my life", thought José as he trudged up the stairs to finally take a lunch. The day had been rotten since the moment he clocked in. Two cashiers, a door greeter, one member services associate, and the freezer cooler associate had all called in. The opening COS he was taking over for told him the delightful news that breaks were an hour behind and left.

For the past 5 and a half hours he'd hustled between assisting member services, running cold go backs, grabbing item numbers for clothing because he'd had to put a very displeased Sara on door duty to cover the gap there, and helping cafe get their line under control. He was ready to get in the breakroom, hunker over a table with his sketchpad, and escape into his art. Chris, his fellow COS, had finally escaped a register long enough to give him a 30 minute reprieve. He was already mulling over what he wanted to draw before he'd even reached the time clock.

While he would have preferred alone time, he wasn't the only occupant. Mariah and Kayla were chatting in the seating area about Kayla's latest fling. Jackie was at a table with Andrea and Donald, talking about getting together for a game of Dungeons and Dragons with her brother.

He supposed if he had to share the space, these were the best people to do it with. Kayla lived to give him shit, but he enjoyed their verbal sparring. He could usually count on her outrageous behavior to make the day a bit more tolerable. He got on well with Mariah, so much that they joked about being work spouses. She was also reliable and because she had briefly been a fellow COS, she could understand the frustrations and provide backup in a pinch.

He hadn't known Jackie as long as the other two, and she wasn't as open, but she had slowly started to reveal more. Hearing her swear for the first time had been a real shock, and her crack about being a willing virgin sacrifice to Cthulhu...He was surprised he hadn't choked, it was so unexpected. Her knack for getting Plus and Credit meant that as much as everything else was a garbage fire, at least management wasn't riding him about numbers today.

José had just finished the rough outline when he realized someone was talking to him. "Hey, José?", Jackie said tentatively. "What's up?", he replied, glancing up at her briefly before returning his gaze to the page in front of him. "Were you serious about being interested in trying D and D?". He was about to reply when Kayla interjected, "José, you haven't played D and D? As dorky as you are?", ending with a half laugh.

Before Kayla could throw in more barbs or he could counter with some quips of his own, Jackie admonished, "Don't be mean to José." The roast halted for now, José took a minute to consider. Rubbing the back of his neck, he mumbled, "Yeah, I guess. We can plan something later." Issue decided, he resumed drawing. He let the conversations around him become but a hum as he surrendered to the art. When it was time to clock back in, he felt reinvigorated. José couldn't say for certain how much of that feeling was thanks to drawing or to his lunch companions.

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Jackie was beyond bored. Thanks to the monthly birthday luncheon, she was covering the entrance door indefinitely. She understood that someone had to do the job, and that Chris was limited on options. He was an ok kid who'd graduated with her brother, and normally she didn't have issues with him, but today she was silently cursing him because what had felt like two hours had in fact only been thirty seven minutes.

The radio wasn't loud enough to hear, so she'd tried entertaining herself by using her memory as a radio. By this point she'd already "listened" to Voices Carry, Rebel Yell, Enjoy the Silence, Head Over Heels, and had just started Cheap Trick's cover of Don't Be Cruel when she overheard on the walkie that the managers had been delayed and the lunch hadn't even started.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!", she mentally seethed. Jackie seldom got angry, but she had to admit that she could get irritated a touch too easily. Fortunately, it was usually short lived and only meant she scowled and thought mean things and maybe swore. She granted herself five minutes to hate the world, reminded herself that unforeseen issues arise and getting upset did nothing but raise her blood pressure, and resolved to make the best of it. That meant it was time to daydream.

In between the smiling welcomes/hello's/good afternoons/let me get you a sticker for that return, she retreated into her fantasy. She was perched on the edge of a countertop, head tilted to the side, one hand behind her for support. Voice actor Ian Sinclair was standing between her thighs, lavishing her neck with teasing kisses and gentle nips, his stubble contrasting with the softness of his lips. Her free hand had threaded through his hair, while both his had found their way to her lower back to pull her firmly against him. Ian's fingers had just eased under the waistband of her jeans, his mouth now at her collar bone, tongue tracing the dips and ridges-

"Hey, Jackie, what's up?". José's signature greeting startled her out of her thoughts, and it took her a touch too long to reply. She eventually managed what she hoped was a casual, "Hey". He looked at her, frowning as he asked, "You okay?". "Yeah, why?". "You're a bit red, are you warm?", he inquired as he reached up to feel her forehead. That just made her blush even more. Plus, now in addition to the worry, she saw confusion. Wanting to reassure him, she fibbed. "Oh, I'm fine. Just regretting wearing this shirt. It's always so hot in here. But thank you for being concerned.", she offered, smiling gently. "You'd better be, or I'll spoil MHA for you.", he declared, furrowing his brows and pointing at her to emphasize his ridiculous threat. "Yeah, okay.", she retorted, grinning and shaking her head as he walked away.

Hmmm...back to Ian Sinclair. Neck kisses. Hands on back. Mouth headed south... For some reason she couldn't progress any further. Something about the fantasy felt off. An emotion Jackie couldn't precisely pinpoint nagged at the edges of her thoughts, but it felt suspiciously like guilt. But that didn't make sense.

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"José, what are you working on?", he heard his boss, Mindy, inquire over the radio. "I'm running to get the lines down." "When you get a minute, can you come to the office?" "Sure, just give me 5 minutes."

Four minutes later, he popped his head in and found Mindy at her computer. "Hey, I was wondering if you could do something for me. We're about to start a new plus challenge, and since it's fourth quarter, corporate is wanting everyone to up their game. They'll provide prize funds to each store that increases their numbers from the last event by 10%. The managers got together and brainstormed. We have a few associates who really get amped up by competing with each other, so we want to utilize that. Deanna is assigning associates to teams. Once she finishes, I need you to make posters. Associates need to know what team they're on, and they need to know the prize. We discussed it, and instead of food, we'll send the winning team on a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. Can you take care of that for me?"

"Yeah, I can do that", José responded, already trying to decide how he wanted to illustrate the prize. He could draw a wolf pack, or focus on the water slides. He might also emphasize the lodge aspect and sketch a scene of people sitting in a room with log walls, oversized leather furniture, and a fire in a massive stone fireplace. The more he considered it, the more he hoped he'd be on the winning team. A vacation would be greatly appreciated, no matter how brief. He just didn't trust that he had that much luck.

José should have had a bit more faith that he could win. Deanna was assigning the teams, afterall. She could sometimes come across as strict, and to be fair she was. But it was from a place of love, like when a mother is stern to do right by her children. A good mom needed to be very clear that you didn't stick fingers in outlets, hands on burners, or foreign objects in ears or noses. They also wanted their children to be happy.

Deanna held affection for many of her associates, but she had a special soft spot for José. He was a great subordinate, no doubt, and she appreciated that. But there was more to it. He was simply a great person, and that meant he had many co-workers who were protective of him. Everyone knew José was stressed. Deanna had been trying to encourage him to transfer positions. She hated seeing him unhappy, and as much as she adored working so closely with him, she really believed he might thrive more in a different department.

In the meantime, she hoped to help him just a bit. Maybe it was a tad devious, but she figured the club wide affection for José would stem off any disgruntlement. She began evaluating the list of associates. Hmmm...Henry could get on board if he wanted to, but he was better at credit than plus. Kayla could get plus if she was put on a register versus Alice or Mariah, as they became friendly rivals in the right situation. Emma was starting to do well at Plus, as it was hard for members to refuse a pitch from someone that sweet. Emma, Mariah, Alice, and Kayla would be the Cashiers on Team José, then. Corinne from Member Services was the best choice from that department.

Now for Hosts. Since they were offering gift cards, Jackie was a no brainer. But should she include another host? The logical choice was Mitch, but she wondered if it wouldn't be better to put him on a different team. Yes, he could get Plus and thus would be valuable. But she knew under normal circumstances Jackie didn't like to poach from Mitch's designated self check outs because he could get on board and Jackie didn't want to be unfair. She also knew that Mitch often irritated Jackie because he just couldn't keep from mansplaining, and figured that being on different teams would make Jackie more willing to go all out in her desire to beat him, niceties be damned.

Corrinne, Kayla, Alice, Mariah, Emma, and Jackie. She needed to add a few more associates from the floor, but overall she was pleased with the group she had assembled. As she looked more closely at the team, she smiled. By coincidence, she'd also potentially orchestrated an opportunity for José to boost his happiness in a different way. That made Deanna all the more determined to make sure that José won.

***************************************************

When they saw the assignments, the associates on Team José had very different reactions. Mariah thought a two night stay at a waterpark resort sounded fun, especially since it would only cost her gas money and possibly the expense of a swimsuit if she bought a new one to impress José. She also debated whether to bring her son or see if her mom could babysit. On one hand, she wanted to see how José would be around her kid, but she also hoped to get time alone with him. She figured she had time to decide, and they might not even win. Why stress about it now?

Corinne was due to have surgery soon and wouldn't recover before the predetermined dates. It was agreed that if Team José won, she'd receive another prize roughly equivalent to her share. She wasn't too disappointed, as she wasn't eager to leave her dog alone. He didn't like it when she was away for prolonged periods, and she didn't like the ways he expressed that displeasure.

Alice wished she could bring her fiance, but she still figured she'd enjoy herself. After all, she was close friends with Mariah and Kayla, and thought of José like an annoying but lovable brother. She'd also heard the lodge had a wine thing, so that was something to look forward to.

Emma was nervous. She was still very new and a little overwhelmed by the boisterousness of that particular group. She was pleased that José would be there, and Jackie was usually pretty nice. But Jackie could also sometimes seem a bit standoffish, and she used bad words- even the f word! Plus, Emma didn't think it would be appropriate to reveal so much skin to José. She really wanted to go, but worried she shouldn't.

Kayla was excited. She was ready for a few nights with friends, she had no qualms about showing off her figure, and she definitely didn't mind the idea of revealing it to José. She hoped he'd like what he saw, but she figured even if he didnt, there'd be plenty of men who did.

Moira from Optical was the last member Deanna had selected for the team. She didn't relish the idea of being away from her husband, so she looked at her budget to see if they could afford to get their own room. Their youngest had graduated this year, and a surprise romantic getaway would be heavenly. She liked all her teammates and figured she'd spend some time with them, but didn't think they'd mind much if she occasionally made herself scarce.

That left Jackie. In principle, it was right up her alley. She was her happiest in water, and the sensation of being utterly relaxed as she floated on her back with cool water lapping against her skin was one of her favorites. It was definitely up there with the joys of drinking Pepsi, eating medium rare steak, hearing babies laugh or kittens purr, watching videos of elephants doing almost anything, having an orgasm, or getting a really nice hug.

But Jackie wasn't excited, per se. She didn't hate the idea, either. The most accurate description was "grimly determined". She had been feeling rather reflective lately, considering this last year and a half and what had changed, especially where José was concerned.

When she'd first been hired on, she'd almost immediately recognized that he was someone that under the right circumstances she'd go for, but he was a supervisor, hence she'd put him firmly in the off limits category. Every so often her resolve would waver, but something would happen to reaffirm it. She'd once joked that he was her good luck charm because she had done better at credit during his COS shift, and apparently that had caused tongues to wag. He'd mentioned that people were getting the wrong idea about them, she'd sensed he was uncomfortable about it, and she tried to distance herself. Then she'd wondered if there was something between José and various other associates, and that was also a deterrent.

Therefore she'd clung to the delusion that no, she didn't see José that way at all; in fact, he was like a brother. She even managed to notice that other men existed. It didn't matter, though. Ivan was a real sweetheart and she enjoyed talking to him, but she just couldn't get past the 18 year age gap. Chris was a COS, too young, and a touch cocky. Adam was a manager, too young, and he deliberately listened to current country music.

Any male under 25 was too young, and men 36 or over were too old. Anyone with a temper was out. Men in relationships were a hell no. Jason was a more suitable age, but he was married and a COS. More importantly, he'd been a dick to her brother one time. She thought Mitch was a mostly decent guy, but something about him tended to rub her wrong. Wade had almost gained her interest, but she had never felt comfortable with him and couldn't imagine that changing, even if he hadn't moved away.

She could find lots of flaws in her male coworkers, but if she was honest, most of those could be overlooked if she chose to do so. The biggest obstacle to any of them was what she felt, and that was nothing. She might be happy to see some of them, but she wasn't disappointed when she didn't.

José was different. Whether she found it convenient or not, José was special. With José...sometimes it was the same feeling Jackie got when she was listening to music and a song came on at exactly the right volume and at just the right time. It made something shift inside her, settled her, made her feel peaceful. Other times, his presence made her feel like she had so much energy she'd burst out of her skin if she didn't release it.

She tried not to think too much about those feelings or what they might mean. But she had finally accepted that they existed. Now she had a decision to make, and she needed intel for that. Brief conversations at work weren't yielding enough data, and so far schedules hadn't allowed D and D to happen. This trip might be her only chance to make the necessary assessments, so she was going to win that damn contest. She'd learn what she needed, then choose her path accordingly. Jackie did have a hunch that whatever she discovered, if his path didn't change, hers had to.