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He's been doing your damn job for the last ten minutes."

Richard feels like telling her the store opened only five minutes ago, but he knows that would be unwise.

Ben smirks as he sees Richard coming. Ben has pale skin but his eyes, clothes, and attitude are dark.

"Thanks for showing up, Dick," Ben says.

Richard does not reply. He looks at the counter, the square numbered keys of the cash register, and other things that are not Ben's face.

"I wanted to put out the dump bins for the new Janet Evanovich before the store opened," Ben says, "but I had to cover your ass instead. Now how am I supposed to bring them out here with all these customers around, huh?"

"I need you to log out of the register, please," Richard says. "I can't use it with your I.D. number."

"Christ," Ben mutters. "Think the world owes you a livin', don't you?"

Ben's fingers jab at the keypad as he logs out of the register. He stomps away in angry silence when he is done. Richard types in his I.D. number as his first customer approaches. It is a brown-haired, middle aged man talking on his cell phone and wearing a button down blue shirt and khaki pants, which seems to be the ensemble of choice for all men in middle management. Richard begins to think of him as the Middle Man.

"Look, I don't care," says the Middle Man into his cell phone. "Do what you want."

He tosses a slim white book onto the counter. It is the management handbook "Who Moved My Cheese?" As Richard rings it up, he notices Ben and Jolene leaning against the wall behind him, and remembers he is required to promote the store's discount card.

"Do you have one of our Life in Letters Preferred Customer Discount Cards?" Richard says.

Shaking his head, the Middle Man mouths "no" and returns his attention to his cell phone. "I don't know," he says into the slim device. "Steve could probably tell you that. Ask Steve."

"It's a card we offer that saves you ten percent on everything in the store," Richard continues, knowing he must recite the entire sales pitch or Jolene will have his hide. "That's ten percent off even on items that are already on sale."

The Middle Man shakes his head a little more forcefully this time. "No thanks," he says, and then goes back to his phone conversation. "Don't blame me, Sandra! It's not my problem."

The Middle Man hands over a twenty even though Richard has not yet given him a total, so Richard goes ahead and completes the sale, thinking he can finish the pitch as he gives the Middle Man his change. He didn't sell a card, but at least Jolene couldn't get on his case. She and Ben are still standing behind him, snickering.

"Well, just for future consideration," Richard says as he hands the Middle Man his change, "the card also has a point system, where you earn a point for each dollar you spend. After you accrue a hundred points, we send you a five dollar gift certificate-"

"No!" the Middle Man shouts abruptly. "God!"

He snatches the plastic bag with his book and receipt inside and stomps out of the store.