Back to work and her "cute" manager

"That comes to seventy-six cents."

Joanne tapped her credit card on the terminal, and grabbed her newly-purchased lip balm off the counter. "Thanks, Devon," she said to her manager cheerfully before applying a liberal amount to her chapped lips.

"No problem," he replied flashing a smile. The receipt printed and he handed it to Joanne as she came around the counter. He turned to Stephanie, the other cashier on shift, "Do you need to buy anything before I go?"

"Nope!" she said without looking up from the clothing she was folding.

"Alright, well, if you ladies need me, you know how to find me!" Devon signed off from the till and left the two cashiers at the front. "Oh, and remember to ask for donations!" he called to them before disappearing in the store completely.

"Yes, Captain Corporate, " muttered Stephanie, "Fucking donations." Joanne chuckled. She didn't hate asking for donations as much as her fellow cashiers, but Devon sure could be annoying with the reminders. Of all their managers, Devon was easily the most annoying about it. He was a little too heavily involved in the "Corporate Culture" and all the staff made fun of him behind his back. She shook her head thinking about what the bimbo, Kate, had asked. Cute? No, not Devon.

"So how was your break?" asked Stephanie, again without looking up from the pile of shirts she was working on.

"It was OK," yawned Joanne. She grabbed the energy drink she bought at bimbocity. "Are you going to go soon?" She punctuated her question with the hiss and crack from opening the can. Almost immediately, the sweet smell of peaches and mango swirled around her. It actually smelled delicious. Maybe Kate was onto something.

"Yep, just as soon as I'm done these-" Stephanie was cutoff.

"Woah!"

Sarah looked up to see Joanne staring at the energy drink. She had just taken a sip of the sugary beverage and was staring at the can. "What?" asked Stephanie.

Joanne's mind was reeling. "Th-this is delicious!" she exclaimed. The aforementioned flavours of peach and mango had danced across her tongue and seemed to instantly perk her up. "I bought this from that new bimbocity store. I honestly wasn't expecting much, but this is great!"

"Bimbo City?" asked Stephanie incredulously, "You can't be serious!"

Joanne snapped her gaze from the can and up to Stephanie. She giggled sheepishly, "Yea, bimbocity. It's, uh, it's a little garish, but if everything's as good as this drink, it might be worth checking out more of their stuff!"

"Yea, I don't think so," laughed Stephanie. She set the last shirt down on her pile and logged herself out of her register. "Alright, I'm going to find Captain Corporate so I can go on break."

Joanne chuckled and watched Stephanie walk away. She took another sip of her delicious energy drink and set it down on the counter. The flavours assaulted her senses once again sending frissons of pleasure through her body.

Maybe they were being too hard on Devon. He was just trying to be successful in his job. Who was she to judge him for that? Joanne was twenty-four and working full-time as a cashier. She really didn't have anything going for her. Who was she, or even Stephanie, to act superior to Devon?

Joanne watched as Stephanie and Devon walked to the front of the store together. Devon gave a curt wave to Stephanie as she left for her break, then turned around to head into the depths of the store. Joanne heard Kate's voice echo in her head, "Is he cute?" She watched intently as Devon walked away. He actually had a nice ass, she realized. He was pretty fit too. She could tell from the shape of his back and his shoulders that he spent a fair amount of time working out.

Joanne felt her cheeks flush. Putting aside his overly eager attitude at work, he was pretty attractive. She imagined his face, his strong jawline, his blue eyes, his charismatic smile. How had she been completely ignorant of how cute he was? Suddenly she was aware that more than just her cheeks were flushed. Joanne giggled and took another sip from her delicious energy drink. Perhaps this afternoon would be a delight after all.