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How Can I Help You? (Candira/Vengir)

V

Vengir

Star
Joined
Jan 9, 2009
"Hello! My name is Rayne, what can i help you find today?" Anyone who walked into the local office supply store with hear this message. It may be a different name every so often, but it was the greeting the store had chosen to go with. it let customers know, the workers there were interested in them, and knew the customers wouldn't want to spend all day finding things. Rayne happened to be one of the more younger employees, but he was no teenager. He was tall, slim, his eyes a jet black. his hair, normally flowing along down to the end of his shoulder blades, was pulled up and back into a ponytail. his uniform was the typical uniform of the store, however on the lower part of his name tag, it read "Certified Technician." While Rayne was a technician, he was also in school, taking classes and majoring in Psychology. In fact, he had told all of his co-workers about it, and asked if they wanted someone to talk to, to help him get more into his future and to help his fellow workers through any hard times. However, he had made sure not to mention it to his employers. he didn't say why, but he knew if they opened up to him, it might cause future problems. So, for today, Rayne stood in front of the store's tech department, smiling and doing his job.
 
Cora was making the rounds of the store, and she wasn't particularly pleased. Then again she wasn't often. Work was very stressful for her. Whenever there was a complaint or an irrational customer, the buck was passed to her. Whenever the sales were down, she was at fault. Whenever anyone was caught goofing off, it was blamed on her. It was becoming so that she wondered if there were anything she'd done in the past year that was at all positive. And because she had to run a tight ship, she was often accused of being a bitch.

Well, bitches get things done, she reminded herself, sighing as she rounded the corner. At least their trainees were doing pretty well. Sighing softly, she set to work checking on each section of the store, smiling at customers, helping those who hadn't been helped just yet. Finally, she came to Rayne's section and saw that his department seemed to be doing well. At last, she could relax a little. Maybe she could just stick around here for a bit before she moved onto other more troublesome areas...

So it was that Cora started to straighten a few of the displays and restock a few things that were getting low. She wore the store's uniform quite well--her curves accentuated, and her bright blue eyes highlighted by the color of the shirt. Her red hair was clipped back and up, her rectangular glasses sitting quite nicely on her face. When she wasn't lecturing, she looked quite friendly.
 
Rayne had been with the company for awhile now, and while his department wasn't the best in the franchise, it seemed like a beacon of hope to the store. if the numbers were dropping, they turned to the tech department to try and boost sales. only a very small number of customers who walked into Rayne's view left empty handed. But that was not due to his skill alone. Rayne just had a face that made people feel at ease, and a smile that made people open up.

When his boss Cora walked into his department, he felt compelled to walk to her. She was a bitch in everyone's eyes, but Rayne always saw why. due to his psychology classes, he knew there was something behind who Cora was. so, his usual smile on his lips, Rayne approached his boss. "Hey Cora. How has your day been so far?" simple questions, but Rayne felt he was going to get something big in return.
 
Cora was busy straightening one last display when Rayne approached. She'd always thought he had a nice smile. And he was using it now. A younger technician, Rayne had yet to really side with the others about her personality. True, she could have handled it differently, maybe even better, but it was difficult for her to get her employees to take her seriously without resorting to her usual tricks. At the very least he seemed understanding, so she smiled back at him and nodded.

"Well, it could be better, but I'm hoping it will start looking up soon. At least you guys seem to be doing well today. How's it going with you?" she asked, moving to another case to see if anything needed to be restocked.
 
"Every customer that walks in is a potential big sale." Rayne gave a cute smirk as he quoted one of the "tips of the month" tips. He glanced around the store, making sure his department didn't miss any customers while he was chatting with Cora. While he enjoyed his boss' talks, he had a job to do, and the customers came first.

"well, i've talked with three people of interest today. there was a man so paranoid about the government he refused to do any business on a computer..while buying a computer. I had an elderly woman in earlier who seemed prejudiced towards mexicans for "making the printers so flimsy now adays." and I had a fairly young woman who seemed so bothered by something, she was hiding in my department, finding things to do to stay away from the rest of the store." again, he had his playful smirk at his last comment, an obvious play on her.
 
Cora chuckled as he called her on her little ruse. "Ha ha. It just so happens that your department is the only one running smoothly this morning at this point. I just want to spend a little more time here before I do damage control." She sighed and dropped her hands, leaving the earphones she'd been playing with alone. She sent him a pleading look and sighed softly. "I suppose it can only last for so long though. I'll see you around." And with that, she turned away to walk to the next department, well aware that there were at least two employees who hated her there.
 
"And who's telling you to stop?" he asked as she started to move away. "As far as i can see right now, the only manager on shift right now is Cora. so I think Cora can decide whether or not she feels like doing damage control right now." he glanced at the department she was headed, and sighed softly. "and if you're headed that way..why not wait until they decide to take their lunchs? unless, you enjoy telling them they need to pick up their numbers."
 
She shook her head as he referred to her in third person and chuckled a little. But that last remark sort of stung. Even though she would probably end up telling them so, she didn't like to think that others only thought of her that way. She frowned, pausing for a moment and then straightened up before walking to the next department. Well, who was she kidding? As long as she was in this position, she would always be seen that way, and it was foolish to put off the inevitable. People hated her, so she would deal with it.
 
"ah, so it's definitely NOT the second idea." Rayne commented as she walked away. he glanced around his department, looking for dust to sweep as he tried to entertain himself without her company. "Please come back if it helps ease your day more!" he offered to her. Rayne gave no remorse about his comment. he didn't see the harm in it. he was more focused in getting to know his boss more then anything else, and with her reaction, he knew she wasn't enjoying her work days when she had to be harsh.
 
Cora visited other departments, helping customers that weren't being helped, getting on her employees about seeking and helping those customers in their department. She got on one department specifically about upping their sales. She reminded them of the tactics for that and got on a few employees for goofing off instead of doing their job. And of course, she managed to come across someone stealing. They were fired and escorted off the premises.

Sighing, toward lunch, she headed to Rayne's department again, hoping to hide there until she could leave on her break.
 
Rayne's department almost shined when looked towards it. of course, that was because Rayne's duster had picked up all the dust. but he kept it neat, he kept it tidy, he kept it restocked so that when Cora came back, she had nothing else to do but talk. "You've had an eventful day." Rayne gave a smile as he noticed his manager returning to his department. "I saw the man you fired. what was he stealing?" he was hoping for small talk, she didn't seem like alot of people wanted to chat with her, and he wanted her to know someone would.
 
Cora wasn't really in the mood to talk about the man she'd fired. Of course, she'd felt bad until he tried to steal her watch. At which point, she no longer felt the need to be polite. Sighing, she wished she could just sit down, have a drink, and pretend that she never worked a day in her life. When Rayne asked her, she couldn't help but feel as though he'd purposely made sure she had nothing to do when she got here. It was both uplifting and sort of a let down at the same time.

Oh well. At least she could relax for a minute. And anyway, it just meant that Rayne was being nice to her. "What some might call eventful, other's might call the 7th ring of Hell," she joked. "I cannot wait to go to lunch." She sighed and rolled her shoulders. "How has your day been?"
 
Rayne kept his eyes wandering the store, making sure he kept customers happy while he turned his attention to his manager. "my section's clean, restocked, and void of customers. one of my more boring days i'd say. but, they can't all be busy." he gave his warm smile again, hoping to bring some cheer into her 'ring of Hell.' "It must be tough to manage others. How do you handle all the stress?" his eyes were almost glassy, concern in his face for her well being. stress was a huge life drain, she couldn't have a healthy outlet for it.
 
"Oh, it's not as bad as I make it sound half of the time." She sighed softly and frowned. "But if I have to fire someone before lunch, I count it as a bad day. I'm just stressed, that's all. I haven't been handling it very well. I don't have many friends in town who can just hang out at will, and the few I did have at the store all hate me now." Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair. "It's like they forget I'm a person too. I get yelled at even more than they do. I don't know...maybe I should just look for another job." She smiled softly and Rayne, shaking her head. "Sorry. I shouldn't complain so much."
 
"No please, complain more. if anything, it's an outlet for your stress. just talking about your issues might make you feel better." Rayne never lost his smile, it almost seemed haunting sometimes. "If the store's numbers are bad, the store is bad, and if you yell at someone, at least one other person has yelled at you." Rayne didn't know business, but he knew cause and effect. "You only yell because you're tired of BEING yelled at. If others were to pick up the slack, you wouldn't have to yell. no one would." Rayne reached out and gently patted her shoulder, smiling. "and you always have one friend at work." he kept his smile pure, a clear sign he meant himself.
 
She smiled at Rayne, pleased that someone understood what she was going through. "Well, thank you for that. Sometimes it feels like no one understands it." A glance around the department told her things were going smoothly. "You have a break coming up, don't you? Would you like to have lunch with me?"
 
"It sort of helps that i rarely need a yelling.." he gave a playful smile, trying to keep from acting smug about his department. "I do, and I would love to. You could certainly use a lunch break and an ear." he checked his department quickly, the busy worker he was. "Just let me know when you wish to take your lunch." his simple smile returned, eager to go to lunch and crack open all the stress he had in her head.
 
"Okay then. It'll be nice to eat with someone for a change. I have about 15 minutes or so left, so we can meet up then in the break room. In the meantime, I'm going to go find somewhere to hide. You've got a peaceful department, but too many people visit it. I should head over to the shoe department. Lord knows they haven't seen any action today," she said with a chuckle." And with that, Cora waved at Rayne and took off. It was nice to have someone to talk to and not condemn her.

Fifteen minutes later, she found herself waiting for Rayne in the break room, taking her lunch out of the fridge.
 
As the fridge door closed, the break room door opened and Rayne stepped in. with a simple smile he greeted his boss and opened the fridge, retrieving his lunch before finding a table and sitting down. "So, What's on your mind, boss?" Rayne seemed more interested in her life then his own. to be fair, Rayne's free time consists of homework.
 
Cora smiled at Rayne when he came in and popped her leftover chicken florentine in to reheat it. While she was waiting she set her lunch bag next to him and shrugged. "Nothing I'd like to talk about just now. I'd like to talk about anything but work. After all, this is the break room." She smiled and got her meal once it was finished, pulling a soda out of the bag she'd brought to go with it.
 
Rayne opened his bag to reveal a simple lunchmeat sandwich with a can of soda and an apple to keep it healthy. he unwrapped the sandwich as he listened to her. "Alright. any plans for your weekend off?" he took a bite of his sandwich, giving her an innocent smile as he ate. he wasn't asking her out, it was clear on his face.
 
"Mmm, not yet. I don't often have plans, but I do go out now and then. How about you? Anything interesting?" she asked, taking her fork and digging into her chicken with spinach and sauce.
 
"Me? the usual, homework, computer, exercise. I don't have much going on in my life. it's why i may seem more focused on my work." he ate more of his sandwich before continuing. "Aside from school, I don't do much. What do you spend your free time doing?" he asked, curious of her stress relievers.
 
"Let's see... well, I go out and see my favorite band when they have a show in town. I see classic movies when they're running at the historic theater. I bowl on occasion. And I've been thinking about signing up for a kick-boxing class. I go back and forth on that a lot. It seems like it would be empowering, but then, so would any physical activity, really." She shrugged and took another bite of her meal, watching him. "What's your major again? I know I've asked before, but I can't quite remember."
 
"Psychology. I'm interested in become a psychiatrist to help people deal with stress and addictions. and you should join the kick-boxing class." he took another bite of his sandwich, halfway through it. "It's a great means of releasing stress and anger. besides, you never know when you might need to defend yourself." he gave another innocent smile. "Classic movies are great to watch. Bowling can always be fun. Whose your favorite band?" he asked. he responded to everything like he was making a list of it all in his mind.
 
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