“The Job”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “Fine.”

“Fine,” she mutters. “Hand it over.”

I give her the package. “Listen, I’m really grateful–“

“Shut up,” she snaps, tucking the little brown box into her pocket. “I’m not doing this for you.”

“I know,” I say, holding up my hands in surrender. “But still, everyone at Morris Corps thanks you for your service.”

She looks up at me sharply. “You want to thank me for my service?” She scoffs and turns away to continue fiddling with something in her engine. “Why haven’t you gotten it through your big head that I want nothing to do with Morris Corps?”

I lean against the side of her ship as she works. “I mean, you don’t have to do the deal.” I hold out my hand to her. “Just give me back the package and I’ll be on my way.”

She stops abruptly and slams her wrench down onto the bench beside her. She fixes me in a cold stare and hisses, “So I turn down the deal and then what? I find myself surrounded by cops as soon as you leave? No thanks, I’d rather stay out of jail, thank you very much.”

I curl my fingers closed and shrug. “Well, don’t say you never had a choice.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “What are you still doing here?”

I push off from the side of her ship and stroll around to look at her work. “Just having a conversation with a friend.”

“We’re not friends,” she snarls. “Not anymore.” She sighs and drags her fingers through her hair. “Look, I’ll do this job for you, but I don’t ever want to see you again, got it? Not you, not anyone from Morris Corps. After this, I’m out.”

I nod. “You’ve got a deal.”

We shake hands before I turn to leave. It’s a good thing that handshakes and promises mean nothing to me.

Final Comments: The execution of this one was so sloppy…

Overall Rating: 😩