It wasn’t like there was any rush, no matter what her mom said. As Nicole had tried to explain to the union organizer who’d cornered her outside the store a few months ago—­after her shift was over or she’d never have risked talking to him!—­Town Square wasn’t so bad. It was a lot better than the job Nicole had before, in fast food. Her boss was a dirtbag who hit on her all the time, promising to promote her to assistant manager if she’d sleep with him. It was gross—­and more than a little bit scary when she was alone with him. One thing about Town Square was that it didn’t tolerate that kind of shit. (Nicole appreciated Big Will’s thing about keeping his office door open—­it set the right tone.) Really, the worst thing about this job was Meredith, her micromanaging, the constant threat of being written up, her whole irritating energy, the way she ruined their goddamn fucking chill.