*Lokela

Lokela squeezed his brakes at the last second, flying into the narrow spot reserved for his all-terrain Trek behind the family shop. The wind that had cooled his skin on the way down to the beach nearly died out when he stopped pedaling and fine beads of sweat covered his brow. Such was life in Hawaii, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He shifted the back-pack on his shoulders and muttered a few swear words.

He had lost time this morning when he had to return to the library and reprint his help-wanted signs. His shift started ten minutes ago, and even if Miller didn't watch the clock, he hated not pulling his fair weight. Especially for something as stupid at losing the first batch of signs. He could have sworn he left them at the entry way at the house.

The shop was empty when he pushed through the door, and he strolled in, welcoming the blast of cold air.

His brother was standing at the counter reading something.

"Hey, Miller, sorry I'm late, I had to print off more—"

Blonde, Beautiful, and Not Happening came into view, smiling like a cat who just snagged a five pound Opakapaka from the wharf.

And there was an application form on the counter. He could only assume it was hers.

This chick was not going to work here, not a chance.

"Hi!" she said. She reached out to shake his hand for some unknown reason. "Looks like we might be working together."

He stared at her outstretched hand and left her hanging. Being friendly was not on his agenda today. "Why do you think that?"

"Because I would be perfect for this position, as Mililalinani...no wait," she said, stumbling over the Hawaiian name.

Lokela didn't bother to hide his grimace. Scoffing, he said, "It's Mil—"

"Mililani!" she said triumphantly. "But I'm supposed to call you, Miller, right?" This last part was directed at his brother who glanced back and forth between the two, obviously picking up on the tension.

"Listen," Lokela said, "we aren't hiring right now. Sorry, but you'll just have to try elsewhere."

"We aren't?" Miller asked.

Lokela shook his head. "We talked about it, but no. Not right now."

"And here I was under the impression that you were looking for a sales assistant. I mean, Miller was going over my application saying how well I would fill the position not thirty seconds ago. Funny."

"It's hilarious. Sorry. See you later." Lokela turned his back to her to go behind the counter and drop off his bag. He'd have to wait a while before he could hang the help wanted signs now, anyway.

"Are you absolutely positive you aren't hiring? I could have sworn you were." Ray's voice followed him into the back room.

It clicked—the missing help wanted signs, her visiting the house last night, and her lucky timing.

She was a thief.

"Yeah, we're sure," he yelled over his shoulder. "Miller, can I talk to a moment after you show Ray the door?"

Miller stuck his head into the room. "The hell is your problem? We need someone, and she has wait we are looking for," he hissed. He took a deep breath. "And then some. A chick that cute? Come on. Don't tell me you don't want all that eye-candy in the store. It's gets boring in here sometimes."

"Yeah, if we hire her and you ogle her, that's called harassment. But we aren't going to hire her. She's a thief. She stole the help-wanted signs I printed off from the table in the entry way last night."

Miller blinked twice. Then started to laugh. He came into the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

"A thief? Get you head out of your ass for minute and talk to me. Taking the signs for a job isn't thievery, it's called getting rid of the competition. All that says to me is that she really wants this job. And smart? Damn, she has brains. Believe me."

Lokela flipped imaginary hair. "Blondie? Brains? She has boobs, which is why you are interested. We aren't hiring her. End of discussion."

"Okay, assistant manager, I don't think this is your call."

The front door jingled as a customer came in. Miller moved to go, but Lokela blocked the exit. "Dad might have named you manager, but we agreed. Important decisions are made by both of us. Together. Get your head out of your own ass."

The sound of chattering women reached them, words and sounds muddled by the closed door. There was some laughter and a surprised exclamation.

Then Lokela's blood froze. He might have only heard a few phrases uttered from those lips, but he recognized the grating, unending cheerfulness of Ray. Who just offered to help whoever was in the store.

"Did she say..." Miller said, hiking his thumb towards the shop.

"Yeah. She did." Lokela threw open the door and barged up to the counter. "Hi, can I help..."

Ray was deep in the aisle, showing a woman how to fit a snorkeling mask, while another took a picture and laughed.

"But where is the best place to snorkel at?" the masked woman asked.

"You can't beat Hanauma Bay for pure reefs. But it really depends on what kind of experience you want. This is for you and your bridesmaids. What do you want? More nature, more solitude, more piña coladas at the beach when you are done? Do you want to kayak to a remote island or just flip your fins among the tropical fish and get some sun?"

"When you say it like that, they all sound nice. But the piña coladas sound nicest of all."

"Ray," Lokela hissed. "Can you come here?" He crooked his finger at her in case the tone of his voice and request wasn't clear enough.

"Excuse me a moment?" Ray said as she hurried to the counter. "Yeah, what?"

"Yeah, what exactly. You don't work here, why are you talking to them?"

"Because they were going to leave when neither of you showed up." She shook her head in disdain.

"We're here, you can leave."

Miller maneuvered to his side at the counter and Ray faced him. "Give me five minutes to get a sale from these ladies. They don't know what they want and they don't know if they want to do business here. I can convince them in five minutes. And if I do, you will hire me. Deal?"

"No, it's not a—"

Miller cut him off with a sharp glance. "Deal. But you don't know what we offer."

"Oh, really? You don't think I did my internet research before I showed up this morning?" She held up her hand and mouthed five minutes.

The second she walked off, Lokela scoffed. "Big mistake, big brother. Nice ladies like that are your specialty. We will lose this sale and waste our time." He adjusted his watch, checking the minutes.

"Seriously?" Miller nodded at his wrist. "You are timing her, as if I always dock your pay every time you show up a few minutes late, or I catch you studying behind the counter instead of jumping up to greet people? This is Waikiki—ladies like that wander in looking for snorkel gear by the dozens, and our sales might be hurting, but if we had quality help for a change, it's worth the risk this one time."

"Quality help from a blond thief whose brother-in-law nearly pounded my skull in this morning? Let me know how that works out for you. She has rich-girl privilege from the main-land written all over her."

Speaking of whom, the trio of women had wandered off to look at the huge map at the front of the store, laughing and giggling the whole way. This chick couldn't even take a trial to get hired seriously.

Three minutes passed. Four.

Ray practically skipped to the counter, breathless and excited. "So, these fine ladies need a last minute arrangement for an all-day snorkeling fun in the sun experience. And we are going to provide."

"We'll hook them up with masks. This doesn't impress us. You're not hired."

"Hold up," Miller said hitting a hand on the counter. "I had a deal with her. She made a good sale."

"I'm not actually done yet." Ray's coy smile set off warning bells in his head. "These ladies, plus six of their friends want an all-day experience with a guide and transportation to and from Waikiki, plus they'll need 8 kayaks to go with the snorkeling gear. And I already told them there was a ten percent discount on groups for eight or over, but that I wasn't sure if that applied to the guide's fee."

"You think you can just book something like that at the last minute?" Lokela asked.

"Yeah. Well, I told them, the final price and details would be with you guys, but since they need it six days from now and you have a new sales assistant who can help with the shop. Yeah."

Miller shook his head. His mouth was open in surprise and he had that, 'there would be hell to pay' glint in his eyes that Lokela knew entirely too well. Finally. She had made him mad enough to agree they couldn't hire her.

"Damn, I really don't know what to say," Miller said. He hit the counter again. "Damn."

"Say I'm hired. And that you'll be their guide. Because, just between us," she lowered her voice and leaned forward. Lokela didn't mean to catch a glimpse of a lace under her loose tank shirt. He rolled his eyes upwards. "These ladies want to spend the day with some...eye-candy. If you know what I mean, beautiful?" She winked at Miller, who busted out laughing. She had heard their conversation earlier.

"You are so hired. When can you start?"

"Tomorrow. And I can come full time until classes start so I'm up to speed by the time you have to be the guide. Oh, and I wouldn't recommend ogling me. I can be testy when need be."

"I promise. We're professionals. How did you know we offered that stuff? Transportation, guides?"

She tisked and patted his cheek. "You have to stop believing all that hoopla about blondes being dumb as dirt. Because it's not true. Lots of people are dumb as dirt, doesn't matter what color their hair is."

Lokela huffed and moved out from behind the counter. If they were booking a tour, someone from the shop should actually make sure these ladies had a destination and correct prices.

"Hey, I recommended going to Kailua Beach for the combo package, but you guys are the experts for kayaking. I don't do that very much."

He pivoted slowly. "We'll handle our business."

She was busy jabbing her phone, completely ignoring him. He shook his head at Miller. His brother snickered into his hand. "We'll see you tomorrow at seven am, Ray."

"You got it!" She cocked her finger at him, but was still absorbed in her message.

Lokela doubted she heard or cared. With any luck, she would be a no-show and he would done with her at the shop. And if she did show up, he'd make sure she didn't stay long.

***

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