Authors Note: Hello and thank you for reading! Please note that the characters, places, names, and situations are entirely fictional and used for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental and unintentional.
***
Angel sighed as she pulled up into the parking lot of her work. The Home Improver Store, probably one of the most unimaginative names for a big box hardware store there is, she thought grumpily. But then again it was owned by a Lilim so if it didn't involve sex then it wasn't worth putting too much thought into it anyway.
It was once a more recognizable orange colored big box hardware store but rumor had it during a business party, the Lilim Druella because intrigued about the concept of a bunch of sweaty, muscular construction worker types all heading to the same store. Meeting with the owner of the company she managed to 'convince' him to sell 10 stores for her to put a personal touch to. After the party it was said he was dazedly mumbling something about the best blow job of his entire life. It was also said the next day his wife filed for a divorce...
The now purple hardware store loomed before her... Purple beams, purple work aprons, purple everything... God she hated purple.
Being a human working at a hardware store that now catered more towards mamono was rough, being the only human woman that was also a manager that worked at a hardware store that now catered towards mamono was a stone cold bitch. She was constantly challenged by monster girls who thought they knew better than her or looked down at her just because she was a human woman.
Her fellow assistant managers and even store manager were all mamono. The merchandise manager was a Minotaur, Mikaela - a decent hardworking girl that Angel actually liked and considered her a friend. The operations manager was a lazy, dumb as shit Holstarus named Krystal that Angel despised with all her being. Angel usually had to clean up her messes along having to deal with the fact that the cow spent 8 of her 12 hour shift in the office milking herself. The store manager was a Tanuki named Rayla who didn't really give a shit about anything as long as the store made money.
Despite all this Angel still pushed on, she was head strong, refusing to believe that she couldn't make it in a Mamono world.
Walking into the store on her way to the manager's office she was greeted by many of the stores employees; Alexia the Amazon department head for Tool Rental, Stephanie the Kobold Head Cashier, even the usually grumpy Hellhound lumber associate, Girlie, offered her a smile.
Dropping her purse into the office she found Ralya biting her fingernails in terror.
"Angel!!" She screamed. "Druella is on her way to walk our store!"
At times like that, in situations such as that, Angel learned the only appropriate response to that kind of news.
"Fuck."
**********************
Cutting a path through the store, walking at a gait that would make a centaur proud, Angel screamed orders at the associates.
"Pick up that trash! Get that pallet of shit back up in the over head! Why is that bathtub in the middle of the god damn fucking aisle?!"
Walking by the plumbing department she noticed Danny, a fellow human and department head for Plumbing, juggling PVC fittings in the aisle. Due to Danny being a clown, an actual god damn professional circus clown, she would have normally ignored it, except today.
"Clown! Stop that shit and get the department cleaned up! Druella is on her way." Dropping the fittings, she had a semi satisfied feeling as he turned pale without the benefit of his clown make up.
"Who the hell is yelling at my husband?!" Called out Danny's wife, Susan who ran Milworks and who, also, just happened to be a Salamander.
"Druella's on her way to walk the store, Flamethrower. If your department's not perfect when she comes, I promise you'll be stuck in the outside garden section every time the local Ryu decides to have it rain..." Angel threatened.
Turning a similar shade as her husband, the Salamander made an about face and bee lined it back towards her department. Shaking her head, Angel thought; How could a god damn clown somehow defeat a Salamander warrior in order for her to fall in love him? Maybe he just hit her with a pie or his balls? Wait, no bad image, never mind...
"Where's the nails?"
"Aisle 17 sir."
"Help! I broke my faucet while having sex with my husband in the tub!"
"Aisle 9 has the faucets ma'am"
"My favorite vibrator burned out! What can I do?!"
"Aisle 69, I'll send Jenny the Golem over there she can help you replace the motor on that ma'am"
Angel continued her path through the store, both yelling orders and helping customers, until she reached her destination- Appliances.
Anon was the Department Head there and also a human. He would always help her out no matter what, bring her home cooked food because she couldn't cook for shit, bring her medicine when she was sick, take the dreaded manager phone from her so she could take breaks, lunches and just over all be a rock in the chaotic storm of retail hell.
It was no secret that he was her favorite and perhaps if she were drunk enough she would admit she had feelings for him but two major things stood in her way. The first, being that although not against company policy, she thought it was wrong to date a co-worker, especially a subordinate. The second, and probably most important, was he was already married. Anon's wife was a human as well but in Angel's eyes that was where the similarity ended. The bitch was lazy as shit and sat around all day while Anon worked sometimes 12 hour shifts. She barely took care of their daughter, and when Anon went home, he would have to cook and clean because she was too 'tired'. Angel secretly hated her just for the fact she had a husband that was kind and hardworking while Angel herself had nothing but an empty, cold apartment to come home to every night.
"Why hello ma'am." he teased giving her a warm smile.
"Hello sir." she replied returning the smile. You're the only one in this damn place that makes me feel better, why are you fucking married? Why can't I have you? She thought to herself for the millionth time.
"Druella's coming right now to walk us."
