Chapter64: 64

He studies me for a second, and I’ve just convinced myself that he’s going to politely ask me to leave, when he says, “You shouldn’t shortchange yourself like that. You want a job?” I shake my head yes. “Okay, then, I’ll hire you, but tell me a wage, don’t just say you’re willin’ to work for basically nothin’. That’s a good way to get taken advantage of, Ella.” I’m too busy thinking about how great it would be to be taken advantage of by him, and I have to rack my brain to come up with something. “Well, $7.25 an hour is the minimum wage here, so I guess that,” I finally say. He raises a dark eyebrow at me. “Excuse my language, but $7.25 an hour is a fuckin’ joke. No one can live off that. I’ll pay you ten an hour to start.” Eyeing me up and down, he asks, “Are you sure you can handle this kind of work? I mean, it’s going to be pretty dirty at times. You’re going to have to do things like muck out stalls, wash the horses, feed them. It’s hard work.” I straighten my spine, trying to appe