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,”...