by Jeff Shelby
“Traffic was better than I thought it would be,” I said.
He reached for the wine list at the edge of the table. “Glad to hear it.” He looked over the list then smiled at me. “Let me guess. You’re a white wine drinker.”
“What?”
“White wine. Is that what you drink? Or maybe rose.”
“I…I don’t really have a preference.”
He showed me the list. “This is good,” he said, pointing to a selection.
I couldn’t help but notice the hefty dollar amount attached to it. “That’s expensive.”
“Good wine always is,” he said.
Our server appeared, a woman about my age with dark hair and a full sleeve of tattoos down her left arm.
Bryce greeted her and ordered a bottle of the wine he’d shown me. She snapped to attention, clearly anticipating a hefty tip if we were ordering that kind of wine, and hustled off to get us the bottle and our glasses.
Bryce turned his attention back to me. “So,” he said, his smile stretching from ear to ear. “This is great.”
“Yeah,” I said, lamely.
“I know you said you wanted to talk about some things but I just have to say, I’m glad we’re just spending time together. Hanging out.” He leaned forward and folded his hands on the table. “That makes me happy.”
It might have made him happy but it was making me uncomfortable.
Because even though he seemed like a genuinely nice guy, I wasn’t there to get to know him or to further a friendship with him…or whatever it was he said he wanted.
I was there to find out about his fight with Anne.
I shifted my weight, picking at the crack in the vinyl seat as I tried to make myself a little more comfortable. It wasn’t working.
Our server reappeared with our wine and she made a grand show of uncorking the bottle. She served me first, handing me a half-full glass of wine, before pouring one for Bryce.
He picked up his glass and took a sip, rolling the wine in his mouth for a moment before swallowing it down. “So tell me something about you I don’t know,” he said.
I reached for my own glass. “Excuse me?”
“All I really know about you is what I see at work,” he said lightly. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
I almost laughed. Would now be a good time to drop the fact that I was wondering if he’d tampered with Anne’s brakes? Probably not.
He must have noticed my amusement because he asked, “What’s so funny?”
I covered by taking a quick sip of wine. It was a rose, light and fruity, tasting a little like blackberries. I liked it. Very much.
“Oh, nothing,” I said.
“Come on,” Bryce said. He eyed me over his glass of wine. “Tell me what you were thinking.”
“Fine.” I knew I had to come up with something. “I used to have a pet alligator.”
His eyebrows lifted. “Really?” He was suitably impressed. “Why?”
“My dad used to own an irrigation and sprinkler system company,” I explained. “And I would sometimes go out with him when I was younger. You know, just because I was curious about what he did. He was installing a sprinkler system at a home right by one of the canals in town and I was poking around and found this little alligator. My parents had warned me about being careful but this little guy was so small, I thought for sure he wouldn’t hurt me.”
Bryce was listening intently, with a smile that seemed permanently etched onto his face.
“I hurried back to my dad and told him what I found and begged him to let me keep it. I don’t know why he agreed but he did. We took him home and I named him Albert and he lived in my room for three days.”
“Three days? What happened?”
“He bit me.” I held out my right hand and showed him my index finger. “The scar is right there. I needed five stitches. The doctor said I was lucky he didn’t bite it clean off.”
Bryce covered his mouth in horror.
“So after that, we stuck with cats and dogs as pets.”
He laughed, a genuine one, and the sound took me by surprise. It was infectious. I laughed with him.
“I’ve always had dogs,” he said. “This is actually the first time I haven’t had one, and I miss it.”
“Why don’t you have a dog now?”
“The place I live doesn’t allow them,” he said. “But I’ll find a new place that does allow them. And then the first thing I’m gonna do is get a dog. A lab. Black, probably. A buddy to run with and hang out with.”
I thought about his words. These were not the sentiments I’d expect to hear from a person who was responsible for deliberately sabotaging someone’s property. I was suddenly filled with doubts about even suspecting him. And I had no idea how I was going to bring it up.
Our server came back once more, this time for our dinner order. After consulting with me, Bryce ordered the white garlic chicken pizza, one of my favorites, and a house salad to share.
As soon as she was gone, he picked up his glass of wine and pointed it in my direction. “I heard from corporate the other day.”
I frowned. “About what?”
He took a long, slow sip, his eyes still locked on me.
“About you.”
My heart did a little somersault.
“About me?”
He nodded. “They wanted my opinion of you. Your role as activity director.”
I tried to stay calm. Had Anne already talked to them about me?
“Oh?” I said. “Any idea why?”
He shook his head. “They didn’t say. But if I had to wager a guess, they’re probably looking to promote you.”
My heart beat a little faster. She had called. I was sure of it.
“Would you be interested in that?”
“In what?”
“In a promotion,” he said.
“Oh.” I bit my lip. “I haven’t given it much thought.”
His smile deepened. “I know of a location that needs a director.”
Jacksonville. The facility he was scheduled to transfer to.
“But,” he said slowly. “If it were up to me, I think I’d keep you here.”
“You would?”
He nodded.
“Why?”
“Lots of reasons,” he murmured.
I needed to change the subject.
Immediately.
“Are you looking forward to finishing up your training and heading to Jacksonville?” I asked.
His smile shrunk. “Well, that’s actually on hold right now.”
“Oh, of course. Because of Anne.” I was quiet for a minute. “But she isn’t going to be out forever. I’d imagine she’d be coming back to work pretty quickly, just as soon as her doctor gives her the all-clear.”
“Perhaps.” Something had shifted in Bryce’s tone.
“You think she’ll be out for longer?”
He traced a finger around the rim of his wineglass. “I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean? Do you know something I don’t?”
He looked slightly uncomfortable now. “There are just some…issues that need resolving.”
“Issues?” I said. “What kind of issues?”
“I’m not really at liberty to say.” It was obvious he was hedging.
But I wanted to know. There was something about his reaction that ignited some sort of sixth sense on me. He knew something.
“Oh, come on,” I said lightly. “I told you about the vicious attack from my pet alligator.”
He chuckled. “That you did.”
“What’s going on with Anne?” I lowered my voice. “You can tell me. I won’t say anything.”
He stared at me for a moment, and I could see the hesitation in his eyes. I smiled encouragingly.
He sighed. “She’s currently under investigation.”
My jaw dropped. “By the police?”
“The police?” Bryce frowned. “No. Why would the police be investigating h
er?”
I thought quickly. “I…uh, I just think of police when I hear that term. Investigate.”
His frown loosened a little. “Oh. No, not the police. By corporate.”
This was almost as shocking. “Why would corporate be investigating her?”
He picked up his wineglass again and drained the remaining liquid. He reached for the bottle and poured a generous splash into his empty glass.
“Bryce?”
He nodded, almost as if he was readying himself to tell me. “For behavior unbecoming of a supervisor.”
I cupped my hand behind my ear. “What?”
He closed his eyes. “Look, she was mean to me, alright?” He sounded defeated, a little broken. “She bullied me.”
I just stared at him, dumbfounded.
“She bullied me,” he repeated flatly, enunciating each word. “And that goes against corporate policy. I had no choice but to report her.”
TWENTY THREE
“I can’t get over how ridiculous you look.”
Aidan narrowed his eyes. “It was the only disguise I had.”
We were huddled in the women’s bathroom at Freddy’s, and I was filling him in on my conversation so far with Bryce.
But I couldn’t stop staring at the massive, bushy moustache adhered above his upper lip.
“I'm fairly certain I own no disguises.”
He laughed.
“Can you take it off while we talk?” I asked. “It’s…disconcerting.”
“It’s not like it’s attached with Velcro,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I had to use this adhesive stuff.”
“Do I even want to know why you have a fake moustache and the adhesive to attach it?”
He smiled, which was barely visible under the mountain of facial hair. “I went to a 70s costume party last year.”
“What were you? A porn star?”
This time, his smile was so big that I couldn’t miss it. “One of the BeeGees. Barry Gibb.”
“Who?”
“The BeeGees. They were a huge 70s band.”
“And they had moustaches like that?”
He nodded. “And beards. And big hair. Both of those accessories didn’t survive the party, though.”
I made a mental note to look up the band he was talking about.
But now wasn’t the time.
There were more pressing matters at hand.
“So what do you think?” I asked.
“About the BeeGees? Well, they were pretty pop—”
“No,” I hissed. “About what I just told you. About Bryce.”
His expression cleared. “Oh. Right.” He thought for a second. “So he’s saying that Anne harassed him?”
“Bullied him,” I corrected.
“Did he say about what?”
“We didn’t really get into specifics.”
I pulled open the bathroom door a fraction and peeked out into the restaurant. More than anything, I wanted to make sure no women were headed toward the restroom. But if they were, Aidan was ready to hop into one of the empty stalls and hide there.
“And Connie said she overheard them fighting, right?” Aidan asked.
I nodded as I closed the door.
“What exactly did she hear?”
I tried to remember the words she’d used. “Something about if she wasn’t careful, she would be out of a job.”
Aidan stroked his chin. “So he’s saying he said that because she was threatening him.”
“Well, I didn’t tell him Connie overheard that. But it does sort of seem to work in that context, doesn’t it?” I asked. “It would certainly fit into Anne’s pattern of behavior.”
Aidan didn’t disagree.
I tugged the door open once again and did a cursory glance around the restroom. As soon as I closed it, I sagged against the wall.
“What’s wrong?”
“You know what this means, right?”
He shook his head.
“It means Bryce isn’t the one responsible for cutting Anne’s brakes.”
“You don’t know that for sure,” Aidan said. “Maybe he did it as a way to get back at her.”
“For being mean to him?” I snorted. “He’s not in middle school.”
“It’s still a possibility, albeit a remote one.”
I thought for a minute. “Maybe. But if he’d already reported her to HR, what incentive would he have to do something on his end? Wouldn’t that just jeopardize his own job? Actually, his life, since if he got caught he could be looking at serving jail time.”
Aidan sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He looked troubled. “So who else could it be?”
It was a great question…and one I didn’t have an answer to. I’d been empty-handed ever since thinking Aidan might have been involved. The only reason I’d even considered Bryce was because of what Connie had said about his argument with Anne, but even that had been easily explained away.
“Let’s run through some options, however ridiculous they might sound,” I suggested.
He eyed me. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to your date?”
I grimaced. “In a minute.”
It wasn’t that I was having a terrible time with Bryce; quite the contrary, actually. He was a nice guy, funny and engaging. And yes, he wasn’t hard on the eyes, either. But there was one problem with him, a problem that I kept coming back to over and over as we finished off the bottle of wine and dug into our pizza.
He wasn’t Aidan.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a quick minute.
This was not the time to be thinking about this.
“Other options,” I said as I opened my eyes and tried to refocus. “Lola.”
He raised his eyebrows in question.
“She was in the Navy,” I pointed out. “Maybe she has some mechanical expertise, something that would lend itself to knowing her way around vehicles. And she’s definitely not Anne’s biggest fan.”
“Yeah, she was in the Navy. As a cook.”
I’d forgotten that small detail.
“Miguel?” I offered. He was the night custodian.
“What beef does he have with Anne?”
I had no idea if he even had one. “Leo?” I asked. He was the night security guard.
Aidan frowned. “Again, has he had any issues with Anne?”
I threw my head back against the wall. “I don’t know. I’m just throwing out names.”
It was exactly what I was doing. But nothing was sticking.
I sighed. Neither was trying to attach Bryce to the crime.
I was right back where I’d started.
Empty-handed.
No suspects.
“You should go home,” I said to Aidan. “Salvage what’s left of your evening.”
“I didn’t have anything going on anyway,” he said. “Besides, it’s been kind of fun to be in disguise. My server looks like she can’t decide if I’m a pedo or if I’m some famous musician she should know about.”
I chuckled.
The door opened then and Aidan’s eyes widened. After all, he was a man standing in the women’s bathroom.
I stepped in front of him, trying to give him enough time to shove himself into a bathroom stall.
A woman didn’t push through and into the restroom.
Bryce did.
He smiled in relief when he saw me. “I was worried about you,” he explained, once he saw the puzzled expression on my face. “You’ve been gone a while and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I rearranged my features into a smile. “I’m fine,” I said hurriedly.
Aidan had gone into a stall but the door kept springing open.
I grabbed Bryce by the arm and tried to guide him out of the restroom.
His gaze drifted to the swinging stall door, and I watched as his eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened.
Immediately, he puffed out his chest. He shifted me so that I was slightly behind him, like he was somehow protecting m
e.
“What are you doing in the women’s bathroom?” he demanded.
Slowly, Aidan stuck his head out of the stall. My hand flew to my mouth. The adhesive holding his moustache in place had loosened, and it now hung drunkenly from one side, the hair drooping well past his lip.
“What are you doing in here?” Bryce asked again, his voice as icy as his gaze.
I thought fast. “Oh, he’s foreign. He…he doesn’t speak English. I don’t think he realizes there are separate bathrooms for men and women.” I tugged on Bryce’s arm again. “Come on, let’s go finish our dinner.”
Bryce stayed put. He folded his arms across his chest and, if I didn’t know better, I would think he was somehow trying to channel his inner Superman.
Aidan ducked his head. “No hablas ingles,” he said, with no accent whatsoever.
“See?” I said, yanking harder on Bryce. “No English. Come on. Let’s leave him alone.”
Aidan lowered his baseball cap further down on his head. He reached out to try to adjust his moustache and then made a dash for the exit.
Bryce was too stunned to stop him.
“He’s gone,” I said brightly. “See? Nothing to worry about.”
Bryce remained unconvinced. “We should alert security. There’s something not right about that guy.”
“He’s fine. Probably just a little out of sorts from traveling.” I touched my fingers to his chin and directed his gaze back to me. I chose my words carefully, using them to advantage. “Let’s get back to our date.”
His features softened, and guilt hit me like a monsoon.
He smiled. “Yes. Let’s get back to our date.”
TWENTY FOUR
I dreaded going into work the next day.
And not just because I was nervous about how things would be with Bryce.
After the fiasco in the bathroom, our dinner had mostly returned to normal. He talked about the strange man in the bathroom for a few minutes, informed our server what we saw, and then promptly dropped it.
For his part, Aidan left the restaurant immediately.
And I mostly enjoyed the rest of the time I spent with Bryce.
He was sweet and charming, and I enjoyed my conversations with him, but the attraction level was near zero. This was probably a good thing considering he was technically my boss, at least for the time being, but I was getting all kinds of vibes from him that hinted he was hoping for more for me.
