Stressed!

by Deborah Martin

  “But Tommy has strong shields. How could Happy make him do something? There’s no way he influenced Tommy’s thinking.”

  “Maybe you ought to talk with Tommy to find out, huh? I just don’t see him going behind your back on anything, much less anything having to do with the deli.”

  She finally sat down next to me on the couch, drained her wine and handed the empty glass to me. I duly refilled it … and mine, too. After taking another large swig, she heaved a sigh and calmed down. “I guess you’re right. No matter the cause, I need to talk with him. But not tonight. I’ll just lose it again.”

  “So, are you planning on working with a hangover tomorrow? Remember, you’re an employee short,” I asked, moving from the couch to the chair to prevent being slugged.

  “Gods. You’re right. Mom and Dad have gone back to Arizona and Rhys probably wouldn’t come if I called so it’s me and Charlie. And I have to make fifty-two sandwiches for a luncheon tomorrow, in addition to normal stock. I’d better quit now, huh?”

  “A couple of glasses aren’t going to hurt but I’d advise we stick to just the one bottle or neither of us will be in any shape to think in the morning. I still have to put the finishing touches on Ev’s New Year’s Eve party in addition to everything else.”

  At this point, Merlin thought it safe enough to come out and crawl into Cassandra’s lap. She absent-mindedly petted him while musing out loud. “If I go in an hour early, I’ll be OK. Charlie’s supposed to come in at ten and we should be able to get everything together on time assuming counter traffic is as light as it’s been during the holiday week. Shit. I’d better shut it down for the night and go to bed if I’m getting up even earlier than normal.” She drained her glass, put Merlin on the floor, got up and gave me a hug. “I hate to kick you out but …”

  “I know. I need to get going, too. You going to be OK?”

  “Not really. Not until I talk to Tommy and find out just what the hell happened. But am I going to go off the deep end? No. Thanks for coming over and talking sense into me. If that damned demon is involved, I will burn his ass to kingdom come when we find his name.”

  “You and a lot of other people, me included. I wish I had your mojo.” I put on my coat and hugged her again. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  My phone rang on the way home. It was Tony, checking in as he usually did just before my bedtime. “Hi, Doll. How was your day?”

  I filled him in on what Cassandra had said and done, getting a little breathless as I trudged through the snow. Damn but I wish more people would shovel their sidewalks!

  “So you think,” he began, “based on what Tommy’s dad said that this is Happy’s doing?”

  “Yep,” I replied. “Knowing Tommy, I just can’t see him going behind her back on anything having to do with the deli. That’s her baby and he knows it. This smells like Happy cooking up something to get to either me or Rhys. I don’t know which and I don’t really care. I’ll call Rhys at a reasonable hour tomorrow to see what’s happening on that end. Those two have to talk, but knowing Cassandra’s temper, I think someone with some magical mojo needs to be there in case she loses it again. He’s the closest.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Let me know how things go, OK? And don’t get directly in the middle of those two. I don’t want you being the one zapped, you hear me?”

  “Aye, aye, Captain,” I laughed. “Fudge is fed and I need to go to bed. I’ll talk with you tomorrow.”

  With that, I hung up and did indeed crawl into bed. I hadn’t had that much wine but enough that I conked out as soon as Fudge settled himself in my hair.

  Chapter 20

  I stopped into the deli to get my usual latte before heading upstairs. Charlie was behind the counter and in a low voice said, “I don’t think you want to talk to her right now. She’s in a right snit. Do you know what happened?”

  Charlie knew that both Cassandra and Tommy were magical folks, but I wasn’t sure how much else he knew so I simply told him they’d had an argument, that I’d calmed her down the previous night and was going to see about getting the two of them to sit down to talk.

  “Do it soon. Not only are we short-handed, but she’s not concentrating on what she’s doing. I kept her from putting too much salt into the mayonnaise a bit ago. I’ll try to keep her on an even keel today but it ain’t gonna be easy.”

  I thanked him, told him I’d do what I could and headed upstairs.

  After I’d dealt with the most urgent voice and email messages, I called Rhys. Even though it was about nine-thirty, he sounded a little bleary-eyed when he answered the phone.

  “Hi, Rhys. It’s Amy. I take it you know about the blowup between Cassandra and Tommy yesterday.”

  “Oh, yes. Tommy came storming in about four o’clock yesterday afternoon, saying Cassandra had fired him over something about a lease, kicked him out of the house and zapped his ass for good measure. He wasn’t sure what she was talking about but decided it would be best to get out of her way until she calmed down. Then he proceeded to get rip-roaring drunk and dragged me along with him. He’s still sleeping it off. Do you want to speak with him? Should I wake him?”

  “Actually, I called to talk with you to see how we can resolve the problem. I have a funny feeling that slimeball demon is involved, trying to get to either you or me through them.

  “I got Cassandra calmed down last night and got her to thinking maybe it wasn’t Tommy but something Happy did. She and Tommy definitely need to talk but with her temper, I’m afraid of getting them together without someone who can magically pull them apart if things get ugly. Are you up for it?”

  Rhys thought a moment. “It’ll need to be after the deli closes. Tommy told me Cassandra and Charlie are going to be slammed today with just the two of them. How about you drag her to Cork’s after closing and we’ll meet you there. It’s more or less neutral ground for them and between me and Cork, nothing magical is going to get out of hand.”

  I agreed to get her there come hell or high water and we set a time of 6:30. That would give Cassandra and Charlie time to get the deli shut down for the night and me time to talk her into it.

  I had a difficult time concentrating on work until Sally came in. I was too worried about my friends and the scuzzy creep who was probably interfering with them. I told her what was planned and she had a good idea.

  “Let’s go down and suggest a girls’ night out. If I’m going, too, she won’t think you’ve got something up your sleeve. Jack won’t mind if I’m home a little late, especially given the reason.”

  So, I hollered at Ev that both of us would be out for a few minutes and we trooped downstairs. Thankfully, there were only a couple of customers and Cassandra was at the counter.

  “Hey,” said Sally. “I hear you’re having problems and I think a girls’ night out is called for. Are you up for a couple of drinks at Cork’s after you close?”

  “You know Sally’s older than we are and maybe she’ll have some ideas. What do you think?” I chimed in.

  Cassandra thought for a moment. “It sounds good but it’ll have to be an early evening. With only me and Charlie here, it’s going to be long days until I can get a new employee.”

  “Good. Will 6:30 be OK? I know you need to clean up after you close up.” Sally was trying to be solicitous.

  “That’s fine but what will you two do while I’m closing?”

  Sally grinned. “Getting a head start on you. We’ll meet you there!”

  We waved and headed back upstairs. Just as we walked in the door, Ev hollered, “Where have you two been? I can’t talk on one line and answer the other at the same time.”

  I snorted. “Ev, we were gone a total of six minutes. Are you telling me you can’t ask someone to hold, answer the other line, ask them if you can return the call, take the number and go back to the first call?”

  “Of course I can,” he whined. “But it’s rude to put someone on hold.”

  Sally and I looked at each other and l
aughed. “We’re back so it’s all good,” she said. “Are there any messages for either of us?”

  “No. Both are for me. But don’t both of you go out at the same time again, huh?”

  I was still laughing when I went back to my desk. Ev would never make anyone a good secretary if he couldn’t deal with two incoming calls at the same time! I heard Sally calling Jack as I dug back into time sheets and expense reports.

  Although I normally left around four, I hung around until Sally was through at five. There’s always enough work for me to stay late, I just choose not to most of the time. We bundled up and headed over to Cork’s. We made sure to get a table large enough to add a fifth chair without crowding and I gave Cork a heads-up on our plans. “Get them back together however you can,” was all he growled out.

  Sally and I killed the time talking about the current situation and other weird people we’d met over the course of our business careers, and ate a little dinner to soak up the alcohol. I was hoping I wouldn’t be there that long but just in case, I wanted to be sure I wasn’t going to get plastered by drinking and not eating.

  Just before 6:30, Cassandra joined us and right on the half hour, Rhys and Tommy came in. After a moment of looking around, they headed for our table.

  “Girls’ night out, huh?” Cassandra said as she rose to leave.

  “Wait,” I said as I pulled her back down into her chair. “Yes, this was arranged but you two need to talk. Most especially, you need to listen. Like we talked about last night, things probably aren’t as you think they are. Hear what Tommy has to say before going off in a huff. If you leave now, you won’t find out the truth. Isn’t that what you want?”

  She looked at me, as if Tommy wasn’t even there. “If you must know, I’m still pissed at him but for you, I’ll give him five minutes and it had better be good. Otherwise, I’m out of here and you can spend time with your new friend.”

  “Cassandra,” Sally said quietly. “There are rocky times in relationships. I know. Jack and I have had our differences, too, and some big ones. But if you love each other, you need to talk instead of yell at times. Sit down, shut up and listen. I’ll tie you in your chair if I have to.”

  Cassandra glared at Sally, heaved a sigh, put her purse back on the floor under the table and motioned for the men to sit. It was an awkward minute or two before Cork brought beers over for the guys.

  “’Dra, I have no idea what you were yelling at me about yesterday,” Tommy began after drinking about half his beer in one gulp. “Would you please explain to me without loud expletives or zapping what I did wrong?”

  Cassandra related the prior day’s events about the lease, the catering, and all. The entire time I could feel something like static electricity building up around her. I was waiting for her hair to start floating like it does when someone puts their hand on one of those static electricity ball thingies. The light overhead flickered.

  Rhys reached over and put his hand on hers. “Calm down,” he said. “If you can’t find your ground, at least release the energy into me and I’ll ground it for you. Cork won’t like it if you mess up the pub’s lighting, or his cash register for that matter.”

  Cassandra closed her eyes, heaved a sigh and the static field went away. Rhys removed his hand from hers.

  She opened her eyes, glared at Tommy and said, “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

  “’Dra, I swear by the ancestors I did nothing of the sort. I have no idea who this ‘Tommy Llewellyn’ is that inquired about a lease but it wasn’t me. I thought you knew me better than that.”

  Rhys cleared his throat. “Cassandra, I know Amy mentioned that damned demon to you last night. In the intervening day, haven’t you thought that perhaps whatever happened was designed to break you two up? I know my son. He’d never try to interfere in someone else’s business, even if that someone was his beloved.”

  “I have an idea,” Sally interjected. “Tommy and Cassandra, why don’t the two of you go down to the lessor’s office tomorrow and see if, indeed, the guy talked with Tommy or someone else? If it wasn’t him, you’ve got your answer right there.”

  “It wasn’t me and I’m happy to do that. I’d also like to find out just who is impersonating me.” Tommy looked pointedly at Cassandra.

  “I’ll admit the thought did occur to me. But if it wasn’t you, who was it and why would they want to break us up?”

  “Oh, come on. That damned demon Happy interferes all over the place. Who’s to say he didn’t think that if you two broke up, either Amy or I would be sad enough – or something – to give into him?” Rhys’ voice was calm but you could tell he was upset.

  Cassandra heaved another sigh. “I’m too tired to process all of this right now. It’s been a long day, I had a short night and I need some sleep. Can we call a truce for the moment? Tommy, you can have your job back because I need you but as to the personal stuff, I just can’t think about that while worrying about the store.”

  Tommy rolled his eyes. “I will come back to work but on one condition: sometime tomorrow, we go together to find out who wanted to sign that lease. I want you to know without a doubt I’d never do something like that. If we go around two or two-thirty, Charlie can handle things for a half hour or so. OK?”

  “OK.” She turned to me. “I’m not sure whether to thank you or slap you for this. I’m going home, feeding myself and Merlin and going to bed. We’ll talk in the morning.”

  She grabbed her purse and nearly ran out the pub. The remaining four of us looked at each other and heaved a collective sigh.

  “I think maybe we got through to her,” Sally said. “Since I’ve now done my part, I’m going home to my happy marriage. See you all tomorrow.” She left, too.

  “Why would she think I’d ever do anything like that without speaking to her first?” Tommy asked me.

  “I have no idea,” I said. “All I can tell you is something you well know: that deli is her baby. From what I’ve heard, her grandparents made a living off it but they never changed the menu, never did catering. I’m not sure but I think she’s actually doubled the business since she took over. So anything that affects it deeply affects her.

  “What do we do if the building owner says it was you?”

  “But it wasn’t me.”

  “I know, but what if whoever it was looked like you?”

  “Tommy,” Rhys interjected. “You know there are a few fae out there who can shapeshift and I wouldn’t put it past the demon to have found one. If the building owner says it was you, first grab Cassandra’s hand and then do a reveal spell. She’ll see the truth.”

  “I know, Dad. I’m just pissed all this is happening and that ‘Dra is going through all these changes apparently because of me.”

  “You’re innocent so it’ll all work out. As long as we’re here, let’s have something to eat. You know I don’t keep a lot of food around and since you’ll be staying with me at least one more night, I guess I’d better be sure you get a proper meal.”

  I rose. “Listen, Sally and I ate while we were waiting for Cassandra so I don’t need dinner and I’ve got a couple of things I need to do before bed. I’ll settle up with Cork for the tab thus far. Tommy, get some sleep tonight. Rhys, thanks for helping.”

  Cork was very quiet as he processed my credit card. “Everything OK?” was all he said.

  “Not completely but hopefully it will be,” I replied.

  “Me, too. They fit good together. See you soon.”

  I didn’t really have anything on the agenda for the evening but I also didn’t want to sit there, get sloshed and rehash the entire thing once again. I’d done what I could for the moment and the rest was up to Cassandra and Tommy. Once home, I tried to immerse myself in a good book for the couple of hours remaining before bedtime but I couldn’t really concentrate on it. I spent the night tossing and turning with worry, irritating Fudge who couldn’t settle down until I did. Needless to say, neither of us looked our best in the morning
. The difference was that Fudge could go back to sleep. I had to work.

  Friday morning Cassandra didn’t say much when I picked up my latte. I said hi and tried to ask about what she was thinking but she just said, “I haven’t made up my mind. I’ll let you know when I do.” I shrugged my shoulders and headed upstairs.

  Tommy brought me a Reuben sandwich for lunch. “Well?” I inquired as he put the plate down on my desk.

  “It’s strained,” he grimaced. “If we can’t get things figured out this afternoon, I’m going to have to find another job. Neither of us can work well under these conditions. And poor Charlie is stuck in the middle, trying to be friendly with both of us. That’s not right, either.”

  “I have faith it’ll all work out,” I said, trying to speak clearly through a bite of sandwich. I swallowed. “One of you let me know what happens.”

  “Oh, you’ll hear about it. She’s either going to come up here and kill you for last night or tell you what an ass she’s been. OK, maybe not that last but she’ll admit she was wrong.”

  Tommy left, promising he’d say something if Cassandra didn’t. I was only halfway through my sandwich when I heard a throat clearing. “Not again. What now, Happy?” I mumbled around the bite I’d just taken. I didn’t care about being polite where he was concerned.

  “Isn’t it polite to swallow your food before speaking?” he said. “No matter. I just wanted to know if you were thinking about your own happiness with Tony while your friends are fighting.”

  “So you did have something to do with this mess. Why? My relationship with Tony, or any other man for that matter, doesn’t have a damned thing to do with my friendships. Or can’t you tell the difference?”

  “Oh, it has nothing to do with you or Tony. I was just curious as to whether you might see their breakup and become a little more desperate for your own love life.”

  “So, you’re after Rhys, then? Good luck with that. I don’t think either he or Tommy will submit to blackmail in that regard.”

  Happy smiled that oily smile of his. “We shall see,” and disappeared. I didn’t quite lose my appetite and managed to choke down the rest of the sandwich. That added just one more item to the list of reasons why we had to get rid of that guy. I didn’t know Adamo well but it had to be irritating as hell to meet women just to get a guy off your back for a few years. I didn’t think Rhys would go along with it to get Cassandra and Tommy back together, but I didn’t know him that well, either.