“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
He grinned. “I would.”
“It’s just a work thing. Evie’s friend is in town. Manager says she’s taking over the place.”
“And you’re not happy about it?”
“You know I’m not. Evie said she’d teach me the business. I was her protégé. She was going to talk to my parents, convince them it would be better to keep me here after high school instead of forcing the University of Wyoming down my throat. Now everything’s a mess. My parents will expect me to go.”
She paused, curious to hear his reaction. She’d baited him, but she hadn’t lied.
Not yet.
“Would college be such a bad thing?” he asked.
Marissa opened the passenger side door, poked her head in, flashed a mischievous grin in his direction. “I don’t know ... would it?”
“Not if you care about your education.”
“Are you saying you want me to go?”
“I never said that,” he said.
“What then?”
“Of course I want you here.”
She leaned across the front seat, her hot breath seducing his lips. “You know I’d miss you if I was gone.”
“Really?” he teased. “How much?”
“A lot.”
“Show me.”
Marissa backed away, peeked out the car window. “Here?”
“Why not?”
“Someone might see us.” She checked the time on her cell phone. “I don’t know. I can’t right now. I’ll be late.”
He reached out, caressing her arm. She closed her eyes, unwilling to deny herself the titillating sensation she felt from even the simplest touch from him.
“You don’t even want to go to your work meeting. Stand up for yourself. Show the new boss who’s really boss. She needs you right now, not the other way around. Make her wait.”
She leaned in, her mouth covering his. “Why? So you can ravage me, have your way with me in the back seat of your car?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
He reached a hand inside her shirt, popping the top two snaps apart, his fingers caressing her exposed flesh. “Come on, Marissa. Let me show you how much I’ve missed you this week.”
“I ... I don’t know. I promised I’d be there.”
“And you will. You’ll just be a little late.”
“Twenty minutes,” she said.
“Forty.”
“Thirty. And not here. Take me somewhere else.”
He trailed a finger up to her face, smiled. “Buckle up.”
CHAPTER 34
At ten minutes past five, Quinn sat in a chair in the center of a semicircle with six out of eight of Evie’s employees. The group was not a happy one, the vast majority slouching on chairs, legs spread, eyeing Quinn like she didn’t belong. The men in the group looked similar, all rough, outdoorsy types. Hard working. The skin on their hands cracked and calloused. Unmanicured, dirty fingernails. All of them wore ball caps except one, whose long, sandy colored dreads were pulled back into a loose ponytail.
The two women, if they were, in fact, two women, were complete opposites from each other. The first appeared nervous and shy. She wore a patterned pencil skirt and a white, button-up shirt. She looked to be in her mid-twenties. The second woman Quinn first mistook for a man. She wore no makeup, dressed in what appeared to be men’s clothing, and had no shape to speak of with exception to two small gumdrop-shaped breasts poking out from beneath her shirt.
At a quarter past the hour, Quinn made her first executive decision, deciding she’d given the no-shows more than enough time to arrive. “Thank you all for coming. I realize you’ve heard the rumors about me inheriting Evie’s business. It’s true. I found out yesterday. I wanted to meet with you today to give you the chance to get to know me, and me the chance to get to know you.”
Crickets.
She cleared her throat, continued. “Can you all tell me what you do for Evie?”
No one spoke up. Quinn pointed to pencil-skirt woman. “Why don’t we start with you and then go around?”
The woman batted her eyelashes in rapid succession like some kind of nervous tic. “I’m Felicity, office manager and Evie’s assistant. I mean, I used to be Evie’s assistant until she ...”
“It’s nice to meet you, Felicity,” Quinn said. “Evie was very fond of you.”
The man hunched over his knees in the chair next to Felicity grunted out a quick, “Rowdy.”
“What do you do here?” Quinn asked.
Rowdy snorted a laugh, flashing a less-than-impressed look at Quinn, like he found her question to be superfluous. “I’ll make this short and simple for you. I’m Rowdy. These others are Axel, Ian, Al, Carl, and Lin. Felicity works in the office. The rest of us, the ones who are here, bust our asses outside doing the dirty work.”
Felicity’s face reddened, and she sagged in her chair.
“I’m sure Felicity did a great deal for Evie,” Quinn said. “Office work is important too.”
“If you say so.”
Quinn let Rowdy’s negative attitude slide. For now. As the ringleader of the group, her challenge was obvious—win him over and win over the rest. Pleasantries out of the way, the meeting entered phase two with rapid fire questions. Would they be closing? Was she planning to sell the business? Were their jobs secure? Quinn’s efforts to squash their concerns with the truth fell flat. Not only didn’t they trust her, they didn’t believe her either.
At five thirty, just as the meeting was deflating, Ruby pushed the door to the office open and waltzed inside. Jacob followed in tow. Ruby sent him to play in an indoor playhouse in the corner, a wooden floor-to-ceiling structure Evie had constructed just for him. The playhouse looked like it had previously been owned by Tarzan.
“What are you doing here?” Quinn asked.
“I heard you called a meeting and thought I’d join in,” Ruby said. “If you don’t mind having me here?”
“You heard I was having a meeting?”
Ruby tipped her head. “Felicity called me. I don’t mean to be an interruption. Carry on.”
Carry on? With Ruby listening in, Quinn was at a loss for what to say next. She was too preoccupied, wondering what Ruby’s true intentions were by being here. “I ... umm ... was just answering some questions everyone had about the future of the business.”
“And how would you say it’s going?”
“It seems to be ... you know ... it’s going.”
“Mind if I have a short word with everyone?”
Although concerned about Ruby’s idea of “short words,” Quinn allowed it. “Go ahead.”
Ruby discarded her jacket on the table and walked to the center of the circle. “You’re all sitting there like a bunch of crybabies who have just dropped their lollipops in the sand. Whether your sad faces are over the loss of my precious granddaughter or your precious jobs, I’m willing to bet it’s the latter. Either way, Evie’s business doesn’t deserve to suffer for your foolish behavior.”
She had their attention.
“Suck it up and listen to what Quinn has to say, or you’ll answer to me,” Ruby continued. “Now, I know you all have your doubts. Some of you have called me. Some of you are flapping your gums in public, sharing your feelings about Quinn, a woman you don’t even know. Oh yes, I’ve heard. I’ve heard it all. I’ll say this one time and one time only—if you value your job, it stops now.”
“I’m sorry,” Felicity said. “I shouldn’t have—”
“Felicity, I’m not talking about you, dear. Calm yourself.” Ruby’s head craned around, stopping for a few seconds to glance at every other person in the group. “Quinn may not know how Evie ran things yet, and she may be different than what you were hoping for, but she knows how much this place meant to Evie, and I’d be willing to bet she’d give everything she had to keep it going.”
“I would,” Quinn said. “And I will.”
“You heard t
he woman,” Ruby said. “To keep things going, she’ll need all of you. You’ve been here, you’ve worked here, side by side with Evie, most of you for several years. Right now, you’re afraid. Even you men. Don’t bother denying it either. I certainly don’t fault you for your feelings. We all have them. Embrace your fear and then toss it aside. It’s all you can do.”
“What you’re asking,” Lin said, “it’s a lot. With Evie gone, we’re still trying to get our bearings.”
“You don’t need to ’figure out’ a damn thing. Get off your derriere and get back to work. You know who your clients are, and you know the routine. It’s business as usual. Burying my granddaughter was hard enough. I’m not going to sit here and watch her business get buried too.”
“And if we can’t?” Lin challenged.
“If any of you don’t have the backbone to stick around, I would encourage you to bow out now. Get up and get out. If you stay, you agree to give Quinn a fair shot. You agree to help her with anything she needs. Have I made myself clear?”
No one spoke. Ruby pressed further. “I need a commitment from each of you. Today.”
Felicity raised a hand high in the air.
Ruby rolled her eyes. “For goodness sake, child. This isn’t a grade-school classroom. Use your words.”
“I’m in?” Felicity squeaked.
“Speak up.”
“I’m in!”
The second time around Felicity’s words resounded with a forceful boom.
“Good.” Ruby continued to rack up verbal agreements from everyone in attendance, all except for one. “Cat got your tongue, Rowdy?”
“I ... ahh ...”
“I ahh what?”
“I don’t know, Ruby. You needing an answer right now, it doesn’t give me time to think.”
“I’m not leaving here without a commitment. Everyone else made one. You don’t get a free pass just because you ran things.”
“Like I said, I don’t know.”
“You’re done here, Rowdy,” Ruby said. “Get up, and get out.”
His eyes expanded. “You serious?”
“This isn’t the time to be half-assed with your decision. You either commit to Quinn, or you don’t.”
Although Ruby was being harsh, Quinn kept quiet. She’d deal with Rowdy later. Rowdy stood, his monstrous hands flinging the desk chair back. The chair slammed into the wall, nicking a two-inch chip into the beige paint. He flung the glass door open so fast when he went through it, Quinn thought it might shatter.
Ruby turned to Quinn. “Now then, is there anything you’d like to add?”
Quinn looked at Felicity. “Aside from Marissa, who else didn’t show up for the meeting?”
“Gage.”
“And what does he do?” Quinn asked.
“Same as us,” Lin said.
Ruby gave Quinn’s shoulder a squeeze. “You did say the meeting was mandatory, correct?”
“I did.”
“What do you intend to do about the no-shows?” Ruby asked.
“I’m not sure yet.”
Ruby pulled Quinn to the side, said, “You’re the boss now. It’s your call. The decisions you make today are important. They solidify you as one of two things—a person your employees respect, or a person they’ll abuse like a doormat.”
Quinn cleared her throat. She wanted to be firm, yet diplomatic in her approach. “Felicity, get me Marissa and Gage’s phone numbers please. I’ll give them both a call tonight. I’d like to at least give them the opportunity to give me an explanation. Chances are they didn’t take me seriously. If true, they’ll both be fired.”
Ruby nodded, pleased with Quinn’s decision. She called to Jacob. He came running. Quinn gave him a quick squeeze and walked him to the door.
“You’re going to do a great job, Quinn,” Ruby said. “I just know it.”
Quinn stepped outside. “I need to tell you something.”
Ruby reached a hand into her purse, pulled out a Tootsie Roll, handed it to Jacob and asked him to wait in the car. “What is it?”
“It’s Roy. He’s trying to leave town.”
Ruby drummed her fingers together. “Is he now?”
“We stopped by his place today—Bo and me. He was packing his truck. Said he was going to Wendover for a few days.”
Quinn relayed the rest of the story, telling her about Roy confessing to being at Evie’s the night of the murder, about how the police were still watching his house.
“I’m glad you told me,” Ruby said when Quinn had finished.
“After what you did for me in there just now, the least I can do is keep you in the loop. Like I said, the police are watching, so please, don’t do anything.”
In a way, Quinn felt guilty, like she was playing both sides. Telling Bo about Ruby’s intention for Roy. Telling Ruby about Roy’s intentions to flee. She was conflicted about which decision was right, or whether they were both wrong altogether.
Ruby patted Quinn’s hand with her own. “I understand your concern, Quinn. But we don’t want that slime leaving town. And believe me, police or not, he’ll try.” Ruby slipped an oversized pair of round sunglasses over her eyes and opened her car door. “Leave it to me, and don’t you worry. Roy’s not going anywhere.”
CHAPTER 35
Lin stood. “Can we leave now?”
“Hold on,” Quinn said. “I have a few more questions.”
“We’ve been here over an hour already. This work stuff will have to wait until tomorrow. I got kids.”
“What I need to ask—it isn’t about work.”
Lin placed a hand on her hip. “What then?”
“Rumors have circulated around town about Roman being guilty of Evie’s murder. None of the allegations were ever proven. What I’m saying is—he’s innocent.”
“Ahh ... yeah,” Lin retorted. “Tell us something we don’t know.”
Head nods followed throughout the group.
“You all spent a lot of time with Evie,” Quinn said. “Any guesses or opinions about what happened?”
“We don’t know. It sure as hell wasn’t any of us. Evie was our family. So if you’re trying to suggest one of us did it, you’re wrong.”
“I wasn’t. My intention in asking was to get some insight, not to point blame.”
“You must have someone in mind,” Lin said. “Who do you think did it?”
“What about Roy?”
“Roy’s a sorry sap,” Lin said. “My money wouldn’t be on him though.”
“Why not?”
“Gut feeling. He looks a lot tougher than he is.”
Quinn glanced around. “Felicity, Axel, Carl, Ian—what do you think?”
Felicity shrugged, and Axel, Carl, and Ian looked at each other like they wanted to play rock, paper, scissors to see who’d be forced to speak first.
“I don’t know,” Axel said. “I never knew the guy. It’s not like we were part of her personal life.”
“I agree,” Ian added. “He hasn’t been in town long. We barely know him.”
Carl nodded.
They were all holding back. Perhaps not by much, and perhaps because the question was asked too soon. They didn’t know her well enough to share their suspicions. One step forward, two steps back. It was how things had gone all day.
“I have to go,” Lin said. “I told my husband I wouldn’t be too late. He’s not much for tending kids without me.”
Quinn nodded and everyone filed out. All except for Felicity.
“You can go too,” Quinn said.
“Is there anything you need from me first?”
Quinn winked, “A glass of wine, or five glasses?”
Felicity smiled. “You shouldn’t worry. They’ll stick around. Everyone who works here—they’re all good people. Hard workers. A bit rough around the edges at first, but every single one of them was devoted to Evie. Well, all except for Gage. He’s new. Only been here a couple weeks.”
“What’s his story?”
&
nbsp; “Evie hired Gage to help Rowdy, to do his grunt work. The two of them fought almost every day since he started.”
“Evie and Gage?”
“Gage and Rowdy.”
“Why?”
“Gage seemed to have a problem with everything Rowdy asked him to do. I knew he wouldn’t last long. And he hasn’t shown up to work for a few days, so I assumed he got a job somewhere else. And you should know, Rowdy’s not such a bad guy either. He would have done anything for Evie. Once you get to know him, he’s hysterical when he wants to be.”
“I’ll handle Rowdy.”
“And Marissa?”
“We met this morning at the cemetery,” Quinn said.
“Yeah, we’ve been taking turns, leaving flowers and plants every day. Suppose it will all come to an end one day. Hope not. Evie was the best boss I’ve ever had.”
“Marissa knew about the meeting. She was with me when we spoke on the phone earlier. Any idea why she wasn’t here?”
“I called everyone an hour before, just as a reminder. Gage didn’t answer, but Marissa did. She said she’d just left her house. She was walking.”
“Walking? She must not live very far from here.”
“About a mile or so.”
It didn’t make sense. Why would Marissa lie?
“I’d like Marissa’s address and phone number.”
Felicity walked over to a desk located near the front entrance, grabbed a green file folder, and handed it to Quinn. “I can do even better. I made a folder today. It lists all of Evie’s employees and their contact information, and I also copied the last few months of appointments and all of our future jobs through the end of the year.”
“I appreciate everything you’ve done to help me, Felicity.”
“If there’s anything else I can do, just let me know.”
CHAPTER 36
Janae Burgess sat outside. The bistro table she’d chosen to sit at was charming, with a large sunflower on the top designed out of tiny square tiles in shades of blue, white, and yellow. The chair, on the other hand, was small and round and wobbly. Definitely the wrong size for a curvy, big-boned woman. Whenever one of her ass cheeks made the slightest shift to the left or the right, one of the legs on the chair wobbled, causing her to grip the flimsy table with a hand so she didn’t take a dive and make a spectacle of herself in front of the other patrons.
A View to a Kill Page 14
