CHAPTER 7
Merrick
It was almost eight by the time I shut down for the day. On my way out, I took the stairs down one flight to the other floor we occupied to drop off a package in the mailroom. The hallway lights on both floors ran on motion sensors, so most of the corridors were dark by now, with the majority of the staff gone. But as I turned left, I noticed light streaming into an otherwise dark hall to my right. It looked like it might be Evie’s office, so I diverted to pass by.
She was talking on her cell, but smiled and held up one finger when I stopped.
“Dave, huh? What’s the story behind that?” she said into the phone. Evie’s smile widened as she listened. Her eyes twinkled. “Oh my God.” She covered her mouth in laughter. “That’s hysterical. And you’re right, it’s good information to keep tucked in my back pocket.” After another minute, she said, “I have to run. My boss just came into my office. But thank you for checking on me.” She laughed again before saying goodbye and tossing her cell on the desk.
“That sounded interesting,” I said.
Her smile widened. “Oh, it was interesting, alright. That was Kitty.”
It took me a few seconds to backtrack through the conversation, but I realized what they must’ve been talking about. Dave. I closed my eyes and hung my head. “Fuuuck.”
Evie laughed. “I’ve never heard of anyone being terrified of Dave Thomas. What did the guy do, other than being the founder of Wendy’s?”
“I’m going to kill my damn grandmother.”
She smiled. “Seriously. Why were you afraid of him when you were little?”
“I have no damn idea. I just saw him on a commercial once, and he looked scary to me, I guess. I was only like three years old. My sister made it worse. She used to threaten that she was going to call him if I didn’t do whatever she said. Why did Kitty have to share that shit with you?”
“She called to ask how my first day went. She said she knows you well enough to know I might need some pointers on how to keep you in line.”
“Pointers? With an S? As in Dave wasn’t the only thing she shared?”
“The rest weren’t bad.”
“Let’s hear them anyway.”
“She told me if I want to get my way with you, to bake anything with peanut butter in it—cookies, pie, brownies…”
“If you can bake a peanut butter pie like Kitty, you might work out here after all.” My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I slipped it out to see if it was important. I shook my head and turned it to show her Kitty’s name flashing on the screen. “I only heard the tail end of your conversation. Am I about to get my ass kicked for something you told her?”
“Nope. I told her you’d been nothing but sweet to me.” She winked. “Basically, I lied.”
I pretended to scowl and swiped to answer without moving from the doorway. “Hello, grandmother dearest.”
“What did you have for dinner?”
“Dinner? Nothing. I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Good. Neither did my Everly. She’s still in the office, so take her to grab a bite. And be nice. You’ve been giving her a hard time, and I know it. I can tell even though she covers for your sorry ass.”
I looked up and locked eyes with Evie. “How can you tell she’s lying about me being nice?”
“She oversold it—called you delightful. We both know that’s a load of crap. Now, are you going to do this for me or not?”
“Don’t you have some fourteenth cousin to bug?”
“Yes, and he might be going in my will if you use that tone with me much longer. Oh, and while you’re at dinner, give Everly the name of a bulldog lawyer. She needs one.”
“Goodbye, Grams.”
“Later, masturbater.”
The phone went dead, and I pulled it away from my ear and shook my head at it. “Aren’t people supposed to mellow in their old age?”