Chapter 43
When I woke the next day in the Parkers' guest room, reality hit like a cold fish to the face. Last night had been a dream, a wonderful dream. But today, I had to face reality.
At five o'clock in the morning, Lawton had left for the airport. He'd urged me to stay, to sleep in his bed, to stay at his house. The invitation included both me and Chucky, who we'd retrieved from the Parkers' later that night.
But as I watched Lawton get dressed, I knew that delaying my departure wouldn't really help. It would only postpone the inevitable. So when he left for the airport, I asked him to drop me and Chucky off on the way with the anticipation of his return in just a couple of days.
As we said goodbye in the Parkers' driveway, I soaked up that final feverish embrace like my sanity depended on it. In a way it did, because if things continued to go downhill as far as house-sitting was concerned, I might not be his neighbor very much longer.
If I didn't hear back from the Parkers within the next day or two, I'd have some tough choices to make. Would I need to check with their bank? Leave their house? Call the police?
I sure as hell hoped not. It was exactly the kind of thing I tried to avoid, especially if I ever wanted to work again as a house sitter.
My day improved considerably when I arrived at work that evening and learned that Brittney had called in sick. Keith gave me the news personally, not looking too happy about it.
"Is it the flu?" I asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he said.
"Not particularly," I said. "And just for the record, she really is terrible at this. Like I already told you, she insulted every single customer."
"And like I already told you," he said, "maybe she wasn't adequately trained."
"Hey, I tried," I said. "She never listens. You know what I think? She's trying to sabotage me."
"Chloe," he said, "not everyone is out to get you."
"I'm just saying, it's a problem."
"Wanna know what the real problem is around here?"
"What?"
"Your boyfriends."
I stared at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well, first, you've got one of them beating the crap out of his own car in our parking lot, and then you've got this other one coming in every day asking for you. What do you think? This is some kind of dating service?"
"I don't even know who you're talking about," I said.
"Sure you don't."
"I don't," I said. "Whoever he is, he's not my boyfriend."
"Funny, that's not what he said."
I felt my eyebrows furrow. "What'd he look like?"
"Heavyset guy, longish hair, said his name was Chester."
"Shaggy?" I said. "He's not my boyfriend. He's not even my friend."
Keith crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? Well from what I heard, you were all over him the other night in our parking lot."
"I was not!"
"Oh really? Well Jordon said he saw you on the guy's shoulders, making a regular spectacle of yourself. Got anything to say about that?"
"I was taking video," I said. "And it wasn't even my idea."
"Just so you know," Keith said, "if he comes in here again, I'm writing you up."
"You can't write me up," I said. "It's not my fault if he comes in here."
Keith pointed to his name tag and cleared his throat. "What does this say?"
I gave him a look. "You don't know your own name?"
"Very funny," Keith said. "Go on, read what it says below my name."
I rolled my eyes. "Manager."
"Exactly. I'm the manager, and if I say you're getting written up, you're gonna get written up. End of story."
"Okay, fine write me up. Whatever. Are we done here?"
He pointed his thumb at his name tag. "We're done when I say we're done."
I looked at him expectantly.
He glanced at the clock, and then toward the dining area. "Alright, we're done. Now get out there, and remember what I said."
About Brittney? About Shaggy? About his name tag? Honestly, I had no idea what the guy was referring to. But I was used to that. I headed out toward the waitress station, just glad for the chance to make up for lost ground.
Without Brittney, I had a decent chance of making some money tonight, and I wasn't going to let the opportunity slide just because Keith was up to his old tricks.
By midnight, I'd actually made some progress when I heard someone at the bar call my name. I turned, and there he was, Shaggy, his cell phone in one hand and a beer in the other.
I stalked over. "What do you want?" I said.
He frowned. "Why do you gotta be so mean about it? Or, uh, is this part of your waitressing act?"
"No," I said, "I actually meant to be mean."
"Jeez, what'd I ever do to you?"
"Well for one thing," I said, "you're lying about being my boyfriend."
"You're one to talk," he said. "You gave me a fake name." His gaze narrowed. "Betty."
"Look," I said, "I'm really busy. Just tell me what you want, so then you can leave."
"When I tell you," he said, "you're gonna feel really bad."
"Oh yeah? Why?"
"Because the only reason I'm here is to do you a favor."
My gaze narrowed. "What kind of favor?"
"Here's the thing." He glanced around. "I saw you with Lawton Rastor."
"So?"
"So, he seems to really like you."
I made a forward motion with my hands. "And?"
"And I do some video work on the side, weddings and stuff."
I shook my head. "So?"
He lowered his voice. "You know that sex tape of his? If you wanted, I could set up a sequel."
My mouth fell open. "Are you saying you did the first one?"
He glanced around. "I don't like to brag."
"Oh trust me," I said, feeling a cold rage sweep over me. "It's nothing to brag about."
"But I'm guessing you want to be famous too, right?"
I gave him look. "Does Lawton know about this?" Of course, I knew the truth, but his answer would tell me a lot.
Shaggy reached up to scratch his ear. "Not yet. But I mean, he'd find out eventually, right?"
I crooked my finger, inviting him to come closer. When he did, I moved my head close and whispered in his ear. "Listen, if you ever ask me something like that again, you're gonna be real sorry. And you wanna know why?'
He leaned back and gave a nervous look around the restaurant. "What are you gonna do? Tell Lawton?"
"No." I smiled. "I'm gonna tell Jen."
His eyes widened. "Jen, my girlfriend?"
I nodded.
"You wouldn't."
I crossed my arms. "I would."
Again, he looked around. "She's not here now, is she?"
I shrugged.
"I gotta go," he said. A split-second later, he was heading for the exit.
I gave him a cheery wave. "Don't come back soon!"