Jerry grinned back at me. “Let me see your checkbook balance,” he said.
“Are you for real?” Could I sue this place for invasion of privacy, I wondered? My face flushed as my stomach growled. There was no way in hell I was going to show this idiot my checkbook. But then, reality hit. It was late, I was tired, and nothing else was open. I was so hungry, I knew fainting was a real possibility, and I knew Dave must be super hungry too.
“Whatever,” I said, whipping out my checkbook. I showed him the balance. I couldn’t remember the last time I had balanced my account, but surely I had more than the $14.29 cost of a medium pie with two toppings. I glanced down and saw the last line in the bankbook read $27.32.
“See there, I have it, now give me the pie,” I said, embarrassed. Quickly, I wrote the check and slapped it on the counter. My face started burning as Jerry exploded with laughter.
“Ha ha ha. No pie for you. Slice of the Pie is a strictly cash and carry business. I just wanted to see how badly you wanted it.” He snatched the pie out from under my hands and put it on a high shelf. “I’ll just eat that later,” he added.
Stunned, my eyes filled with tears. Tired and hungry, was I really getting ready to sob over a lousy pizza? I tried to regain my composure. There was no way I was going to let him see he got to me. He looked ready for an argument—excited even, and I was not going to give him the satisfaction.
A pretty redheaded waitress wearing a skimpy tee with two pizza pies on her nipples and the pizzeria’s name emblazoned on the shirt brushed past me. “Night all!” she called to the other staff as she headed for the door. My shoulders slumped as I turned to follow her. Then, I heard a voice I recognized.
“Jerry, give the lady her pie. I will deal with you later.”
“Todd!” I said, startled.
Surprised by Todd coming behind him, Jerry quickly slapped the pizza box in my hands and disappeared, a scowl stamped on his face.
“Sorry about that, Bev,” he said, shaking his head. “Managing the employees can be a bitch. I apologize for his behavior. He is a friend of a friend and I gave him a job. Obviously he will have to change or he will be outta here. Are you getting the pie for you and Dave?”
“Yeah, we’re both starving!” I exclaimed, nodding my head. “I know you said you managed a restaurant, but I didn’t realize it was this one.”
Todd gave me that sexy, toothy grin. “Yeah, it pays the bills. Do you remember Kristen?”
“Yes, of course.” Kristen had also worked as a counselor at Camp Rocky. Like the two of us, she’d been attacked and bitten by the Vlodiks and turned into a werewolf. She always seemed so confident that she’d made me feel crappy about myself. I hated to admit that my insecurities had come out at camp. I hadn’t exactly been nice to her at Camp Rocky, or later on when we lived with the Lycans at Camp Vickers.
“Well, she worked at Slice of the Pie’s Frederick location for a while. When I mentioned I needed a job, she told me to talk to the owner of the pizzeria, Sal, because she knew he was opening this second location near the University.”
“Well, that worked out great for you.”
“Yeah it did, and it’s a decent job. Not what I want for the rest of my life, but cool for now. Enjoy,” Todd said, lightly tapping the box in my hands, “it’s on the house.”
“Wow, Todd, thanks.”
“Just a sec.” He walked over to a cooler and pulled out a six-pack of beer. “You like?” He cocked his head at me, and I nodded gratefully. “This should go nicely with that pie. You and Dave enjoy it, along with the pizza. I am really sorry for what just happened.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” I muttered softly, feeling like a blubbering idiot.
“Hey, I know you are not tearing up over the pizza,” Todd said gently, “but this mess with the government cover up will all blow over. Go home, drink some beer, eat the pizza, and relax. You are under a lot of stress…”
“You’re right. It has been extra hectic lately.” Between the arguments with Dave, the lack of money, the tough coursework I needed to pass in order to graduate, and the government trying to keep us a secret, life lately had just plain sucked.
Todd put the six-pack in a brown paper bag his hand brushing mine as he handed it to me. Gazing directly into my eyes, he nodded his head softly. “Again, I am truly sorry.”
A tingle ran through my body as our eyes locked. His eyes were so intensely blue … and, he had another pec revealing tee on, with his sexy tats peeking out. I noticed the keys in his hand and realized he was probably trying to lock up and get the hell out of there.
“That’s a lot to carry. Can I give you a ride?”