Cora nodded, but still headed off, I assumed to talk to the Hammer Man. I stood and pushed in my chair, resisting the urge to grab another roll for the road, and started following Bentley toward the door. At the last minute, she turned back to the table of authors and donned her business face. “Please know that every single agent at Novel Idea is here to assist you in any way—”
A metallic jingling sound interrupted the start of her spiel. We turned to see Cora leading a handsome middle-aged man our way. He was clad in jeans and a fitted T-shirt and wore a leather tool belt strapped around his waist. As he approached, his friendly smile faded and his eyes narrowed. I turned to see the object of his sudden switch in attitude and saw Lynn staring back with a wide-eyed expression. “Chuck?” she said, a slight tremble to her lower lip.
“Hello, Lynn. It’s been a while.”
My head ping-ponged between the two of them. This must be someone Lynn knew from when she lived in the area, but judging from the look on her face, she certainly wasn’t happy to see the guy.
“Oh, so you two already know each other,” Cora gushed. “Everyone else, this is Chuck Richards. Chuck’s helping me redo the butler’s pantry. It’s one of those projects I never got to when I renovated the rest of the kitchen.” She swept her hand around the room’s antique white cabinetry, granite counters, and state-of-the-art appliances with pride. Who could blame her? She’d done a marvelous job updating, while still maintaining much of the original integrity of the room. Her expression suddenly sobered. “But I am so sorry for the timing. I just hate it that everyone has to endure the noisiness. But Chuck was supposed to have started a couple of days before you all arrived. And”—she offered an apologetic shrug to us while tipping her head at him—“he promised the project wouldn’t take more than a day, two tops.”
Chuck shook his head. “I never promise. I estimate. And my previous job took longer than expected. And, actually, it’s looking like yours will now take two or three days.” He raised his palms upward. “Sorry, ladies, but you’ll just have to put up with the noise a little longer.”
Bentley eyed him pointedly. “I tell you what . . . uh, Chuck. The authors will be out this afternoon at a meeting, so you can make all the noise you want then. But it just won’t do to have them constantly disturbed by this racket for the next couple of days. They’ll need to be well rested and on top of their game for all the events. You could work out a schedule over, say, the next four days around their events so that—”
“I don’t really have time to work out a schedule around your events,” Chuck said, folding his arms across his chest and leveling his gaze on Bentley. “I’ve got other jobs this week and I’m trying to wrap things up because I’ve got a trip planned.” He sighed. “And last week, I took on a contract to do maintenance for the Arts Center. I’m a busy man.”
Bentley cast a furtive look Cora’s way. “Can’t this project wait for a while?”
Chuck shifted and gave her a hard glare. I knew Bentley was just being . . . well, Bentley. She knew no boundaries when it came to making things right for her authors and probably didn’t realize how officious her comments were sounding. Or, maybe she did. It would be just like Bentley to think she could change the handyman’s and Cora’s schedules to better suit her authors.
Cora answered with a shake of her head. “I’m afraid I’m booked solid for the next two months. I wouldn’t know when to get it done.”
Bentley drew in her breath and took a step forward. As quickly as I could, I stepped in and grabbed hold of her arm, while glancing at my watch. “You wanted to stop by the Arts Center to check on the other agents’ progress before heading over to the pub for the meeting, right?” It would be prudent to get her out of there before she said something even more offensive. I gently coaxed her away from Chuck before she could even switch gears to answer me. “Thank you for the tea, Cora. No need to see us out. We can manage just fine.” I cast a waning smile at Chuck as we passed by on our way to the front hall closet to retrieve our coats.
Bundled up and back outside again, Bentley turned to me. “Why’d you usher me out like that, Lila? I had something more I wanted to say to that arrogant jerk in there.”
No doubt. But telling her that she couldn’t boss around someone else’s hired help would only aggravate the situation. So instead I said, “With this snow and all, I know you didn’t want to be late to the Arts Center, right?”
Bentley stood a little straighter. “Absolutely.”
“Then we’d better get a move on.”
“I guess you’re right,” Bentley relented. “Besides, if a little extra noise is the only problem we have this week, then we’ll be in good shape.”
Chapter 2