“Why’d she quit?” I ask.
“They didn’t tell me.” The new woman glances back at Hayes’s door as if to answer me. “I’m only here until they find someone permanent.”
“Margie!” Hayes bellows from the next room.
The woman flinches at the sound of his voice and continues to shake while walking to the door. He yells something about a missing stapler. After Margie mumbles about looking for it, she returns to the front desk.
“I don’t know where the stapler is,” she tells me.
“Neither do I.”
Margie sighs unsteadily. Dino slides closer to me while keeping his gaze on the secretary.
“You look like you need a hug. I can’t give you one, though. These arms only hug my mom and woman. Sorry, Margie.”
I give him a quick glance. “You’re so whipped that I almost feel guilty.”
“Almost.”
Hayes yells from his office and tells us to stop distracting Margie and get into his office. Dino heads for the door, but I glance around the messy front area. Spotting the stapler, I take it with me into the office and set it on the angry man’s desk.
“Did you scare off Donna?” I ask, sitting in a chair.
“That fucking woman wasn’t ever going to work out. She watched too much fucking Oprah, who convinced her that fucking feelings matter in the real fucking world.”
“I forgot how much you like that word.”
Hayes gives me a dark frown, but I think he finds me amusing. Dino seems to think something similar since his foot makes contact with the desk. The men’s gazes lock.
“Eyes over here, Jolly Green Giant.”
Hayes looks ready to tear off Dino’s perfect head. I only smile because there’s something irresistible about my lover when he turns possessive. I’ve never had a man claim me so strongly. The closest was Troy, who once punched a guy for being disrespectful to me. He hadn’t minded when the guy flirted with me for an hour, though. Troy just never fully shifted from friend to lover. Dino doesn’t have that problem.
“You wanted to see us,” I remind Hayes.
“Don’t look at him,” Dino says to me.
“I’m looking just over his head. Now can we get to the reason we’re here?”
Hayes leans back in his chair, and I again wait for it to buckle under his size. The chair must pump iron because it survives.
“I was wondering if you two had fun at the Shithole Trailer Park this morning.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks for asking.”
“Well, you got Black riled up. He visited the park himself and arrested the women you let go.”
“For what?” I balk.
“For whatever he wants because he’s an asshole with a badge.”
“That’s bullshit.”
Dino nods while patting my hand. His attempt at soothing me only makes me angrier.
“Don’t do that.”
“I can’t help it. You bring out the teddy bear in me.”
Hayes lights a cigar and clears his throat. “You two need to keep your romance bullshit to your own time. I have no fucking interest in watching it play out.”
“Sorry, Dad,” I mutter. “So, was there a reason we had to drive over here? I hope you didn’t just want to yell at someone besides your poor assistant.”
“Look, when your boss lost his balls and let Black take over, he created a fucking vacuum. Now everyone is calling my hotline with problems that aren’t fucking mine. I don’t care what happens in Common Bend. I’m only helping you two shitheads because I don’t want the trouble spilling over White Horse. Except it’s already spilling the fuck over.”
Crossing my arms, I shrug. “I feel like you’re breaking your ‘no feelings’ rule by sharing how you’re sad and frustrated. Now, I’m not Oprah, but I think you need to suck it up until we’re done working.”
Hayes gives me a darker glare while I roll my eyes dismissively. Dino, though, takes these reactions to be potential flirting.
“We’re leaving,” Italian Sausage says, standing up and reaching for me.
“I want to know what you two fuckwads will do next.”
Standing up, I take an agitated Dino’s hand. “We’re going to fuck. Probably talk about our feelings. Maybe even write poems about fucking. Then fuck again. Why? What are your plans for the day?”
“My guess is I’ll be cleaning up your fucking messes.”
“Yeah, sounds about right.”
Dino gives Hayes a nasty glare and then walks to the door while pulling me along. I pause before we leave.
“I’ll tell you what. We’re nice people with good manners. You’ve been a sugary sweet host, so we’ll do you a solid and go quiet tonight. We’ll also call our boss and tell him to find his balls. Does that make you happy?”
Hayes leans back in the chair again. “Was that so difficult?”