Page 51 of Devil's Deal

I smiled softly. “Nor should you be. Why don’t we tell you what really happened to…” I gestured up at my face.

Harlow and I took turns telling her the story. By the time we were done, she was pale and shaking. She reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me to sit on the edge of the mattress next to her. “I’m so sorry that happened to you,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Gah. What a sweet girl. Her response reaffirmed the decision I’d already made. I cleared my throat. “Listen, I understand if you want to leave, but I promise you, we don’t usually have this kind of excitement around here.”

Harlow shook his head from side to side. “No, we really don’t. It’s usually pretty chill.”

“It is.”

“Oh, I’m sure. I wouldn’t care if it wasn’t. With Bosley”—she glanced at Harlow who must’ve given her that detail as well—“I mean, Romeo, around, I don’t think there’s probably a safer place to be.” The hero worship in her tone was adorable. I wondered how Romeo would feel about that. “But I’ll get out of your hair now. I was just waiting to tell you and Romeo thank you and goodbye.”

Before I could respond, Harlow leaned forward and grabbed her knees. “No, I don’t want you to leave. Where will you go? You already told me you had no one, and I won’t let you go back to that horrid place.”

“I have to agree with Harlow. We’d like you to say here.I’dlike you to stay here.”

She tilted her head, staring at me like I’d lost my mind. “But surely you need this room back.”

“I do, but I have an idea that I’d like to run by you.”

“Okay,” she said hesitantly.

I glanced at Harlow, and his lips tilted up slowly as he realized what I was going to say. He nodded eagerly. Knowing he was on the same page encouraged me to continue. “I don’t know if Harlow told you, but he received a promotion this morning.”

Her eyes widened. “No, you didn’t.” She swatted at him playfully.

“He’s the new general manager of The Gin Mill.”

She scrambled to her knees and threw her arms around his neck in a sweet hug. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.”

His face turned bright red. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

“What that means for you, Charity, is that I have a new opening at the front desk.”

“Actually, you have two,” Harlow said, holding up his index and middle fingers. “We need to replace Huey, as well.”

My mouth dropped open.Applesauce. Why hadn’t I thought of that this morning? “You’re right. See, it’s a good thing I was smart enough to give you the job already. I’m going to need to run back downstairs and go over the schedule for this evening. Maybe I can cover check-ins myself.”

Harlow shook his head. “I already covered Huey’s spots for tonight and tomorrow, and when you sent me home, I called Doug to see if he would cover my shift tonight if I took his spot on Saturday night.”

“Good job.” I smiled, even though I was freaking out internally. Romeo had been right. I really wasn’t in the right headspace to work right now. Since I pushed through after Mac’s passing, and that was so much worse, I expected going back to business as usual today would be a piece of cake.Wrong.

Taking a deep breath, I centered myself and went on. “So, as you can see, Harlow would be your boss.”

Both of them giggled, but then Charity’s face fell. “I’m not sure it would be a good idea. What if Tad comes looking for me? I don’t want to cause any trouble in your place of business. Plus, I’m not qualified. I’ve never done anything like…well, anything.”

Unease settled in my gut. Charity was young, but unless she’d been on the streets as a prostitute since she was a teenager, I couldn’t understand how she’d never had any other form of employment. “Can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but how long have you worked for Tad?”

Sighing, she leaned back against the headboard. “I’ve only been with him for a little over a year. Before that, a friend of mine and I were out there alone. We watched each other’s backs, but it got too dangerous, and so…” She shrugged.

“But where are your parents?” Harlow asked.

She huffed. “There’s the million-dollar question. My mom took off when I was young. I don’t really blame her. My dad’s really religious, and he was suffocating her. He was good to me for the most part as long as I followed the rules. He liked to look good at church, so he spoiled me rotten. I never had to work, and I got a brand-new car when the day I passed my test for my driver’s permit. All I had to do was keep my head down, go to church with him a couple of times a week, and do what he said. I mean, I snuck around behind his back a little, but I was a pretty obedient teenager.”

“Then what happened?” I asked.

“He remarried. He met a single mom at church who was even more zealous than him. Her kids were younger. Three little girls. One day, she came home early because she had to pick up the middle one from daycare. I guess she was sick or something. My step-monster caught me making out with my best friend.” She lowered her gaze to the bedspread and whispered, “I’m a lesbian.”

“They kicked you out for that?” Harlow demanded, sounding outraged.

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