Page 26 of Devil's Deal

By the time Harlow came back, Bosley was over speaking with Dante. “Where’s Huey?” Harlow asked.

“He seemed pretty shaken up from that customer chewing his ass, so I sent him on break.”

Harlow’s mouth tightened like he was fighting anger. That was unusual for him. “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “Sorry. Nothing. It’s fine.”

“It’s obviously not fine. You look upset. Did something happen between you and Huey that I need to know about?”

He sighed, sounding exasperated. “No, it’s not that. But he’s always late, he takes a zillion cigarette breaks, and he leaves early almost every shift. I can handle the front, so I don’t really mind, but…”

“But it’s annoying when you’re working your ass off, and your coworker is slacking.”

He scratched his nose. “Yeah. But it’s fine. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have even mentioned it. You have enough to worry about right now.”

“No, you matter, too, Harlow. You’re an important part of my team. If you have concerns, we need to address them. I’ll start paying closer attention to his movements, okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks. You can head back to your office or go on up to your place or whatever now. We’ve already had most of the guests check-in for tonight. I’ve got it until Huey returns.”

“Are you sure?”

“Ab-so-lute-ly.” We both laughed.

“Do they speak in code here or something?” Dante asked Bosley in a voice that probably wasn’t as quiet as he thought it was.

Bosley smacked him on the back. “It’s the Roaring 20s here, Dante. You better brush up on your slang.” He smiled at me. “You ready?”

I nodded, then turned back to Harlow. “Are you sure you’ve got this? I don’t mind waiting until Huey returns.”

“I’ll be here,” Dante said.

Bosley gaped at him, and Dante shrugged. “What? I know how to keep people calm. I’m a nice guy.”

Harlow’s face turned bright red, and I needed to get Bosley upstairs and deal with the situation. I couldn’t have Harlow crushing on a mobster, for fuck’s sake.Applesauce. This was getting out of control. “Yeah, uh, let’s go, Bosley.”

As we headed toward the elevator, he said, “You’re real good with your employees.”

I bumped our elbows together. “What’s with you tonight? Why do you keep complimenting me?”

He threw an arm over my shoulders. “I’ve never seen you in action before, that’s all. I’m impressed.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled as the elevator opened and Everest stepped out.

“Hey, Mr. Letterman. You want me to take you up?”

“No, thank you, Everest. You go on home. I’m going to show Bosley the belfry.”

Everest’s face went wistful like it often did when he revisited the past in his mind. “Ah. The belfry. Had my first kiss up there.”

“What?” Bosley asked.

Everest waved him off. “Don’t mind me. Little memories sneak up on you when you’re an old man. See you boys tomorrow.”

We watched Everest shuffle off. “Long time since anyone’s called me a boy. What did he mean about his first kiss?”

Stepping into the elevator, I pushed the button for the third floor. We’d get off the elevator there and take the stairs up the rest of the way. “This was still a church when Everest was young.”

“Aw. That’s kind of cool.”

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