Page 40 of Mechanic

‘Shit…” I pause, trying to come up with a suitable replacement. Snapping my fingers, a smile spreads at my genius. “I know. How about Toni?”

“T-Toni?” Rhodee squeaks out, causing my brows to knit.

“Is there a problem with Toni? I thought you said he was doing well?”

“Oh, yeah, I mean, of course. Toni is…doing great, that is,” she backpedals, sounding nervous all of a sudden.

“Are you alright?” I question. This behavior is odd for her.

“Me?” Rhodee asks, her voice raising an octave before clearing her throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

A phone rings in the background, and the intercom goes silent for just a moment.

“Mr. Sereno,” Rhodee says again. “I will get Toni scheduled for Saturday. Mr. Burnett is on line one for you.”

The intercom goes dead again before I can say anything. Shaking off Rhodee’s strange behavior, I hit the button for line one, taking Aymond’s call.

“Hey, Aymond. How’s it going?”

“Good Roderick. How’s the casino doing?

I launch into a brief summary about revenue for our first month and where we are so far for this month.

“How’s construction going?” Aymond questions.

“Okay, I guess. Eating takeout every night is getting old.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him about Antonia, but something stops me.

“That’s cryptic and slightly off topic,” he drolls out lazily.

“Me and the rep from the ballpark have a meeting tomorrow with a local real estate agent. We are still trying to find a piece of land large enough for an apartment complex.” I change the subject and pinch the bridge of my nose. “For now, the construction company is going to continue working on the second tower of the hotel.”

Aymond hums out a response before speaking.

“That makes sense. You don’t want to lose momentum. It’s better to keep them busy before having them switch gears. Plus, you want to take advantage of the nicer weather while you can.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. What else is going on?” I ask him, knowing there is another reason for his call.

“I have a few staff members that want to transfer to your neck of the woods.”

That surprises me some.

“Yeah, I am happy to take them,” I tell him. “Are they all tired of the desert heat?” I say jokingly.

“I guess,” Aymond replies. “I don’t care about their reasons, and I didn’t ask either.”

There is something in his tone that confuses me.

“Can you please email a list of names and job duties to Rhodee? I’ll have her set them up in housing.”

“Sure. I’ll have Shawna send it over in a little while.”

We chat about nothing for a while before ending the call.

Making my way to the outer office, I stop at Rhodee’s desk. Waiting for her to look up, my eyes roam across Rhodee’s immaculate desk.

“What do you need, Mr. Sereno?” Rhodee asks as she hangs up the telephone.

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