Page 16 of Love vs The Ooze Monster!
“Most people don’t know you as well as I do.”
“No oneknows me as well as you.” He told her honestly. Mabel was the only one to get past all his defenses. “But Lew was taking me under his wing, I think. We were spending a lot of time together. He left me a book in his will. He was doing those whiskey deals with me. Hell, right before he died, he invited me to his Valentine’s Day ball.”
Her eyebrows slammed down. “What book did he leave you?”
“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
Hazel eyes blinked, shocked out of her anger.
Boyd was obsessed with uncovering the secrets of his inheritance and Mabel had the answers. He was suddenly sure of it. “Why did he leave me a kid’s book?” He asked, his heart pounding. Whatever the reason, it was important. He sensed it.
“Maybe he was going by your mental age.”
Boyd tilted his head. She knew something and didn’t want to tell him. Interesting. He tried another tactic. “Lew said he was going to give me a job at that party. A big one. You have any idea what job that might be?”
She silently shook her head and bit down on her lower lip.
Yeah, she knew something alright.
Boyd straightened away from the wall. “Why did you really come to work for me?” He took a step closer to her, pressing harder for answers. “What did Lew tell you…?”
“This isn’t about Lew!” She interrupted. “We’re not talking about him. This is about you ruining my interview with Wilson Carmine.He’swho we’re talking about.”
Boyd allowed the subject change, because he didn’t want her stomping off, again. Besides, he was certainly willing to discuss that two-bit thief, Carmine. He had nothing to hide. That rat bastard had been trying to steal Boyd’s girl and Boyd had stopped him. Simple action and reaction. No sane person could possibly disagree. Not in the Volstead underworld.
“I saved you time, is all. You didn’t need an interview with Carmine. You’re gainfully employed by yours truly and you’re staying that way.”
“You fired me!”
“I didn’t fire you.” Boyd stopped right in front of her. “Youliedto me, but I’m a forgiving boss. You still work for me. So, every other pointless job interview you go on will end the same damn way as Carmine’s did, I promise you.”
“If you didn’t fire me…fine! I quit, then. How’s that?” She flashed him a smug smile.
Boyd scowled. “You can’t quit.”
“Yes, I can, too!” Mabel was good and pissed. “As soon as we finish up with this mess, you and I arethrough. I mean it. I won’t ever have to see you, again, unless you’re delivering my baking soda.”
“Mybaking soda. I paid for it, apparently.”
“It’s formynew recipe! It has nothing to do with you. I’m claiming it as my severance.”
“You turned down severance.”
“Well, I’ve decided to take it, now.”
“I’m not offering it now, because you’re not leaving.”
“How are you going to stop me?”
Boyd’s eyes narrowed. The girl was smart and independent and capable of succeeding in any job she chose. …And she was clearly convincing herself that he was a lost cause. If he didn’t save the situation, right that second, he knew she’d slip away forever.
He’d always been a gambler by nature. It was the only way to succeed in Volstead. So, Boyd did what any card player would do when he was holding a losing hand and his whole life was on the table:
He bluffed.
“You’re not going to walk away from me and I’mnevergoing to walk away from you, doll. You know that.”
The confident words and the nickname seemed to startle her. She actually stopped yelling and blinked at him. “I do?”
