Page 17 of Head Over Feels
Gregreached into his back pocket and pulled out a creased brochure. “Craigrecognized him.”
Craigchuckled. “Onlybecause he got scared when he saw you.”
“Lotsof people are scared of me.Justask the new employees.”Greghanded the brochure toFoster. “Doyou remember him?”
Fosterexamined the brochure.Itwas too far away for me to see much but there were some photos of animals on it.Fosteradjusted his reading glasses but ended up shaking his head. “Helooks a little familiar, butIcan’t place him.”
Craiggrinned. “Don’ttell them yet.Wowthem with our detective work first.”
Gregshook his head. “What’sinteresting are the quotes endorsing his services on the back of the brochure.Oneis fromColeWashburn.”Everyonemade surprised noises.CarlosandArtiehad worked the case last year whenColeWashburnhad been shot at and ended up in a coma.AndlaterColeand his two boyfriends had stayed in this very house for a few days while they were laying low.Whichhadn’t worked out well, since the shooter had tracked them down and confronted them inFoster’sdriveway.
Thatclusterfuck had ended withBrian, my boss atSheltonSecurity, getting shot in the gut and me having to run the place for a couple of months while he recovered. “Whatthe fuck does the guy do, thatColeWashburnis letting him put his name on a brochure?”Iasked.
Fosterpassed the brochure to me. “Petmassage therapy,” he said.
Istared atGregandCraig. “Petsneed massages?”
Craiglaughed. “Sameas for humans, massage can be beneficial for pets who’ve been injured or have stress issues.It’srelaxing and helps with circulation and muscle stiffness.”
Iexamined the brochure.Theguy,FelixOlwin, was a red-headed, freckled twenty-something with a short beard.Hewas cute with a little meat on his bones.Delicious.
NotthatIwas looking.
Ihanded the brochure across toSilvia.
“Right,”Gregsaid. “So, sinceCraighas stayed in touch withColeWashburn’sboyfriendWill, he called him to find out about this guy.”Igrunted.I’dmetWillthe same dayCraighad.AndJason,ColeandWill’sother boyfriend, was the silent partner inSheltonSecurity.MybossBrianwasJason’sbrother.
Craigswallowed the chip he’d shoved into his mouth. “Willcould not say enough nice things about this guyFelixOlwin.Willsaid he was amazing with the animals and his massages really helped them.”
“Dothe animals get happy endings?”Iwondered.Almosteveryone groaned. “What?”Idemanded. “Youwere all thinking it.”
“FelixOlwin?”Carlostugged on the brochure inSilvia’shand until she released it.Heshowed the photo toArtie. “That’sthe guy!He’sthe oneWillGrahamwas on a date with atHenry’swhen they got shot at in the parking lot.”
Craig’seyebrows climbed his forehead. “Wow.That’sweird.Willdidn’t mention it.”HeandGregexchanged glances. “Thatmust be howFelixmetWill.”
Craigrubbed his chin, no doubt to remove some stray crumbs he should have used a napkin for. “Butit gets even weirder.Willtold me the rescue ranch would’ve givenFelixthe endorsement anyway, butColeletFelixput his name specifically on the brochure becauseColefucked something up.”Weall stared at him expectantly.Ishould’ve felt bad for listening to gossip about thisFelixguy, but we were having the most interesting game night in months.Amywas going to be pissed she’d missed it.
Finally, after getting a nod fromGreg,Craigcontinued. “I’mnot exactly sure how this came about, butColeimpersonatedFelixon a dating app to find him someone to go out with.Felixwent on the date but the guy turned out to be a cheater.”Everyone of us gasped. “Exactly.Thecheater’s boyfriend,” he tilted his head towardGreg, “interrupted their date.”
Damn, that was some coincidence.
“Letme get this straight.”Artieleaned over the table. “ColeWashburn—andIneed the story behind thissomuch—for whatever reason pretended to beFelixto find him a date, but the guy he sets him up with ends up being your cheating ex,Greg?AndthenColefeels bad about it so he endorsesFelix’spet massaging business.WhichbringsFelixto your pet resort.”Gregshrugged and nodded.Artiewhistled. “Fuck.Nowonder he ran away.”
SilviapattedGreg’sshoulder.
“Yeah, exactly.”Gregspread his hands. “Butyou get whyIfeel a little guilty.Herehe is, simply trying to drum up some business, and he runs into me, who he probably thinks hates him.”Heshook his head. “Butif anythingIfeel sorry for him.Itwasn’t his faultJaimewas a lying douchebag.”
Gregturned to me. “Ineed to refer some business to him.”
Iblinked. “Okay.Whyare you looking at me?”
“Youhave an elderly cat.”
“Elderly?She’sin her prime!”
“Shemight have arthritis.”
“Waita minute, you want me to hire this guy?Wouldn’the have to come to my house?Howmuch does a pet massage cost anyway?”
