Page 43 of The Fall Back Plan
Spluttering follows as Wayne Oakley tries to wrap his head around being dismissed. I stand and say nothing for a few uncomfortable seconds until my visitors register that I mean it; I’m done. Then they leave, but of course, Wayne has to make it sound like it was his choice.
“I’ll look forward to an update soon,” he says as they walk out.
“You bet,” I tell him, which means absolutely nothing. No one outside of this department will be briefed until we know what we’re dealing with. I’m sympathetic to the parents who are worried about these dolls appearing, but technically, there has been no crime committed. We’ll get to the bottom of it and figure out whether there’s an imminent threat, but my gut says this is the community getting each other all worked up over something that has a benign explanation.
It happens all the time.
I don’t even bother to watch them exit the building, closing my door almost as soon as they’ve cleared it. I plop down in my office chair with a grunt because whether I personally believe there’s a crime afoot or not, Sloane Oakley-Whatever has handed me a viable motive. Not that I think for one second that Jolie has anything to do with this. But it will require an official follow-up, and I can’t send a deputy to do that. It would be insulting. Which means I have to do it.
I’ve been trying to come up with a good reason to stop by and see her, but man.
This ain’t it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jolie
“Jo?”Rypokeshishead into my office. “I’ve got a bit of a situation here.”
“What’s up?”
“Tina’s kid is sick, and she can’t leave him with her sister because reasons. I didn’t catch that part. But she can’t make it in for her shift. I’m calling in one of the new hires, but he’s not fully trained yet.”
“I got it,” I tell him. “I’ll cover for Tina.”
“Sorry about this, cuz,” he says. “We’ll get the staffing where we need it soon.”
I shrug. “It’s tough for everyone right now to stay fully staffed. Don’t worry about it. I expected these kinds of things to happen with a new business. We’ll figure it out over time.” I stand and look down at my heels. These aren’t going to work for a full shift, not even for me, and I’m used to being in heels. I’m just not used to serving drinks in them for six hours straight. “Let me do something about this shoe situation, and I’ll be ready to help.”
Twenty minutes later I’m back in a pair of black flats from a boutique down the street, and I jump in on Tina’s prep work. By 4:00, we’re half-full—mostly teachers from the nearest middle school—and I know that shortly after 5:00 we’ll be hopping with businesspeople stopping by to unwind for a bit.
We end up busier within a half hour. Our new hire, Daniel, helps where he can, mostly assisting Ry at the bar, but Precious and I handle the tables. Sort of. I’m not brilliant at it, but I know our drink selection well enough to make it work, and I do plenty of small talking and schmoozing to make sure they’re okay even if the service is slightly glitchy. I hope the tips are good enough to cover whatever Tina normally makes; I don’t want her to come out short for the week because I’m not as good as she is, but I do my best.
By 5:00, I’m maxed. I can handle as many tables as I have but no more. I doubt I’ll hit a groove, but I should at least be able to handle a normal night of business.
That’s when Lucas walks in.
He’s in uniform, and this time it’s impossible not to notice how it fits over his shoulders. They are broad. And sexy. And there’s no way that man is rocking that build without putting in gym time. Like five hundred pushups every night or something.
Not that I have time to pause and consider such idiotic things. I jerk back into motion as Ry nods at Lucas. Lucas wouldn’t come in for a drink in his uniform, so he must be here for business, but after standing inside the door for a minute or two and surveying the bar, he takes a seat at an empty four-top near the front and removes his hat.
Unfortunately, he’s in my zone, Precious being more capable of handling the busier back half of the tables.
As soon as I drop off the next round of drinks for a raucous table of English teachers (and why is italwaysthe English teachers?), I stop at Lucas’s table.
“Hey, Lucas. Can I get you something?”
“No. Just need to talk something over with you when you have a minute.”
A patron at another table signals for me. “Sorry, hang on a second. Blue dolphin coming up. Thanks for your patience.”
I swing by the bar and call, “Water for the sheriff!” to Daniel before I hurry over to the beckoning table and take their next round of orders. But in between every single move I make, I’m wondering why the heck he’s here. No one would have called him because there’s no trouble. I mean, besides being short-staffed. So what’s he doing? Do I want to know? Maybe I don’t want to know.
Once I put the new drinks in the order system, I pick up a glass of ice water for Lucas and deposit it in front of him. “Here you go. What’s up?”
“Hey, Jolie. I was wondering—”
But now a different table is trying to get my attention, and Ry is too, and I have to cut him off again. “Sorry, Lucas. Hang on.” I don’t mind being saved from whatever this conversation is. I’m not even sure why I’m slightly anxious about it.
