Page 11 of Puck with Karma
The girl looks confused, and, quite possibly, a little scared.
“I- I think so.”
“Someone called the desk and said you were being attacked in the basement. I called the police before coming down here.”
Burt then looks at me in distress.
“Are you okay, sir?”
“I am,” I assure him with a shrug.
“What happened to your face? Your shirt…”
“I had a mishap with the treadmill.” I point toward the general area where the mess is. “I won.”
“So then,” he looks around, turning slowly to make sure he is taking in the entire area of the gym. “Everyone is okay?”
“We are,” I laugh.
“Jesus.” He presses a hand to his chest. “I am too old for this shit. I thought I’d have to shoot someone. I’ve never shot anyone in my life.”
“I thought you were a cop before you started here,” I remind him. I’m sure that’s what he told me once.
“Eh, I was in the traffic department. Just giving people speeding tickets. That sort of thing.”
We don’t have time to chat some more because all hell breaks loose. Police officers surround us within seconds, and we all have our hands up. Burt is about to drop dead on me, and the hot girl I’ve been chatting with looks like she wants to die.
“Hey,” I give her a chin lift. “Welcome to the building.”
Chapter 5
Abby
“And then he saidwelcome to the building.”
I throw myself against the back of the chair I am currently sitting in as I finish telling Hannah and Riley about my encounter with the stranger down in the basement.
“Girl,” Hannah sighs in relief. “I thought you were getting murdered. We didn’t know what to do!”
“I understand. And I’m sure he did, too,” I assure her.
“Was he…” Riley starts, but then she hesitates. “He looked kinda hot,” she finishes saying, blushing to the roots of her hair.
“Hot?” Hannah’s eyes look like they are about to pop out of her head. “When did you even have time to see much of him? I just saw a dark giant blob.”
Riley shrugs. “My internet has been spotty lately. The screen froze just as he was walking out of that room. I took a screenshot before it all went blank.”
Both me and Hannah lean forward to stare at Riley.
“What?”
“Show me!”
I’m not even sure who is saying what. All I know is that I want to see the picture of this stranger who got hauled away by the police before I had a chance to even ask for his name.
“His face is all dirty,” Hannah declares full of disgust when the picture pops up on the screen.
The reminder of this guy grinning at me with his face all full of dark grease from the machine he was working on is making me smile. I have to agree with Riley. He really is handsome.
