Page 50 of Operation K-9 Brothers
Chapter Fourteen
Nichole sold her last fairy with the silver glitter on her blue tulle dress.She’d only made five of them, not sure how they’d sell.Adding the glitter had been a moment of inspiration when she’d gone to her studio the morning after spending her first night with Jack.Happier than she’d been in a long time, she’d felt like she’d been sprinkled with fairy dust.As a lark, she’d made the first fairy and had liked it so much that she’d made four more.
She’d also sold a set of mugs, several expensive bowls, and had another commission for dinnerware.It was turning out to be a good day, and she still had the afternoon to go.Adding to her great mood, Rambo was actually behaving.His training sessions, both with Jack and the ones with just her, were paying off.
It was lunchtime on Thursday, and Nichole’s gaze strayed to the aisle.Jack had surprised her yesterday by showing up with lunch.Would he do the same today?She’d spent the night at his house again, but he hadn’t said anything about seeing her later when she’d left.
Instead of the man she hoped to see was one she had zero desire to talk to, and he was headed straight for her.
“Swear to God, Rambo, if you so much as wag your tail at Trevor the Rat Bastard, you’ll never get another treat so long as you live.”Rambo wagged his tail.“Stop it,” she growled.
“Nichole, you look really nice today.”
She grabbed her dust rag, then turned her back on him and started cleaning her pottery.
“Come on.I just want to talk to you, okay?”
Desperation tinged his voice, and it could only mean that the theft of her commission wasn’t going so well for him.Too bad, so sad.
“Nichole!Turn around, damn it.”He came around the table, toward her.
Rambo growled.Well then, her dog was learning how to do his job.Extra treats for him tonight.
“Fine, keep your back to me, but you can still listen.My last offer was a damn good one, but I’ll sweeten the pot.I’ll give you—”
“La, la, la, la, la, la,” she sang as she put her hands over her ears.Nothing like reverting to being a twelve-year-old.
“I don’t think she wants to talk to you, Trevor.”
Hearing another voice, Nichole glanced over to see Forest Ellers, the metals artist, arms crossed over his chest as he coldly stared at Trevor.
“None of your business,” Trevor said.
Forest shifted his gaze to her.“Do you want to talk to him?”
“No.Not today.Not tomorrow.Not ever.”
“You okay then with me making this my business?”
“You betcha.”She picked up the end of Rambo’s leash.“I’m going to take him for a short walk.Back in a few minutes.”Maybe Trevor would leave if she wasn’t here.
When she returned five minutes later, as she’d hoped, Trevor was gone.She stopped at Forest’s table.“Thank you.He’s refusing to take no for an answer.”
“I’m guessing he wants you to help him meet the deadline on the commission he stole from you?”
“Where’d you hear that?”The only person she’d told about Trevor’s treachery was Jack, and she knew he hadn’t said anything.
He laughed.“You know nothing is a secret around here.”He glanced across the aisle at Andrea, the stained-glass artist who had the booth next to hers.“You told Andrea when you got the commission, then she overheard you and Trevor the last time he was here begging you to save his ass.”
“Oh.Well, thanks for getting rid of him.”
“It was my pleasure.No one really liked him in the first place, then pulling this stunt showed his true colors.He’ll get the cold shoulder from now on in the artist community.”
If she wasn’t so furious with Trevor, she might feel sorry for him.Getting blackballed by his fellow artists meant he wouldn’t get any support for his art shows or referrals to anyone looking for commissioned pottery.But he’d brought it down on himself, so not her problem.
Back at her booth, Rambo headed for his water bowl.It didn’t look like Jack was going to show up bearing lunch, so she decided to get a salad from the little café located in the warehouse.Now would be a good time to go since there weren’t any customers nearby.
“Let’s take another walk,” she said to Rambo.He was learning what the wordwalkmeant, and his ears perked up.She’d only taken a few steps when she saw Lane headed toward her.
