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I walkedinto work with a spring in my step that had been missing for far too long.
Once on Mahogany Row, I carefully avoided looking toward Dennis’s office as I passed Cindy and moved to my office.
Cindy followed me a few seconds later. “How did it go?”
I unlocked my door and slid inside. “Fine, I guess.”
It had been two days of contradictions, with everything happening the opposite of the way it was supposed to.
“Did he do right by you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know yet. There were other people at the table. He said we’d talk when I got in.”
“Well, then go on in and ask.”
I didn’t feel comfortable about this. It was too surreal to be reality. “Is this your doing?”
“Absolutely not. You’re the one who pulled the rabbit out of the hat.”
That praise got a smile out of me.
She lingered by the door. “He tests people when they’re new, and you passed. He tried to call you after you left.”
“I know. My phone was dead.” Not true, but that was my story.
“He told me he’d decided to give you a raise, but you’d already left. Pretty good for your first day, I’d say.”
My smile grew. By her measure, I had done well, even if it was by accident. And a boss that showed he appreciated me—that was a new feeling. “Yeah. It didn’t go quite as I’d expected.”
“It never does. Go down there and get the good news. You deserve it.” The sound of a phone ringing pulled her away.
I touched up my lip gloss before marching the few steps to Dennis’s office.
He was on the phone. “Sure, Dad, I won’t forget.” His voice didn’t carry any of the harshness I’d heard from him yesterday, but then it shouldn’t when he was talking with his family. He noticed me and held up a finger to indicate a delay.
I wondered what he wasn’t supposed to forget, but then I was always too curious about Dennis, and for all the wrong reasons. I leaned against the wall, and it occurred to me that in all my plotting to take him down, not once had I considered that he had a family.
To me he had always been the devil, the cause of pain inmyfamily. But he had a family too, and I hadn’t considered the effects my actions might have on them. However, he hadn’t either a few years ago.
He hung up and urged me in. “Close the door.”
As I walked in to take a seat, I caught him scanning me—and not just my face.
For a moment, his eyes held mine with a laser-like focus.
I returned his gaze without a blink. “You said we should talk.”
Surrealwasn’t a good enough word for this situation. Yesterday I’d helped the man who killed my stepfather, and now he’d expect me to thank him for a raise. That wasn’t happening.
Chapter 13
Dennis
When I hungup and motioned her in, I couldn’t help but see a different girl than the one I’d met yesterday.
She didn’t break eye contact—very interesting.
“You said we should talk.” She returned my gaze with intensity.
