Fleur De Lies(110)
“Yup.”
“What a crock.”
“Hold on now,” cautioned Bobbi, waving her fingernail file like a magician’s wand. “We might be in the market for new jobs if Victor doesn’t pull through.”
“No way,” argued Dawna. “We’ll have jobs at Mona Michelle forever. Why do you think we’re here starin’ at trees and slappin’ bugs? Because we’re good at what we do. Irreplaceable even.”
“We won’t be keepin’ our jobs at Mona Michelle if there is no Mona Michelle,” threatened Bobbi.
“Shut your mouth,” chided Dawna. “Mona Michelle will be around forever.”
“Not if Virginia has anything to say about it. If Victor takes a turn for the worse and dies, I wouldn’t put it past her to cash in her chips and liquidate the company. She’d do it, too. Just for spite. She hates us. We remind her of her lost youth, and she despises us for it.”
“She can’t do that.” Dawna’s face lost some of its artificial glow. “Can she?”
“You don’t see our promised bonus check being handed out, do you?” asked Bobbi. “The old shrew probably tore it up on the way to the hospital. Believe me, she’ll do anything she wants once Victor’s out of the picture. And first and foremost she’ll wanna get rid of us.”
“But … how’re we gonna find other jobs that pay six figures in this economy? Pretty women always get the plum jobs, but even perfect tens like us might have a hard time this go-round.”
Bobbi flashed a Cheshire cat grin. “So tell me more about this job of yours, Emily. Sounds pretty cushy. Talk to the old folks. Act like you care about what they’re sayin’. Take a head count now and then. Try not to lose any of ’em. Bring ’em back dead or alive. Then you get all the perks. Free plane fare. Free accommodations. Free food. Free optional tours. That sound about right?”
“Just about.”
“What’s the name of the company you work for?”
“Destinations Travel, based in Windsor City, Iowa.”
“Where’s that by?” asked Dawna.
“Windsor City is halfway between Manly and Ames.”
Dawna rolled her eyes. “I was talkin’ about Iowa.”
“We wouldn’t actually have to live there, would we?” asked Bobbi.
“Heck no,” I assured her.
Bobbi smiled with the confidence of a perfect ten. “So how do we apply?”
“The owners aren’t accepting applications.”
Dawna yanked her bustier toward her throat and swung her hair over her shoulders. “They will after we send them our head shots. ”
“I doubt that’ll convince them.”
“If you got hired,” Bobbi said, looking me up and down in mock assessment, “we can get hired.”
“I had special status.”
The girls exchanged a meaningful glance. “So what’d y’all have to do to earn your special status?” taunted Bobbi. “Something naughty?”
“I married the company founder and became co-owner. Goodness, would you look at the time? Gotta run, ladies. See you on the bus.”
Two things occurred to me as I ambled off. First, it seemed apparent that Bobbi and Dawna were more dependent on Victor for job security than Jackie realized, so it was highly unlikely they’d want to kill him. And secondly, the more opinions I gathered about Virginia, the more I began to wonder if my original suspicions had been correct. Who, other than someone connected to the Mona Michelle family, would want to eliminate its top sales rep and its president?