“Who did you bring with you, James?”
“Hey, Mr. Willis,” James says, pulling me with him over to the bed. “I’m glad you’re doing well.”
“They’ve failed to kill me so far, though the nurses are certainly doing their best with this sorry excuse for food.”
I laugh in spite of myself, and Mr. Willis’s eyes focus on me again.
“This is Vera Caldwell,” James says. “My…” He looks at me, and I don’t know what he’s going to say. How do you describe us and the backwards way we went about things? “She’s my girlfriend.”
A glow, warm and golden, slides through me as I extend my hand toward Mr. Willis. “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry about the food.”
He pushes his glasses up his nose and inspects me. “Well,” he says, “I can already tell you’re far too good for our James.” I think I see a hint of teasing beneath his cranky facade.
“I doubt that.”
“Well,” he says, “pull up a chair and tell me about yourself and we’ll find out.”
“That’s a good idea,” Mike interrupts from across the room. “I need to talk to James for a minute about picking the slack back up at work. So you two talk, and James and I will step outside.”
“Sure,” I say, nervous as all get out. I tend to be shy with new people. James gives my shoulder a squeeze as he heads for the door, and I’m left alone with Mr. Willis.
“So,” he says, all pretense of a grumpy old man fading away, “what kind of dirt do you want on James? Because I know it all and am happy to give you enough blackmail material to last for the rest of your life.”
My laugh echoes through the room. I think I’m going to like Mr. Willis.
15
James
“Man, are you crazy?” Mike asks me as soon as the door closes behind us. “What on earth are you doing with Vera Caldwell? You trying to get me fired?”
“Don’t worry. Your job is perfectly safe,” I say. “And I don’t know what to tell you. It just…happened.”
“How does that just happen?”
I give him a look. “I’m not going to give you the dirty details.”
Mike shakes his head. “I thought you weren’t into screwing the rich chicks after what happened with Briana?”
“This is different,” I say.
“How?”
I glance through the window in the door, seeing Vera and Mr. Willis laughing together. I have no doubt they’ll be fast friends. There’s no one I can think of that doesn’t like Mr. Willis. “It just is,” I say, shrugging. “There’s something between us. I can’t explain it.”
“So she was the something that came up?”
I clear my throat. “I don’t want to say too much because it’s her business, but she had a fight with her father. The kind of fight that impacts the rest of your life. So she’s staying with me for the weekend.”
“You took her to your house?” I think Mike might collapse from shock.
I look away from him again, watching Vera through the window. “Yeah, I did.”
“Does she know that you never bring anyone to your house?”
“She knows my family history if that’s what you’re asking.” I shove my hands in my pockets.
Mike takes his turn looking through the window and into the room. “Yeah, but does she know you’ve never brought a woman to your house?”
I roll my eyes. “It’s not a conspiracy, Mike. It just never felt right.”
“Then you’re right,” he says. “There is something between you two.”
“Yeah.”
He stretches, his full body extending, and I can hear the bones in his joints crack. “Okay, fine,” he says. “I’m still a little weirded out, but just tell me. How much do you like her?”
I look over at him. “I like her.” I’m not sure how much I can get across with just those three words, but I try, hoping that he understands.
He looks at me for a second. “Okay. Then I’m happy for you, man.”
“Thanks.”
“So those tools you left sitting out…”
I sigh, “They’re in the back corner of the property. I’d bet a large amount of money neither of the Caldwells will go back that far on the grounds in the next couple of days.”
“Fine.”
“But Mike,” I say, “When you do go back, maybe don’t mention me.”
“Because you slept with the boss’s daughter?”
I grin. “Yep.”
He shakes his head. “As long as I’m not fired, I’ll say whatever you need me to say, or not say.”