by Lucy Smoke
“I think that’s a splendid idea, Mr. Daschund,” Marv said. “If you’ll excuse us.”
As we walked, Marv leaned down to my ear. “You’re doing good.”
“You could have told me about the name change in advance,” I whispered back.
“You need to know how to handle unexpected changes under pressure,” he replied. “I kept it somewhat close.”
Suddenly, his head jerked up and his eyes narrowed. I didn’t have a moment to look towards where he was staring because with my hand in his, Marv marched to the middle of the dance floor and spun me on my heels to face him. He clasped my palm and his other hand moved to the small of my back. I didn’t know how to dance; my eyes lingered on the tips of my high-heels, making sure that I didn’t step on his toes as he hauled me around the dance floor with the other couples. Every once in a while I peeked up at him, and his jaw remained hardened as if he were angry.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Your friend is here.” The bite in his tone confused me. I twisted my head. “Don’t look,” he hissed. “Don’t make it obvious.”
“Who?”
“Caruso,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Grayson is here?” No, he couldn’t be. It was even more difficult, knowing that’s who he had spotted, to not glance around to try and find him.
“Yes.”
“Are you sure it’s him?” I demanded. “Maybe it’s someone else.”
He looked down at me. “Did you tell him where you would be tonight?”
I blinked, shocked. “How could I?” I snapped. “I didn’t even know yet.”
Marv glared down at me, his gray eyes flashing with confusion and anger. I raised my chin and hoped that I didn’t trip in the midst of this stare-off. Finally, he sighed and broke my gaze.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to accuse you.”
Something squawked in my ear and I jumped, almost head-butting Marv in the chin. Texas’ smooth voice came through the ear device that I had almost forgotten about.
“What’s going on?”
I looked across the grand ballroom as though I could see him through the walls. Before I could open my mouth though, Marv nudged my face back to his.
“If you’re going to talk to them, look at me,” he advised. “Make it look like you’re talking to me and not to some creeper in the basement listening in.” He smiled.
“I’m in the fucking security room, asshole!” Texas snapped. “Oh, wait. He can’t hear me. Tell him he’s an asshole, Harlow.” His voice grew slightly muffled as he spoke to someone else – likely Knix. “No. I will not stop being childish. Marv called me a creeper. If I’m a creeper, you’re a creeper.”
I grinned. “Texas wants me to tell you–” Marv pressed a finger to my lips, his eyes squinting in amusement.
“–fine!” Texas’ tone cleared. “You still there, Harlow?”
“Yup.”
“Okay, so we’ve got a list of guests here. We need you and Marv to check out and talk to a few of the couples who have been to this resort and haven’t been targeted. Then you can check out the family members of the board members of Sweratt Inc.”
“Is Caruso on the list?” Marv asked. I looked up at him, biting my lip. Would they be angry too?
“What the fuck?!” Texas’ curse made me flinch. He was completely different on the job than he had been on his own, or maybe he was coming out of his shell now that he felt I was more a part of their team rather than someone they just hung out with. “Who is this kid? Hold on, Harlow, Knix wants you.”
I listened to the sound of a speaker of some sort on the other end being moved. I heard the intake of breath as a new person took over my direct line. Before Knix could speak though, I gritted my teeth and snapped back.
“I did not invite him or tell him where I would be.”
There was a pause, a brief moment of breathing. “Good to know. Look to your left and you’ll see Bellamy. Do so very slowly as though you’re just checking out the room around you. Actually–” His voice quieted, becoming slightly farther away as he spoke to someone else. “Tell Marv to spin her.”
Seconds later, Marv twirled me and I scanned the room while still trying to keep my footing. Broad shoulders in a black dress shirt and pair of slacks matching the rest of the waiters caught my eye.
“In a few minutes, Marv is going to take you over to greet a few people closer to the windows on the far-left side of the ballroom. When he does, Bellamy is going to stop you and offer you a drink. Take it. The glass he offers you has a small bug in the stem. I want you to place it on the table next to the group as close as you can without being conspicuous. Can you do that?”
I started to nod before I stopped myself. I guessed he had cameras watching, otherwise he wouldn’t know where to send me. “Yes,” I answered.
“Good.” My heart pounded. “And Caruso would have been here whether or not you had agreed,” he said. “His father is one of the Sweratt’s executive directors.”
Marv led me off the dance floor as the song ended and we made our way across the ballroom towards a group of three people, all older than forty. A shadow crossed the corner of my eye and I turned as Bellamy pulled up next to us.
“Can I offer you a drink, Ma’am?” He held his tray out with one hand and I grinned. His balancing skill was astronomical. He turned the tray with his opposite hand, nodding toward the glass on the edge.
“Thank you.” I picked it up. He nodded once to me before sharing a look with Marv that would have taken me much longer than it lasted to unpack.
“Olivia!” Marv called out as we neared the group. A tall, thin, blonde woman turned towards us.
“Marvin?” The tone of her voice was tight and nasally. “How lovely to see you!” Her lips stretched across her face. She took one look at me and the smile dipped into a grimace. “Who do we have here?”
“This is my girlfriend, Harley.” Marv introduced me with a wave of his hand before asking about the woman’s business and her sons. She shot irritated glances at me throughout the entire conversation for reasons I could not understand. After several minutes of monotonous dialogue where Marv introduced me to Olivia’s associates, and they tipped their noses at me, only nodding my way in acknowledgement, I was ready to go.
“Alright, well, we’ve taken up too much of your time, Olivia. It really was good to see you. I think Harley and I will make the rounds before heading out.”
As we turned, my heels caught on the floor and I stumbled. Marv’s hands grasped me around the shoulders and my free hand went out to catch the table nearby. I set the glass down a bit harder than I meant to. But Olivia was so focused on my misstep, smirking and whispering to her friends that she wasn’t paying attention to the glass that I left behind. I almost hoped the boys caught her doing or saying something she shouldn’t. I had the feeling she wasn’t a very nice lady.
“Are you okay?” Marv asked.
“Perfectly fine.” I smiled, feeling accomplished. “Let’s go make those rounds. I’m ready to get out of here.”
No matter how ready I was to go home and crawl into bed, Knix had us drop two more glasses around the room where certain groups were congregating. I pushed back more than a few yawns as it grew closer and closer to midnight. We were standing near one of the windows arching over the left side of the ballroom, Marv rubbing the middle of my back, and I was attempting not to fall asleep right there in his arms – rich people parties were quite boring – when a familiar sounding voice barked out a laugh to our right.
“I would have never guessed it!” Golden locks brushed the back of his neck and his smile was the sincerest one of his little posse. He looked so familiar. Blue eyes. Tan skin. Where had I seen him before?
My eyes settled on Grayson, standing just to his side and I realized that I had never met this boy before. Grayson looked strangely odd dressed up, but not in a way that detracted from his handsome features. The top button of his dress shirt was undone and he wore no
tie. The boy at his side was obviously related to him, probably closely – a brother? I thought. Standing side by side, they could have been twins. The other boy, however, was just a smidge shorter, with hips more slender and narrow than Grayson’s. His face was rounder as well, his chin dimpled. Grayson watched him with a hint of boredom.
“Josh,” Grayson muttered, pulling the other boy closer. “I think you’ve had enough. It’s time to leave.”
“Nonsense!” Josh said, slinging Grayson’s arm away. “We’re just getting started.” Josh moved away from Grayson and slung an arm around a younger girl with plump, rosy cheeks. “I think we should head to one of the clubs after this. Go have us a real party, get some fun in before the night’s over!”
“That’s his older brother,” Marv whispered, confirming my suspicions. “Joshua Caruso. Twenty-five, lives off of his father’s money. The parents split two years ago. Grayson lives with the mother.” It seemed likely that Knix had ordered Texas to look up all sorts of information about Grayson and while a part of me felt a little bad that they all thought Grayson was not to be trusted, I was actually grateful for the information. I wanted to know more. Like why was Grayson babysitting his older brother at his father’s company function?
Marv tilted his head in the other direction and I suspected either Knix or Texas was telling him something. He slowly straightened and moved around me as though to block me from view, nudging me towards the doorway.
“Time to go,” he said.
“What’s going on?” Did Grayson spot us? Did someone start checking out the glasses we had been placing all over the ballroom? Were we in trouble? My mind raced with all of the horrible things that could have gone wrong. I was sure I had messed up somewhere. I thought I had been so clever, but maybe I was just foolish. My ego took a dive and my heart beat an impatient rhythm to know what I had done.
“Nothing,” Marv said. “We’re just done. I’m tired. You’re tired. Let’s go get some sleep and regroup tomorrow.”
I could have pummeled him. That was it? He had put on that serious face and I let my thoughts jump to all sorts of confusion because of it. I imagined that Knix had told him we had done enough, and the moment he had been given the go ahead, he was rushing me out. I huffed in irritation as he led me out into the hallway and back towards the lobby. The same valet waited just outside in the hot summer air, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his neck.
“Give me just a few moments, sir.” He smiled, revealing a row of slightly crooked teeth. It made him appear younger and rather charming. “I’ll be right back with your vehicle.” Marv nodded, and the young man strode away.
Cars drove past the front of the hotel and couples walked by, hand in hand. The lights from the buildings blocked out the stars and no matter how hard I squinted at the sky, I couldn’t see them. Marv bumped my elbow with his.
“What did you think?”
“About what?” My hand dropped to sift through the layers of fabric around my thighs.
“The party?”
“It was…” How did I put it nicely? “Intense,” I finally decided on. “Not really what I expected.”
“What did you expect?” Marv leaned against the side of the building, crossing his arms over his chest with an interested smile.
“I don’t really know,” I admitted. “But it’s not really my scene. I felt…”
“Different?” he supplied as I trailed off. I blushed, looking at the ground. He wasn’t wrong. “Yeah, I get that. I’m not really a fan of the parties myself. You did a good job tonight, though, with the job.”
I lurched, my head rising, my eyes glancing around. “Are we supposed to talk about that out here?”
He shrugged. “No one’s around.”
Lights flashed and Marv’s dark BMW stopped in front of us. The young man stepped out of the vehicle and made his way around to open the door for me. I smiled and thanked him as Marv handed him a bill that made his eyes widen.
I was so tired that by the time we got back on the interstate to head home, I found myself fading. Marv left the radio off and the soft thrum of the car over pavement lulled me. The car glided so soft and smoothly, it felt as though we were floating. My eyes slipped closed, only bits of light from other cars and highway lamps filtering through.
What felt like only moments later, a car door was quietly shut as Marv got out. I groaned and stretched, curling my toes into the soft floor mats of the BMW – my heels had fallen off sometime while I slept. The passenger side door opened and I blinked up as Marv reached across me and unbuckled my seat belt.
“I can do it,” I slurred.
“I know, Sunshine.” As he leaned back, Marv’s cheek brushed mine and his lips pressed to the corner of my mouth. “Let’s get you inside.” Marv helped me out of the car and I realized that we weren’t at the guys’ place. We were in my neighborhood, with the darkened windows and the smell of the trash rolling to the end of the driveways, up and down the streets, lingering in the air. Disappointment crawled up my throat, quickly followed by guilt. I looked down at my dress and realized Marv’s suit jacket had slid to the ground. I bent to retrieve it. He must have put it on me after I fell asleep. Marv leaned over again, purposefully kissing my cheek this time. “I’ll see you in a bit,” he said. “Get inside.”
I nodded and reluctantly climbed the front steps to my side of the duplex. I opened the door and slipped inside. I didn’t bother to peek out the window and watch him drive away. I didn’t want to see it.
The house was dark and smelled musty, as though no one had been home for a while. I started to wonder if it had always smelled that way. I snuck to my mom’s bedroom door, hearing her light snores. I peeked in through the crack and noticed that fresh water sat on her bedside and a new snack had been placed there as well. I felt thankful and ashamed. I hadn’t even thought of her for hours. I didn’t worry when I was with the boys, and not worrying felt wrong somehow.
When I stepped inside my room, wind whistled in through the opened bedroom window and I stopped in startled confusion when Marv stood there, slowly pulling his tie from around his neck and unbuttoning his expensive dress shirt.
“What…”
“Shh.” He pressed a finger to his lips before winking. “I’m pretty tired myself and we’ve established that your bed can hold two. Mind if I stay the night again?” His shirt was already halfway unbuttoned. I nodded and watched as he pulled the shirt out of his pants and laid it across my rickety, old chair. When he began to undo his belt, I whirled in panic, remembering that I hadn’t closed my door and quickly closed it. I heard sheets shift behind me, and I took a deep breath before crossing the room to grab a ratty t-shirt and a pair of boy shorts. I peered out into the hall before escaping my room to change in the bathroom, and finally, I took out my hearing device before ducking back into the bedroom minutes later. I hung my dress on the back of my closet door as Marv fiddled with his phone, texting. I lifted the covers, and crawled in next to him.
“Here’s yours,” he said absentmindedly, handing me my phone. “I kept it while we were at the party.”
“Thanks.” I took the phone, staring at the blank screen. After getting dressed at the guys’ apartment, I’d left it lying on the bathroom counter, and had forgotten about it completely. I was glad he hadn’t. I checked the messages.
Knix:Tomorrow we continue training.
Bellamy:I’m sorry I yelled at you earlier. You did great tonight.
Texas:Impressive. See you tomorrow.
I was torn between wanting to sigh, grimace, or grin. Knix’s text left me feeling tired all over again. Bellamy’s reminded me of that kiss, and I didn’t know how to take it. Texas’, at least, made me feel like smiling. It wasn’t serious for a change.
I handed the phone back to Marv, asking him to put it on the charger. We settled into bed, his front to my back, the heat from his skin seeping into me through my clothes. Somehow even with the hot, southern, summer air filtering in through the windo
w, and Marv the furnace smelling like dark coffee, I was comfortable.
Chapter 15
The air in the room was heavy with heat, sunlight pouring in, filling every crevice in the space with its blistering temperature. The sheets were thrown from my body and I lay, awkwardly, half on the bed, half off, with my left hand and foot grazing the floor. I groaned, rolling over to face the ceiling, the muscles in my legs and back cracking with every movement. It was then that I realized that I was alone in bed.
Sitting up, I scanned the room. His clothes were gone, except for his jacket that was slung over the back of the chair stationed in the corner of my bedroom. The window was shut, though the blinds were still pulled up. If he left the way he came, it would have been difficult for him to lower them on the other side, but at least he had closed the window. During the night, I hadn’t minded the warm air so much. Now, I could practically feel myself baking.
I leapt from the bed and hurried over to lower the blinds. Though the room dimmed, it did so only marginally. To me, the room looked used. Not lived-in-used, but tired, chipped chair in the corner, sagging mattress – I didn’t know how Marv had stood to sleep on it when I was sure he had a much nicer bed at home – and even the old leaning dresser, with more scars than any functional dresser should have. There was still a small heart in the lower portion of the front left leg that I had carved when I was twelve.
I sighed, reaching up to pull my hair away from my neck and twist it up into a bun to let my skin breathe. As was becoming habit, I went through my phone and let my thoughts consume me. Time: 9:43 am. When had Marv left? It felt weird not being in school. I hadn’t replied to any of the messages from last night, but there was a new one from Knix.
Knix:Pick you up at 11.
I sighed and put the phone down before stretching again, popping even more tired muscles. The house hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned since before I got the job at Alex’s Diner and it was in sore neglect. I began by picking up my room, throwing dirty clothes into the washer, and then the dryer. Hunting through the house, I listened to the soft movements of our neighbors on the other side of the wall. They were loudest in the hallway right outside of my mom’s bedroom door and I hoped they wouldn’t wake her. She was finally sleeping peacefully.