The manager looked to me now and put on a fake smile. “Hi, there, sir. Can I help you with anything tonight?”
“No, thank you,” I said. “As I told your other employee, I’m not here to purchase anything.”
Instantly Lewis’s expression changed. “Ah. Just looking around, then?”
“Not particularly.”
Lewis scowled. “‘Scuse me?”
Jess began to look a bit nervous, her eyes darting between her boss and I. Caleb looked uncomfortable as well, but for a different reason.
With a pompous air, Lewis lumbered towards me. He was forced to look up at me given our height difference, which I was sure didn’t please him one bit.
“Listen, sir,” Lewis said firmly. “If you’re not here to buy anything or even pretend to, you can leave.”
Caleb’s face paled.
Maybe I should explain before he and Jess die of fear and/or embarrassment.
“Sir,” I said, mocking Lewis’s tone, “I do, in fact, have business at this establishment.”
“Oh? And that is?”
“I am Caleb Foster’s bodyguard,” I told him.
I reached into my pocket.
“Hey!” Lewis yelled nervously. “Get your hands out of there! I’ll call the cops, I swear!”
Caleb melted into the counter like he wanted to disappear.
I sighed.Humans sure have gotten dramatic in the past few hundred years…
With a quick motion, I pulled out my business card and handed it to Lewis. He scowled and snatched it from me.
“What is this? Why are you - “ He stopped complaining when he read the text. “Oh.”
He handed the card back to me and his demeanor changed completely. He struggled to meet my gaze. “Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Tenebrae. A-am I saying that right?Tennybray?”
Jess piped up. “Huh? Tenebrae?”
“No, it’s me who should be sorry for troubling you,” I said. “My name is Adriel Tenebrae, and my familyownsthis establishment.”
