“Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You’re staring at me.” She brushed a lock of golden-brown hair out of her eyes. “I thought maybe something was wrong.”
He looked away. He hadn’t meant to stare. He just had a hard time keeping his eyes off of her.
But he wasn’t the only person in the bar focused on Lily. “Do you know that guy over there?” he asked, and gestured toward the cash register by the door, where a beefy middle-aged man had his gaze fixed on her.
She looked in the direction he had indicated, then straightened. “Mike?”
The man moved toward them. “Hey, Lily!” he said. He glanced at Scott.
“Um, this is Scott. Scott, this is Mike.” No explanation of their relationship. Relative? Friend? Boyfriend? He must be at least fifteen years older than Lily, but some women had a thing for older guys. “How are you, Mike?”
“I’m okay.” He moved in closer and lowered his voice. “I guess Denny got in touch with you?”
Scott angled away slightly and pretended not to listen. But it was impossible not to hear everything they said in these close quarters. And the name Denny intrigued him. Denny as in Denton Endicott?
“He left me a voicemail saying he didn’t need me to babysit tonight,” Lily said. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Not that I know of. The meeting just got canceled at the last minute. I just wondered what he said to you last week. About the shiner.” He pointed to his eye.
“He said he drank too much and fell.”
“That’s what he told me, too,” Mike said.
He didn’t sound convinced. “He looked really rough when he came in that night,” Lily said. The bartender set her drink on the bar, but she made no move to pick it up. “His jacket was torn—like he’d been in a fight.”
Denton Endicott in a fight? Scott sipped his beer and pretended to be watching a couple on the dance floor. Tourists, who had clearly drunk too much. They were executing a series of dips and spins Scott bet would have at least one of them falling flat before the song was over. Meanwhile, he could clearly hear Lily’s conversation with Mike.
“That doesn’t sound like Denny,” Mike said. “I mean, I’ve known him twenty years, and he’s never been in a fight.”
“What about the client he was with that night?” Lily asked. “Do you know him? Or her?”
“Him. And he’s a great guy. Someone else I’ve known for years. No, it must have been a fall.” He laughed. “Denny and I are both getting older. We don’t hold our liquor like we used to.”
“What about this new employee, Preston Smith?” she asked.
Mike’s expression sobered. “How do you know Preston?”
“He came by the house that night, not long after you left. He said he wanted to speak to you. He got kind of annoyed when I wouldn’t let him in.”
“I’m sorry he bothered you. I had no idea.”
“It’s all right. I meant to say something to Denny about it, but then he came in looking so awful and it seemed silly. I mean, the guy didn’t do anything. Did Smith ever get in touch with you?”
“Not that night, but we work together every day.”
“What do you think of him?” she asked.
“He certainly knows his stuff, but I’m not sure he’s a good fit for the organization,” Mike said. “He’s got an attitude.”
“Why did Denny hire him?”
“He’s got excellent credentials and came highly recommended.” Mike shrugged. “As long as he does his work, I guess his personality doesn’t matter. I’ll tell him to stay away from the house, though. He shouldn’t be showing up after hours like that.”
“Mike?” a server, holding a brown paper bag, called from the cash register.
“My order’s up. I’d better go.” He nodded and left.
