Sure enough, there was a scratch.
It was real.
And, depending on the clarity, that thing could be up to ten grand.
While he was somewhat distracted by that, I carefully slid the box further away from him. Because it was still heavy. There was something in it. And it was hidden under a false bottom.
If it was from Milo, I needed to make sure Frank didn’t see it.
“Who would send you this?” he asked, waving it in my face like an accusation.
“I was just going to see,” I said, reaching for the little off-white envelope sitting inside.
I slid out the notecard inside.
“Well?” Frank asked. His face was getting ruddy. His jaw twitched.
“‘Loved your performance. Hope to catch it again.’ It’s signed… Eric,” I told him. I didn’t have to fake the pinch of my brows when I looked up at him. “Do you know an Eric?” I asked.
“You don’t know him? You didn’t fuck him?”
Okay.
The gasp that escaped me was a little exaggerated. So was the way my hand went to my chest.
But, well, sometimes men were a little dense. You really had to put on a show to get a point across.
“Are you… are you accusing me of what I think you are?” I let hurt and shock slip into my voice.
Frank’s gaze slid to me, taking me in for a second, then deflating like a balloon.
“No! No. No, of course not. I know you’re a good girl.”
Oh.
Blech.
I wasn’t sure there was anything more disgusting than being called a ‘good girl’ by a creepy older man.
“I don’t even know an Eric,” I insisted. “I mean, I meet so many people. But I don’t think I even had a conversation with an Eric.”
“I know Eric,” Frank said, jaw going granite. “And I’ll be talking to him about this.”
He waved the necklace and looked ready to pocket it.
“I can’t keep it?” I asked, making my eyes go round and my lips pout.
I hated fawning.
But it worked like a charm on my boss.
“You girls and your shiny things.”
It took actual work to keep myself from grimacing at him. Just when I thought he couldn’t dig to deeper levels of misogyny, he brought out a shovel.
“I suppose you can keep it. It’s Eric’s loss. But I shouldn’t have to tell you that accepting gifts from men can set a bad precedent. They might start… expecting things in return.”
No shit.
