Maybe he just… never cleared it out from the previous owner. That was strange, but he also didn’t seem to spend a lot of time in his office. He was usually out working the floor in the casino. Rubbing shoulders with other creeps.
I had just started to go around his desk when I saw it.
A dome security camera in the corner.
Red light on.
Fuck.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck.
I forced my gaze to move casually away, like I didn’t spot it or wasn’t bothered by it.
I found a notepad on the desk, the paper yellowed and a little curled at the edges, grabbed it, and then found a pen, acting like I was just there to see Frank, that I was going to leave a note since he wasn’t around.
I’d just finished scrawling his name as I desperately tried to figure out what the heck to write down when the door flew open. It whacked into the pile of boxes behind the door, knocking the top three ones down.
My whole body jolted.
My heart leapt.
A startled yelp escaped me.
This time, when my hand flew to my chest, it was genuine.
“What are you doing in here?” Frank snapped.
“Frank!” I said, not having to fake the breathlessness in my voice. “You startled me!”
“What are you doing in here?”
He wasn’t usually so sharp with me.
Some part of me wanted to scuttle behind the desk, put it between the two of us.
The other part reminded me that I’d been handling Frank with kid gloves since I started working here. If I could get him away from me when I was undressed, I could damn sure extract myself from this situation.
“I was looking for you,” I said, adding a little eye roll like he was beingsosilly. “I was just leaving you a note,” I added, flashing the notepad at him.
“Why? You’ve never come here before.”
“Well, I was just… I was a little worried…”
I let it hang.
He was always quick to bite at the bait.
“Worried about what?” he asked, some of the tightness in his shoulders easing.
“Well, this,” I said, pressing my hand to the diamond necklace. “You seemed really upset about it. And I didn’t want you to be mad at me. I swear I didn’t do anything to invite this present.”
“That,” Frank said, exhaling hard. “Don’t worry. I spoke to Eric. He won’t be making you uncomfortable like that ever again.”
That sounded so final.
I really hoped poor Eric was still, you know, living.
I mean, I had no proof that Frank was some kind of killer. But he had such a fragile ego that it wouldn’t surprise me if he was quick to violence when he felt insulted.
