Yeah, that shit was beyond fucked.
I had to add one more stop to my list of errands the next day, it seemed.
“Alright. So, normal day tomorrow. Do your sets. Get the hell out of there. Then the next afternoon, before your shift, I will text you about a meeting. Give you the new dresses, so you can have your phone on you in case anything goes sideways.”
“Sounds good.”
“Got preferences on colors?”
“Black and dark reds tend to be the colors for my job. Oh, there is an emerald-green one they have that is gorgeous, though. And a deep navy. Just… dark. And, obviously, tight. Without being too revealing. The lady there knows me; if you mention me.”
“Perfect. Anything you can tell me about Frank’s office?”
“Aside from it being… packed?”
“Packed? With what?”
“Boxes. He just has stacks of boxes everywhere. New ones, old ones that haven’t been opened so long they have half an inch of dust on them.”
“Did they seem heavy?”
“Maybe the lower ones, but a few fell right off the top when Frank threw the door open.”
I needed to know what was in those boxes.
But not until it was safe to do so.
“Anything else?”
“Everything is really… old. Like… really old. Not just a little out of vogue. The desk was from like the seventies. The printer was ancient. I don’t know if Frank just has no interior design sense or what.”
Frank was a showy guy. Nice suits. Decent jewelry. A guy like that would have a nice office if he could afford it.
Which made me think Remo was right in suspecting something was going on with Frank and the casino. Or Frank and debts.
“Did you notice if the drawers were locked? Or if there was a safe anywhere?”
“I really tried not to look like I was looking around once I noticed the camera. But I don’t think that kind of desk would lock. And I didn’t notice a safe. But with how much junk was around, one could have been hiding anywhere.”
“Alright. Good to know. You okay? Did shit get sketchy?”
“He just… made a comment that didn’t sit right with me. I mean, I guess he always does, though.” She was trying to brush it off. But it clearly was different if she was almost running out of the casino.
“What’d he say?”
“Just… something about how if men get teased long enough, they expect you to make good on it. That kind of thing.”
That kind of thing. Like it was not a big deal that some dick was talking about coercing or forcing a woman into something just because she was flirting.
“He’s a fucking asshole,” I said, getting a surprised chirp of a laugh out of her.
“Yeah, he is that,” she agreed, her smile blooming across her distractingly gorgeous face. “But you’re right; I know how to handle him. I think I was just extra freaked out tonight because I was in his office and worried about him being suspicious. It’ll be fine.”
Some part of me wanted to tell her to forget it. The snooping. The schmoozing.
I wanted to tell her to keep the money and just move on from the place and her asshole boss.
If this was my job, maybe that’s exactly what I would do. But this wasn’t my operation. This was Remo’s call.
