“I have work to do.” Teddy stepped back.
Kellan let him. “Always diligent. That’s what I like about you. I’ll see you soon.”
Teddy closed his eyes at the words because he knew they were true. Like it or not, he would be seeing Kellan again. In the most unexpected places. When he least needed it. He was omnipresent. He knew everything, and Teddy wished there was a place to hide from him.
He opened his eyes again only to find himself standing alone, with Saint calling his name over and over again.
He walked over, forcing a polite, neutral smile onto his face.
“Everything good?” Saint asked, a small frown between his brows. “What did he want?”
“Nothing. Everything is fine.”
Saint looked past him to where Kellan had disappeared. “He’s always bugging you.”
“I’m the face of the team, that’s all. Ready to go in?”
Saint ran a hand over the back of his neck. “About that. There might be a slight problem.”
Teddy looked from him to the doorman, who quickly schooled his expression into blankness. It wasn’t completely natural on him, but to the untrained eye it was believable enough.
“Hi,” Teddy greeted, stepping closer to the stairs.
“The proprietor told you last time that the guests are getting antsy with all these cursebreaker visits. It’s bad for business. I’m not supposed to let you in.”
Teddy shared a look with Saint, who was unsubtly jerking his head toward the guy and asking him to do something with his eyes. Teddy sighed internally before turning to the man with a placating smile.
“Surely anything getting out about the…unfortunate incidents would be worse for business than us?” Teddy said.
Green eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. “Is that a threat?”
“Of course not. We are bound by contract not to discuss cases outside of cursebreaker official business and we stand by that completely,” Teddy said amicably. “I’m simply stating facts. We’re more than happy to leave, but we’d really prefer to be able to clear this case and wipe the slate clean instead of sweeping it under the rug. Those pesky things can’t hold much, anyway. Especially the fancy ones.”
The doorman snorted, the light joke breaking through his professionalism. “Don’t I know it.”
He seemed to catch what he had said a second later and grimaced. Teddy chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest casually. “I bet you see and hear a whole lot.”
“People forget you’re there when they treat you like an object,” the doorman grumbled. “Even with this ridiculous hat.”
Teddy laughed again. “Commiserations, man.”
That garnered a smile before it fell. “She really doesn’t like it though. She thinks it’s a bad look.”
“I get it, and I wouldn’t want you to risk anything on our behalf. I know this job is probably stressful enough.”
“I’m really sorry.”
“It’s all good. I’ll make an appointment with her and see if we can smooth it over and come back.” Saint made a noise of protest that Teddy ignored. “Have a good one. Hang in there.”
He waved and turned, dragging Saint with him.
“What the heck are you doing?” Saint said under his breath. “I thought you were going to do that charming thing and get us inside!”
“Not everything can be fixed with a silver tongue, you know.”
“But that’s yourthing!”
“Is it?”
