“Is she alone?”
“Yeah, the boss went home ten minutes ago. Wednesday nights are slow, so it’s usually us and a few stragglers once the kitchen closes. Why? What’s wrong?”
“A feeling. Is there a back door?”
“Of course. Fire code.”
I stood up.
“Is it kept locked?”
“If she’s doing trash, she might have propped it open.”
I wasted no time heading for the front door. Something was going on. If I was wrong, we could laugh about it together.
“What should I do?” Neil called after me.
“Hold down the fort. I’ve got this.”
As I neared the back of the building, Dani’s strained voice reached my ears.
“Go away, Beau. I’m at work. You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“Aw, baby, don’t be like that. You’ve been avoiding me. Where else am I supposed to see you if you if I don’t come here? I want to help you.”
“I told you earlier I’d call the bank myself.”
I waited in the shadow of the building. Maybe I should feel bad about eavesdropping, but I don’t.
“Baby, you’re no good at money stuff. Calling the bank is going to be time consuming. Let me do it for you. Phone calls stress you out.”
“I’m not a child. My design work requires me to make phone calls all the time. I’m perfectly capable of calling the bank about my own account to resolve the problem. Did you bring the letter?”
Beau shifted gears, and his conciliatory tone grated.
“Of course you can do it,” he soothed. “But you’re so busy already, baby, and now you’re taking care of your dad, too. All I want to do is help you, make things easier. Customer service always takes forever. Let me take this off your plate.”
Please don’t give in to his bullshit, Dani. See through his lies.
“You need to leave, Beau. I’m at work, and I don’t have time for this. I already said I’d handle it myself.”
Like a switch was flipped, Beau dropped all pretense at generosity.
“Why are you being such a selfish, stupid bitch?”
In seconds, he grabbed her by the forearms and shook her, more vigorously than he had in her parents’ driveway. Dani’s eyes widened with trepidation. She was so tiny and fragile-looking as he jostled her around like a rag doll.
“Do what I fucking said,” he raged. “I’m the man. Quit arguing with me.”
“It’s time for you to go, Beau,” I said with a calm I didn’t possess.
Beau whipped his head around to glare at me.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Looking out for my friend. Dani asked you to leave. She was polite about it, but I won’t be.”
“Mind your own fucking business.”
