“No, that went fine. We have a new doc,” Mal jumps in.
“Then—” Numbers stops suddenly, and I’m sure Mal is giving him the “shut the fuck up” look. “That’s good, because Phil’s been complaining about the stitches Chef gave him. To which Chef brandished a cleaver and told him she could ‘fix it.’”
Chefs, man. They are an angry breed.
Mal gives a low whistle. “She’s the one who feeds us. I wouldn’t want to piss her off.”
“Me neither. Who was that with him?”
“His brother, Rory. He was attacked, and the doc asked for them to pay,” Mal fills him in quickly.
“No wonder he looked so nervous out there. He’s just a tiny slip of a thing.”
“He’s stronger than he thinks,” I add.
“And how do you know that?” Mal smirks.
“We spoke in the hall.”
“I hope you didn’t scare him too bad,” Numbers teases.
I shrug.
“But I doubt he knew who you were,” Mal adds.
“You’re in his corner now, so he has no reason to fear you.” Numbers shrugs.
“I’m sure his brother didn’t tell him anything about your meeting,” Mal points out.
“Other than the trip to the most magical place on earth?” Numbers looks over at me with a grin.
“They need an alibi,” I say again, and how did he find out so fast?
“I’m sure they’ll have lots of fun.”
After seeing that scared look in Rory’s eyes, the idea of him smiling makes me want to do more for him to chase away the demons. I almost laugh out loud. I’m worse than any demon in hell.
“You okay, boss? You’re smiling,” Mal teases, and I glare at him.
“He deserves something nice.” I shrug, and Mal just stares at me. I growl, and he grins. He knows me better than anyone else. “Don’t fucking analyze me.”
“Now you’re getting testy.”
“Leave it,” I order, and he puts up his hands in mock surrender.
“How about some good news?” Numbers says in an overly cheery voice. He drawls on about money and productivity and new shipments.
Personally, I hate all of this shit, but I need someone to make sure we’re staying profitable, and I need to check in so they all know I’m looking.
I trust Numbers. He’s been with me from the beginning, just like Mal. He’s smart as hell and probably could have gotten a more respectable job, but he makes more money with me than he ever would in the private sector; plus, he’s my friend.
I wonder if Rory has any close friends. I know he has his brother. Maybe I should find a way to help him.
Like paying off his college tuition or his medical bills. I bet those are enormous. Those?—
“All of your warehouses have been burned to the ground, and our records have been seized by the police.”
I look up and flip Numbers the finger.
