Page 60 of Family Ties and Alibis

“Yeah. Do you have the goods?”

“The mini recording device?” Mercedes pulled it out of her pocket. “Right here.”

“You distract Ione. Let her chew you out or whatever. Meanwhile, I’ll swing by and slip the recording device into the bottom of her gold bag.”

Mercedes blinked rapidly. “With everyone standing around?”

“Using my sleight-of-hand trick,” Gina quipped. “I wasn’t Marty the Magician’s assistant during college for nothing. If you can distract her, I’ll drop the tiny recorder in her bag.”

“Okey-doke. I’ll get chewed out while you work your magic. By the looks she gave me, Ione plans to corner me sooner rather than later.”

“I’m on it.”

Mercedes handed her the device and hurried off to deliver her drinks and jot down more orders. Picking up the pace, she started to head toward the bar.

Ione stepped directly into Mercedes’ path, blocking her. “Are you goofing off?”

“Huh?”

“Are you also hard of hearing?”

“No.”

“I asked you if you were goofing off,” Ione repeated.

“Of course not,” Mercedes coolly replied.

“What took you so long to bring the drinks? Customers are complaining about how slow you are.”

“The bartenders were in the middle of a shift change. I had to wait.”

“We have more than one bar. You could’ve gone to another one to fill the orders.”

“True.” Mercedes hadn’t thought of walking to the other side of the casino to another bar. “It won’t happen again.”

“What’s your name?”

“Paige.”

“Paige, what?”

“Turner.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is this some sort of joke?”

Mercedes could feel a sudden anger building. Along with her impatience, she possessed another equally illustrious trait. Being a hot-headed Italian. “You got a problem with my name?”

“I’m starting to have a problem with you. This is my domain and I expect it to run smoothly,” Ione lectured. “Guests complaining about having to wait for their complimentary beverages is unacceptable.”

Mercedes gritted her teeth, determined to hold back a snappy reply, yet failing miserably. She shook the notepad in her hand. “How smoothly do you think it’s running at this moment with you holding me up when I have a page full of drink orders I need to fill?”

The poker table grew quiet. All eyes turned to the women. Big, burly Ione glared down at petite, yet feisty Mercedes, who stood with her feet planted on the floor, her eyes flashing with anger.

She noticed a furtive movement near Ione’s usual watch post. It was Gina ducking down behind the table. In a flash, she was back on her feet and tiptoeing away.

Meanwhile, Ione must’ve realized they’d gained a great deal of unwanted attention. “We will discuss this later,” she gritted out. “You’re history.”

“And you’re a witch.” Mercedes stomped off, silently berating herself for losing her cool.