DeShawn sucked in a loud lungful of air. His hands clamped down on his stomach. “Stop. Stop, you’re killing me.”
She crossed her arms and tapped a foot. The look on her face would have scared Wyatt straight if he’d been a kid DeShawn’s age. Then the corners of her mouth began losing the battle with her own laughter.
“Former National Guard. Who even calls anyone that? I cannot believe you fell for it,” DeShawn said between gasps for air.
“Oh, Josh is dead meat. Dead. Meat. Go scrub a toilet or something. Let me talk to the fucking new guy.”
After DeShawn left the room, still laughing, Sadie turned to Wyatt. Her coloring had returned to the pink, and he was struck again by how pretty she was. And funny. And tough. And smart. And how much she was going to hate him when this was over. All the joy of the little prank left him and his guts turned to lead.
“I’m checking in with you. How’s it going with DeShawn?”
He picked up the rag and returned to cleaning the microwave. “It’s going well. He’s a good teacher. Organized and patient. I can see how good he is, and having a...FNG must slow him down, but he doesn’t show it.”
Her cheeks pinked again and it made him smile.
“Good. Exactly what I like to hear. How about you? Is the job about what you expected?”
“Mostly. I didn’t realize the extent of the planning and record keeping. I can see why you’re blowing away the competition.”
“We.”
“Huh?”
“We are blowing away the completion. The Crew isn’t me. It’s you. You guys do the work. I’m only the ringmaster of this circus.”
“Whatever you do, your clowns love you. That’s a big part of the success.”
Her lips parted and she drew in a breath. Her expression showed a bit of puzzlement, as if she didn’t know if she should believe him or not. “Thanks.”
“I can see why that guy Marcus is floundering, trying to get an idea of how to compete with you. What you are doing is completely different and not just the guy-cleaning-your-house gimmick. You keep your employees happy. And happy employees do a better job.”
“I try.”
“I think you’re doing better than trying.”
Sadie laughed. “I think I’ll have you follow me around all day, giving me pep talks.”
“Do you need pep talks?”
A brief flicker of uncertainty surfaced in the blue depths of her eyes. His hand twitched, wanting to touch her porcelain skin. Would it be like silk beneath his fingertips? Would he feel the heat of her easy blushes? She held his gaze as if she couldn’t quite look away. A wave of desire washed over him. No. This was bad. He returned his attention to the spotless microwave and began wiping the inside of it.
“We can all use a pep talk from time to time. Anyway, I was checking in. If you have any questions or need anything, my number is in the information packet.” She started to leave but stopped at the door. “How’s Julietta?”
He sprayed more cleaner on the rag and glanced over at her. “She’s doing well. Told me her mother used to make pancakes on Sunday mornings. We tried it for dinner last night.”
“You made her pancakes? How’d that go?”
He paused, looked down, laughed. “She appreciated the effort, I think.”
“Are you bringing her to the first Friday feast tomorrow?”
“I meant to ask. What is it exactly?”
“First Friday of every month, Molly and I cook. We have a family dinner.”
“Not sure how she’d do in a large crowd of strangers.”
“I understand. If she gets overwhelmed, she can play with Jack up in my apartment.”
“I’ll see what she thinks about it.”
“Great. Hope to see you both.”
Yeah. That’s not going to happen. He had a meeting with Marcus Canard scheduled for later. A meeting during which he was going to end this investigation. He refused to take any more money from Canard. And he was feeling guilty about the money Sadie was spending to train him. Then he’d have to quit the Cleaning Crew. Hopefully without her ever learning what a scumbag he was.
* * *
MORE THAN A little angry after Marcus had him wait in the threadbare lobby of his office, Wyatt got straight to the point. “There is nothing illegal going on at the Cleaning Crew.”
“You haven’t been there long enough. They aren’t going to let you in on everything in your first week. I told you this would be a long assignment. You said it wouldn’t be a problem and you could clear your entire caseload to take this on. I even asked Henry first before appropriating his favorite private cop.”
Wyatt sat back but didn’t break eye contact. “That’s true. But I have a serious problem continuing an investigation when it isn’t warranted. There is no evidence of wrongdoing. You’re throwing away your money.”
“What I do with my money is my business. And I didn’t see anything about your training.”
“Now you are talking about corporate espionage. I don’t do that. Understand? You hired me to find out if there was illegal activity going on. Not to spy on their business practices.”
Marcus lifted his hands. “Fine. You’ve got principles. I want you in there for at least a week or two more.”
Wyatt shook his head. “No. I’ve concluded this investigation. If you don’t like my results, hire someone else to do it.”
He stood to go. To hell with this.
“Well, that’s a real shame, son. If my recollection is correct, when Henry introduced us, he said you did whatever needed to get the job done. A bulldog, he called you. He’s going to be mighty disappointed when I tell him you crapped out on me.”
“I didn’t. You don’t like my findings.”
Marcus leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands across his gut. He smiled, exposing his teeth, but his eyes stayed cold. “Henry does my insurance. Gosh, if he was so off in his judgment of you, maybe he’s off with his judgment of my assets. Maybe I’ll have to tell him I’m going to move my business elsewhere.”
Wyatt’s hands clenched along with his jaw. “That’s blackmail,” he said.
Walk out, part of him screamed. Tell him to shove it and walk out. And six months ago, he would have. He would have banked on his relationship with Henry being strong enough. He couldn’t believe Marcus paid more in premiums than he saved for Henry by proving fraud. Surely he was a bigger asset. But now he had Julietta to consider. Keeping her in therapy. And a stable environment.
“I’m not blackmailing you. I’m stating how disappointed I am in a business associate’s judgment.”
“Fine. One more week. If I don’t get a hint of anything by then, then there isn’t anything. Agreed?”
“Sure. Thanks. I always appreciate someone who can see the big picture. Because we all depend on each other, don’t we?”
Wyatt managed to not slam the door as he left. He wanted to drive straight home and take a shower. Dealing with Marcus always left him feeling dirty. He sat in the car, trying to calm the anger before he went home to Julietta. He needed a plan to get out of this. He was beginning to see that Marcus was a vengeful man. Exhibit A: his fixation on finding anything to ruin Sadie’s reputation in return for nothing more than her being a better businessperson. He needed to set