Page 39 of Fresh Old Bounties

“Personal or business?”

Was that a trick question? “Business. For the Tea Cauldron.”

“April will take care of the details. She will send you an email with the contract and our banking details.”

“I’d like to see the terms first.”

He fixed me with a stern look. “We have a standard, non-negotiable contract. If you don’t like it, find someone else.” The and good luck with that was implied.

“And your fees?” I ventured.

“Detailed on our website.”

“Could you, uh, remind me?”

He took a business card from the top of a stack and pushed it my way. “Website.”

Well, this was going great.

“Do you like books?” I asked, noticing the old leather-bound tomes on the shelves.

“Books?”

“Old tomes, spellbooks.” I made a vague gesture with my hand. “That kind of thing.”

“I’m an accountant, Miss Avery, not a witch.”

I studied his reaction closely. “No need to practice what’s inside to collect them.”

“You have ten minutes left in your one-hundred-fifty dollars consultation,” he warned in chilling tones. “Is there anything else business related you’d like to ask me?”

I tried not to choke at the price. If that was an example of his fees, no wonder everyone disliked the man. “Was Bagley a client of yours for long?”

Crane opened the laptop on the desk, and for a moment, I thought he might be checking on something. But when he simply ignored me and kept typing, I realized he was simply multitasking on my dime.

“Surely you can answer that much?” I asked, beginning to sweat.

He kept his mouth shut and simply waited me out, the contents of my bank account ticking down reflected on his eyes like a doomsday clock.

“Do you recommend I file any side income with the main shop’s business or that I open another entity for those?” Whatever advice he gave me would be the same advice he’d given Bagley. It might help narrow the possibilities.

“Depends on the income. Please talk to April if you wish to use us for your personal filings as well as the shop’s.”

“It’s a different contract?”

“Yes.”

With a whole other set of fees, no doubt. “Is there anything special I should keep track of?”

“April will send you a list of documents.”

April better be getting paid well. In fact…

I stood and smiled brightly. “I guess this is all I needed to ask today.”

“Good to do business with you, Miss Avery.” Standing, he offered me his hand.

With anyone else, I’d have saved him the trouble of wasting wipes, but now that I knew he could afford them… I shook his hand and placed my other on top of his for maximum coverage.

---