Page 99 of Worst in Show

Damn. “They bundled our orders. I’ve been looking for those boxes ever since.”

“That’s a bummer.”

Bummer? It’s a little worse than that. How many customers have gone elsewhere because I haven’t been able to deliver? That food is our bestseller. I crack my neck. Not his fault, I remind myself. “At least I figured it out. Would I be able to come get them now? Micki can cover here.”

“Um, hold on.” He disappears from view. “I only have two boxes left. I assumed Jaz had placed a duplicate order again, so I did a promotion. This stuff flies off the shelves.”

“Okay, but I paid for them.” It sounds snippier than I intend.

“Obviously, we’ll settle that. I’m not trying to rip you off. I honestly didn’t know.”

Micki returns from the depths of storage with two signs that she holds up for me. I nod.

“I know,” I say to Leo. “I’ll be right over.”

“There should be two more signs,” I tell Micki after hanging up, grabbing my jacket from its hook. “The snowflake one we always put in the window and that old easel blackboard. Harvey always does a deal of the day on that for December.”

“Are you going somewhere?”

I explain the situation and ask her to watch things while I’m gone.

“Wait, so he had your boxes? And sold them? Wow, if you guys weren’t a thing, one could almost suspect he’s still trying to take out the competition.”

I stare at her, my insides chilling.

“Which, obviously, he’s not,” Micki hurries to add. “Right?”

“Right.” I swallow. He’s not. He didn’t know.

Leo is busy helping yet another customer when I enter through the back door where I park the red wagon I’ve brought for the haul. Tilly greets me with her whipping tail, but when it’s clear Cholula isn’t with me, she backs off. While I wait, I chat with Jaz who’s bringing out empty cardboard boxes, but we’re interrupted when her cell rings. Judging by the inflection of her voice, it must be a new beau.

After that, I browse the shelves inside. At first, I can’t put my finger on what’s different, but then I see it. With a subtle repositioning of goods, Leo’s managed to change the rustic chic color scheme to red and green, and, paired with a faint smell of cinnamon in the air, he’s ushered in the holidays more than any of my signs and displays ever could. I thought he was supposed to be bad at decorating. What gives? That also reminds me he owes me a day in Happy Paws teal.

The doorbell chimes as the customer leaves at the same time Leo says, “Hi.”

I tear my gaze from the snow spray at the base of the windowpane. “Um, hi.”

“Are you all right? I haven’t seen that expression since we first met.”

Damn my horrid poker face. He’s allowed to decorate his store. With a conscious effort that probably comes off as a spastic grimace, I attempt to put my features in order. “I’m fine. Just need to get those boxes. Pretty swamped today.”

He’s about to respond when his phone rings. He sighs and pulls it out of his pocket. I have time to see “Dad” flash across the screen before he rejects it.

“You don’t need to take that?”

His jaw has tightened. “No. I’m done letting him mess with my mind. Once this branch is profitable, he’ll come around. He needs to understand I make my own decisions.” They’re the right words, but rather than coming off self-assured, he sounds like he’s trying to convince himself.

But then he relaxes again. “I’m sorry about that. And about the boxes. If I had known…”

“You couldn’t.” I point to the back of the store. “Back there?”

He follows me. “You sure you’re okay?”

I’m definitely not. I’m fucking everything up. Like I do. And seeing how well he’s doing isn’t helping. “Yup. Totally.”

He turns the light on in his storage space. “It’s these two. I’ll help you load them.” He hesitates “But first…” He takes a step closer and forces me to look at him. “Cora, I know something’s going on. Talk to me.”

Why am I being such a jerk about this? He’s going to pay me back for the boxes. But you’ll lose the mark-up for this month, the voice in my head reminds me. You might have lost more customers. Leo’s hands on my hips muddle everything. I want to lean into him and have his arms block me from the stress of the world. I should tell him about the bills, how behind I am. Baring all your weaknesses to your rival, the voice says. Smart.

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