Page 38 of Fate's Unseen Shadow

“I’m going to make a fool of myself. I’d rather give a lecture on financial forecasting to an auditorium of engineers.” When the only response from Lacy was a confused frown, Ella groanedand dropped her arms. “Fine. What do I do to make it loud and clear?”

“Simple. Wear my skirt tomorrow.” Lacy gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “And Damon will do the rest. I promise you that.” She moved to the side and set a new napkin on the table. “What can I get you, sweetie?”

The man who sat down pointed at Ella. “I’d rather her wait on me.”

“And I’d rather be chillin’ at the spa. What would you like to drink?”

He continued to stare at Ella. “Miller Lite. Draft.”

“Got it.” Lacy turned, rolling her eyes. “Go down there. I’ll handle this one.”

Shoving the unease of wearing something sexy and looking like a fool to the back of her mind, she headed to the next customer. “What would you like?”

A young woman passed over her credit card. “A bucket of beer for outside.”

“Sure thing.” She took the card and ran it, then gathered the bucket, ice, and aluminum bottles of beer. She returned with the card and the receipt. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” She moved out of the way, another customer right behind her.

“What can I get you?”

And that’s how it went for the next two hours. One person after another. A blur of faces.

Until Damon showed up at her end of the bar. She kept trying to get a clear moment to talk to him, but there was never a break in the crowd.

Finally, with a lull in traffic, she leaned on the counter across from him. “Did your boys kick you out of the cool club?”

He glanced around, the crowd dying down. “No. I need to ask you a few more questions. I’ve been trying to find a suitable time.”

“Any time is fine.”

“You’re wrong. Earlier, when I was in my underwear, it was not a good time.”

A laugh burst out of Lacy’s mouth. “Seriously! Already. And here I thought you were too shy.” She nudged Ella.

“No, it wasn’t like that.” She looked at Damon for help, but he chuckled into his glass of water. “You’re no use.” Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. “Never mind. What did you want to ask me?”

“It’s about your stepmom. Julia. We meet with her on Monday. Do you know if she had a job before she was with your father? They weren’t married long, were they?”

“No, about four years. She was divorced from an investment banker, who is still alive. He has to be in his late nineties by now.”

“How old was your dad?”

“Seventy-four when he died.”

“So, she has a thing for older men. How did he die?”

“They said it was a heart attack. Makes sense. His doctors had warned him for years to change his habits and exercise. But he worked a lot and loved bourbon and wine.” And ignored every suggestion about a healthy diet or encouragement Ella had given him.

“Did he work as much as you did?”

“Yes. I got it from him. Although I take my doctor warning me about strokes and heart attacks a little more seriously than he did. He didn’t care about the high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Just ate what he wanted and drank as much as he wanted.”

Damon nodded, taking notes on his phone. “Sounds like he enjoyed himself until the end.”

“He did. The night before he died, we flew in from Italy. God, that was a fun trip. We closed on a deal that I’d spent nearly a hundred hours hammering out with our partner over there. We both inadvertently learned Italian. Brought my dad with me for the closing negotiations and to sign the contract. We celebrated that night. Listened to music. Got drunk.” Ella swiped at a tear when it rolled down her cheek. “I haven’t thought about that trip since he died. I miss him.”

He glanced up from his phone, concern filling his expression. “It’s ten minutes till close. Lacy, you got this? I want to take Ella home.”

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