Page 39 of I Need You to Read This
“I don’t know. There’s something off about him,” Raymond says.
“I agree.”
They sip their drinks. “How’s yours?” Alex asks.
“Tastes like the man stirred potpourri into a vat of Lysol,” he deadpans. Raymond looks more nervous than he has in the entire time she’s known him. He pulls a packet of Tums from his breast pocket and drops a few into his mouth. He chews noisily and washes them down with his cocktail.
“Well, that was a bummer,” Janice says, coming up behind them. “Can you believe it, he was offended? Said he doesn’tdoTaylor Swift.” She shrugs. “Wouldn’t know a classic if it bit him in the ass. What’s going on here? Did we get what we need?”
“Not yet,” Raymond says, eyeballing the entrance. “And I got a bad feeling about it.”
The bartender comes out from around the back of the bar and they look up, watching as he is quickly followed by a giant cinder block of a man dressed in a black suit. As he moves toward them, Alex sees the wire loop around his ear.
“These are the patrons asking about some of our clientele,” the bartender says, raising his eyebrows at them. Raymond’s hand clenches on the edge of the bar. Alex is beginning to catch on. The larger man looms over them.
“What the hell is going on here?” Janice demands.
“Your friends have been overserved and need to leave.”
“Nah, these two haven’t had a drop. Look at them. They aren’t even dancing.”
The bartender leans forward onto the bar. “Why don’t I call you a cab,” he says firmly. His large forearms pulse on the bar between them.
“Back when Jimmy worked here, there is no way he would have let us get treated this way,” Janice tells him. Alex cringes as the man looks down at her.
“I don’t know a Jimmy, ma’am.” The other man is stone-faced. “Why don’t you all move along. Before I put in a call letting Mr. Demetri know you were here asking about him.” Alex’s mouth goes dry. She hadn’tconsidered the effect saying Howard’s name would have. She should have found a way to be more subtle.
“I will not. I have as much right to be here as anyone,” Raymond says.
Janice chimes in: “Yeah, this is a public place. We’ve done nothing wrong.” Janice’s finger comes down square in the center of the man’s giant chest. The man’s hand moves toward his belt and Raymond steps back, spreading his arms out in surrender.
“No need to escalate things. I see where you are coming from.”
“Let’s go,” Alex says. She feels the men’s eyes boring into her back as she leads Janice and Raymond from the barroom. The upbeat tinkle of piano music follows them as they flee down the hallway.
“I don’t remember this area,” Alex says as they come into a small square atrium, its walls covered in stark abstract paintings.
“We must have gotten turned around.” Janice stops and puts her finger to her lips, mumbling directions under her breath.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Raymond says, uncomfortable.
“This looks right.” Janice points them into another corridor. This one is darker than the others, lined with hotel rooms. The runner is plush beneath their feet as they follow it right, then left.
Raymond stops, peers back into the quiet hallway. “Do you two not hear anyone else?” he says. “I swear we’re being tailed.”
“Let’s keep going,” Alex says, distracted by worries of the large barman calling her boss. They take another turn. A maid’s cart rolls into the hallway in front of them, blocking their path. They come to a sudden halt in front of it.
“Is that you, Ray?” A woman’s voice comes from behind a pile of little travel bottles, a stack of individually wrapped hotel soaps.
“Itisyou.” The woman is tiny and delicate. She is wearing a crisp red tunic and black pants, the uniform of Temple Hotel employees. “They said it was, but I didn’t believe it. I didn’t think you’d show your face here after everything.” She eyeballs Alex and Janice.
“Evelyn?” Raymond gasps. “I didn’t know you worked here.”
She holds a squeegee out in front of her. “Well, got to do a lot more work to support the family now. Thanks to you.”
Raymond stumbles backward, his trembling hands reaching back into space. Alex and Janice freeze, turning to watch the scene unfold.
“What’s going on, Ray?” Janice hisses. “An old friend of yours?”
