Page 24 of Grump of Cole
I had no idea, but the question made me realize something. "I guess I never thanked you, did I?"
With the hint of a smile, he replied, "Who says I need it?"
"Whether you need it or not," I said, "I still need to say thanks."And yet, I hadn't. Not officially.
The words of gratitude stuck in my throat like a chicken bone caught sideways. But was it any wonder? Over the course of our acquaintance, Cole Henster had done me a lot more harm than good.
Across from me, he said, "I'll make you a deal."
"What kind of deal?"
"Instead of a thanks, tell me something."
What was this? A trap?Cautiously, I asked, "What?"
He glanced toward the candy store. "Earlier, why didn't you just say you had a boyfriend?"
"Honestly? I guess it never occurred to me." I gave it some thought. "The whole thing caught mereallyoff guard. I mean, that's never happened to me before."Thank goodness.
Cole leaned back in his chair. "So, do you?"
"Do I what?"
"Have a boyfriend."
What trickery was this?"Why would you want to know?"
He shrugged. "Call it curiosity."
"But why would you be curious?"
Hey, it was a perfectly reasonable question.Undernormalcircumstances, I might've assumed that the guy was interested. But this was Cole Henster.He hated me.
Cole asked, "Whywouldn'tI be curious?"
"Well, for starters, because you practically fired me."
"No. You quit. Big difference."
"Only by a technicality," I said. "And you definitely fired Lloyd Grampkin." I bristled at the memory. "And allhedid was put on a Santa suit."
Cole's gaze darkened. "That's what you think? That I fired the guy for dressing up?"
"What else would I think? Admit it. You hated our costumes."
"No. I hated what they stood for."
"What?" I scoffed. "Christmas?"
He gave me a look. "Don't you mean Christmas in July?"
I didn't appreciate the mockery. "Hey, it was a company tradition."
"Which I canceled."
"Exactly!"
With cold precision, he asked, "Did it ever occur to you that I had a good reason for doing what I did?"
