Page 4 of Coach
It was the only thing clean.
And I wanted to get to the pool hall as quickly as possible.
“I’ll be back soon, I hope,” I told Trix as I rushed to the door.
When I got to work, it was the same woman who met me at the door, tapping her heeled foot as if I was late, when I probably only took ten or fifteen minutes to get myself together and get to the pool hall.
“What’s broken?” I asked, trying not to gawk at the woman’s beauty.
It was the cold kind of gorgeous. Her perfect body was hugged by a black dress. Her lovely brown eyes were lined in a way that made them look perpetually sultry. And the press of her ruby lips suggested she knew just how beautiful she was… and that, perhaps, was the least interesting thing about her.
I was only a little bit jealous of her confidence.
“The air. It’s too hot in here.”
It was practically a meat locker in there. But the brothers seemed to prefer the place to be glacial, even when the weather was pretty temperate outside.
“The air feels like it’s working,” I said. “Is it just one vent or—”
“That’s your job, not mine,” she said, shrugging, then walking away.
“Right,” I agreed.
The place was already kind of busy for a random Wednesday night.
I still couldn’t get over how upscale the place was in such a small, nowhere town like Shady Valley.
Sure, you could maybe make an argument that if you painted a place matte black, had nearly black flooring, then brightened it all up with soft warm lighting, it made just about any place look fancy.
But being as closely acquainted with the place as I’d become from scrubbing and doing small repairs, I knew that the tile in both bathrooms was imported and pricey, that the cleaningsupplies were top of the line, and that the damn chalk they used for the cues was special ordered from some boutique.
Yet the table fees were somehow not only reasonable, but kind of cheap.
I wouldn’t claim to have a head for business, but it seemed like something wasn’t adding up.
Still, it was a nice place to work. I felt fancy by association whenever I looked at the black felt tables or the snack bar manned by a blonde woman in a skintight dress. Or, yes, even when I looked over at the office where the Novikoff family spent most of their time, often accompanied by friends or employees.
I’d only been in their office once, but it had the same swanky look as the rest of the place, with their own coffee and snack station, a full bar, seating, and desks.
Forcing myself to stop gawking, I made my way out back to check out the HVAC system. Did I have any kind of schooling with it? No. But I once assisted my grandfather in replacing his, so I knew a thing or two. Besides, I’d told Konstantin that I wasn’t an expert. If I couldn’t figure it out, he would just have to hire someone else for the job.
When nothing seemed off there, I checked the thermostat. Then, finally, I started going vent by vent to test the amount of flow and the temperature of the air escaping.
It was there, standing on a ladder to reach one of the vents near the ceiling in the pool room, when my heart shot up into my throat as the ladder suddenly jerked hard to the side.
My hands flew out.
But there was nothing to grab but the ladder itself as it started to slide toward the side.
My stomach twisted.
There was nothing I could do but brace for impact. And pray I didn’t do any damage to something too expensive for me to replace.
Just as I was sure I was about to fall, though, the ladder jerked back into position, knocking hard against the wall as my belly bottomed out and my heart fluttered.
“I got you,” a voice called from below.
CHAPTER TWO
