Page 15 of Wounded Fox
I don't know why I was fighting this so hard other than the fact that I didn't want to owe Aaron anything. As I was sitting there last night, I realized how easily it was to slip back into what I considered the old us and I couldn't let that happen. Not if I was going to guard my heart.
CHAPTER TEN
Aaron
"Good luck with that. Maverick isn't the kind of man who is going to take your money."
I could see the frustration mounting on Valerie's face. She wasn't the least bit interested in what I had to say. And imagine if she found out that it wasn't the company who actually paid. She would lose her mind knowing that I was the one who footed the bill. I needed to remember to have a discussion with Maverick about keeping that little tidbit between the two of us.
"Speak of the devil."
I turned around and watched as my boss, Lex, Nancy, and Shirley—the owner of the antique store—walked through the front door.
"Speak of what devil?" Maverick asked.
"You," Valerie answered matter-of-factly. "I want to pay you back for the glass you put in."
Maverick looked at me and I could see the question in his eyes. Thankfully we had worked together long enough over the years that we were able to have a silent conversation withoutanyone in the room being none the wiser. Maverick didn't even hesitate when he lied.
"No can do," my boss was quick to tell Valerie. "It's our fault the window was shot out, so it's our responsibility to fix it. Besides, that's what insurance is for and ours just so happens to be better than yours.”
Lies. It was all lies. Well, not about the part that it was our fault. That was absolutely true, but the insurance bit was nothing but a big fat lie. There was no way we were turning this incident in to our insurance. The premium would skyrocket.
"Stubborn men," Valerie grumbled under her breath.
Thankfully Nancy chose that moment to step in. "What can we help with? Shirley and I figured you could use some help today getting things back in order so you can open up soon."
Valerie sighed. "I could actually use some help in the back if you don't mind. I need to make room for all this ruined inventory so I can bring the new stuff out."
"Lead the way." Nancy smiled.
I waited until the three women were out of earshot before I turned back to Maverick. "Thanks for covering for me."
My boss shrugged like it was no big deal. "I figured with the way things are between the two of you that you wouldn't want her to know. How's your mother today?"
I ran my hand through my hair and let out a puff of air. "She wouldn't let me stay with her last night, so I've been relying on updates from Panther. He says she's good. He checked on her every hour like the doctor recommended. No issues throughout the night. Today Giggles is with her and he promised to send me hourly updates as well."
"Did she say why she didn't want you to stay with her?"
I didn't bother to keep the frustration out of my tone. "Not a clue. It's not like I slept any better at my place. Valerie and I passed out on the couch watching TV."
Maverick and Lex shared a look and I knew what they were thinking even before either of them could say anything. "Not like that. Valerie suggested we watch something on TV to keep my mind off things. I don't even remember what I put on because I was stuck in my head. I don't know what time I passed out but it was late, and when I woke up this morning, Valerie was curled up on one side of the couch while I sat on the other side."
"Has she told you yet why she's so mad at you?" Maverick asked.
Lex continued to stay quiet throughout the conversation like he normally did during social situations.
I shook my head at Maverick's question. "We started to talk about it last night but my mother's alarm cut us off. I honestly forgot about it until you said something." Which was crazy to me because it was all I thought about most of the time when my mind wasn't occupied by work. Finding out why Valerie and I stopped communicating has always been on the forefront of my every thought.
But right now her safety was more important. "Have we learned anything more about yesterday’s shooter?"
It was Maverick's turn to shake his head and look frustrated. "Nothing. We don't even know if it was the group of terrorists or if they hired someone. The good thing is Wes put a bug in a few people’s ears, so they’re taking the breach more seriously and looking into things."
I scoffed. "Why the hell does it take Wes threatening someone to get things done?"
Maverick might not have used the word “threatening,” but it was obvious how Wes worked. He didn't exactly have the finesse to handle things gently. Now Nancy—his assistant—on the other hand, would have what it took, but based on the fact that she was here with Lex, it meant she wasn't handling things for her boss.
"Because it's the name of the game, unfortunately."
