Page 30 of Howl You Doin?
I hear him snickering behind me.
“It’s not funny,” I retort, then smile at how terrified Connor looked when he realized he was going to have to cut the dress. “Okay, it is a bit funny, but no. Nothing happened. The man still hates me.”
“Well, you just let me know if anything changes, because there’s a rumor going around that you two are like, you know,boinking.”
“Who says boinking these days?” A smile spreads across my face. “No, nobody’s boinking.”
“Ahem.” Someone clears their throat and George and I collectively jump.Jesus.
“Chef Whitt?” comes Allan’s voice, and I inwardly groan at what he must have heard today.
“Yes?” I ask, noticing George make a hasty exit, the traitor.
I place my stirring spoon down and turn to Allan, forcing myself not to cringe at his stupid face.
“The stylist would like to know when it is convenient to meet with you to make amore masculinecostume for you.” His lip curls as his attention passes over me, head to toe.
“Thank you, Allan. I’ll get back to them about that.”
Satisfied with my answer, he leaves while looking down at his clipboard. I wish he’d run into a wall or something, the cretin.
While I stir the almost ready sauce, I grab my phone from my pocket to send Connor an email one-handed.
Subject: Masculine costumes?
Dear Mr. O’Doyle,
We need to talk. I know this isn’t the best time, but I would rather have this conversation face to face.
Sincerely,
Whitley Whitt
Chef at Tepesh Castle
Two hours later, lunch has been served and I’m finally allowed to take a small break.
I walk down the hallway gingerly, waiting for anything to pop out. So far, only two Halloween decorations have nearly scared the pee out of me. Halloween ended in America months ago! Why am I being subjugated to frights at this time of year? God, why did I sign on for this place?Two more months, I’ve got this.
A cackle rings out and I jump, startled as anything, then take a deep breath.
“It’s just a toy—it’s not real. Just crazy rich people toys.”
I shake off the adrenaline and look around for any more spooky shit. Hopefully once I know where they all are, I can start mentally preparing myself when I near them. I walk down the hall and a weird hand—no, a cloth-covered animatronic hand comes down from the wall and a burst of fog emits from the floor.
I stand there for a moment, watching it sweep down the hall. I bet it does look creepy at night. This really is going to scare people. I think watching other people scream and cower would be fun, but I don’t like jump scares—not even in horror movies. Although, give me gore and creepy vibes, and I’m totally down for that.
I finally reach the stairs, gliding my hand along the banister for both physical and moral support as I head up to the studyto corner that prick who refused to respond to my email. When I reach the top, my gaze travels up, and up, and my eyes nearly pop out of their sockets as I stare up at the largest man I have ever seen.
“Wow, you are tall,” I blurt out.
“Quick observation,” the big guy comments, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Heat streaks across my face as embarrassment rears.
“I’m sorry. They had these things just put in and they kind of have me on edge,” I say, to cover my rudeness with a simple reason. I smile so he knows I’m not a dick. “I’m not used to them yet.”
Somewhere a hose makes a pressurized sound and fog releases as if right on cue to punctuate my words.
