Page 66 of A Hero for Hailey (Love will OUT 1)

Chapter 25

What does one saggy boob say to the other saggy boob? If we don’t get some support, people will think we’re nuts. ~ Text from Hailey to Suzie

Iam in the best mood ever as I walk down the hallway toward the office on Monday. I may even be humming as I open the door. Suzie looks up as I walk in. Her eyes widen and a big ‘ol grin takes over her face.

“Someone played hide the cannoli this weekend.” She jumps to her feet and rushes to me. She throws her arms around me and starts shaking her booty. Yeah, no. I am not dancing with her to celebrate my weekend of getting down and dirty with Aiden. I may be squealing like a little girl on the inside, but I am not dancing.

When Suzie realizes she can’t persuade me to dance, she releases me and throws her arms in the air to do some type of victory dance. She twirls around and promptly slaps me upside the head. Isn’t having a klutz for a best friend grand?

“Ow!” I shout, although she couldn’t hurt me if she tried. Her puny little arms have like zero muscle development.

“Oops!” She doesn’t bother trying to make her apology sound sincere. “How was he? Aiden looks like the kind of man who knows it’s all about the motion in the ocean.”

I am not giving her details. Nope. No way. “Settle down. We have work to do.”

“Um, Hailey, I hate to interrupt, but can I talk to you?”

I nearly startle. I didn’t realize Phoebe was here. I cock my head to the side as I study her. She’s standing in the middle of the room wringing her hands as she studies the floor. Consider my curiosity piqued.

“Sure, come on in.” I motion to my office. When Suzie starts to follow us, I shake my head. She pouts as she collapses in her chair. I don’t know what she’s pouting about. She’s going to eavesdrop at the door anyway.

“Have a seat,” I tell Phoebe and point to a chair. Once she’s seated, I ask, “What’s up?”

She starts wringing her hands again. “I finished with the filing.”

I figured as much. “Suzie can get you set up with a check for your services.”

“Thank you.”

I wait, but she remains silent although it’s obvious she’s bursting to say something. “Was there something else?”

“Um, yes. I’d like to continue working here.”

I blow out a breath. I was afraid she was going to ask me to stay. I know she needs money, but our payroll can’t support another full-time employee. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any more work for you.”

“What if I worked for free?”

I raise an eyebrow. “For free? I was under the impression you need a job.”

“Yes, but I’ve been thinking. I could be your apprentice.”

“Apprentice?”

“Yeah.” She leans forward as she warms to the idea. “I’ve noticed there are quite a few cases you don’t take. What if I took those? I already looked into getting my license and taking some criminal justice classes at the local college.”

“She’s right, you know,” Suzie shouts from the other side of the door.

“You might as well get your ass in here,” I shout back. Although I’m technically the investigator of You Cheat, We Eat, Suzie and I are business partners. A decision like hiring someone – even if it’s unpaid – to join our firm is a decision we need to make together.

“What do you think?” I ask her when she joins us.

“I agree with Phoebe. There are quite a few cases you don’t take.”

“I’m not okay with Phoebe taking on murder investigations,” I insist when the one case I recently didn’t take pops into my head.

“I don’t want anything to do murder investigations,” Phoebe says. “At least not in the beginning. I’m thinking I could help you with the insurance claims. Suzie said you haven’t taken one of those in a while because you’ve been too busy.”

I tilt back in my chair and study her. Never in a million years would I have expected her to say she wants to be a private investigator. Well, damn. I’m stereotyping. Just because she’s beautiful doesn’t mean she’s stupid or can’t do the job.

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