Page 43 of Working for the Mob

I couldn’t say no to Lucy. She looked like a kid at Coney Island. This was everything she wanted and I shouldn’t be the one to stop her.

“Fine,” I said, and let out my breath. If he wanted me to dress like a bookkeeper, then that’s what I’d do. I marched to the back of the store to find plain blouses and ankle-length skirts. I couldn’t stand much more from Art. Every time we began to enjoy something, he swooped in and ruined it.

I pulled a couple of different sized blouses and skirts, and tramped back to the changing room.

I found my size and grabbed enough of the plain blouses and conservative skirts to wear for the week. When I returned to the front of the store, Art already held five dresses from Lucy. Madame Levie, her jovial air returned, picked out more dresses an aisle over, and held them up for Lucy’s approval.

“We can’t afford all this,” I said, and gestured to the pile in Art’s arms.

“Get everything you need,” he said. “I’m not returning to the city just because you didn’t have the sense to buy yourself a pair of stockings.”

“The tights are right over there, Gweneviere,” Madame Levie said, and pointed to the far wall.

I scowled on the way to pick out hosiery. I knew the bastard was right. But I’d need more than a couple pairs of wool tights to make it through the winter in Lannington.

Art pulled in front of our house after dark and hurried to our side to get our door. However, I didn’t wait for him.

“I’ll bring over the clothes once they come in,” he said, as we climbed out of his car. “They should arrive this week.”

He followed us up the steps and waited while I unlocked the door. I caught him peeking around the house, but he quickly looked back. I pushed the door open and let Lucy in.

“Thank you for such an amazing day,” Lucy said. She gave him a big hug and hurried into the house. That left me on the doorstep alone with Art. He met my gaze, as though expecting me to thank him as well, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

I muttered a curt “goodbye” and slammed the door on his face.

As soon as the front door closed, I let out the frustrated scream I had been holding in for hours.

“Can you believe that man? First, he wakes us up at the crack of dawn, drags us into the city, gets us ridiculed by a sexist salesmen, embarrasses us in front of Madame Levie, and now we’re even further in debt to him!”

I tried to steady my breathing, to calm down. If I became too riled up, I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep until past midnight. I shook my head until I saw Lucy, looking at me with an amused expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that? And why is it so cold in here?” I asked. The fireplace sat empty, with the previous night’s blackened logs sitting sadly.

“Genny, I think it’s quite obvious why he did all that,” Lucy said, close to laughing.

“It’s not obvious to me,” I said.

“No, I guess it wouldn’t be. You wouldn’t know whether a boy liked you if he showed up to your house with a box of candy and flowers, which I’m sure Art will do soon.”

“Of course, I know he’sattractedto me. He told me so himself.”

“He did?” Lucy asked, shocked.

“Yep. Right before he told me I’m not histypeof girl.”

Lucy’s face slumped for a second but she recovered quickly.

“I’d love to see how he would treat his type of girl, because he didn’t take his eyes off you all day,” she said.

Chapter 13 – Art

Iparked in the lot behind my office and exited the car. I needed to catch up on the work I had neglected all day. I climbed the stairs to the office and froze. The door was ajar, and a light peeked through the other side. I never left my door unlocked. Somebody had been in here.

With the Valuncias unwilling to work with us, they may have decided to go on the offensive. I pulled out the revolver from the back of my pants and cocked it; you can never be too careful.

I gently kicked the door open with my foot. It made an ear-deafening creak. I scanned the right wall and swung my gun through the room until I saw it. My heart leapt into my throat. Someone sat at my desk, their face hidden in shadow. I needed to buy a lamp for the room.

“Get up, and put your hands where I can see them,” I ordered, my gun fixed on them.

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