Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Sunny sighed. “What else happened there?”
“What else happened was that I was never good enough for him. Plus, he lost his job, so I couldn’t morally kick him out sooner. But the dog thing was the last straw for me. He knew well and good what dog hair did to me. I went over to his mother’s house once. Werner assured me that there were no pets in her house. But there were. Four freakin’ golden retrievers. I had to be raced to the hospital in an ambulance because my throat closed up.” Alice crossed her arms over her chest and offered Werner a glare, who returned it. “He said he ‘didn’t understand’ that I was allergic to dogs. But now that he knows, he conveniently forgets that I am so susceptible to dogs. At least once a week, he tries to come in here, even though we all freakin’ know he doesn’t own a damn boat, or has even fished in his life. There’s literally zero excuse for him to be coming into my place of business at this point other than to hurt me.”
“And it is hurt,” Silvy murmured. “She could literally die. And he knows that. Yet, like clockwork, I have to come out here once a week on his days off to keep him from coming inside. Today, I was just late due to running a call. Usually, I can handle it without outside help.”
Meaning without having to call in Sunny.
Silvy was one of Sunny’s deputies.
And, obviously, in over his head with the moron creeping closer and closer toward us.
“He has that dog get any closer, and I’m gonna throat punch him and show him what it feels like not to be able to breathe,” I murmured, letting the promise leach into my voice.
Sunny moved to intercept Werner before he took any more steps in our direction.
That’s when ‘Silvy’ turned his gaze toward me.
“You’re not giving my sister a hard time, are you?” he asked me curiously.
I’d known Silvain the Third since high school.
With the look he handed me next, I had no doubt in my mind what it was about and for.
Needless to say, we both understood each other thoroughly.
I wasn’t misunderstanding his look, nor the threat behind it.
Stay away from his sister, or else.
“I’m just helping.” I grinned. “Silvy.”
Silvy’s eyes narrowed.
It was much easier to refer to him as that in my mind rather than Silvain.
I could never keep up with whether he was a Junior or a Third, and I had to give it a whole lot more thought than I ever wanted to give it the majority of the time.
“Silvy,” Alice sighed. “Leave it alone. Let’s not do this right now.”
“Are you here because she fired me?”
We all looked toward where Jaycee was standing in The Marina’s entryway.
She looked like she was just ‘coming online’ as to the stuff going on outside.
As if we hadn’t been out here dealing with this shit for thirty minutes now.
“What’s going on here?” I heard said.
The kids’ dad, Silvain, Jr.—goddamn, it was confusing with their names and them all looking alike, but slightly older—came around the corner with a stack of pizzas in his arms. I assumed to bring lunch to his kids.
“What’s going on here is your daughter fired me.” Jaycee rolled her eyes, as if she hadn’t just fucked up thousands of dollars’ worth of charges.
“That motherfucker tried to bring his dog in here again,” Silvy pointed out. “And I don’t know anything about her getting fired. That’s the first time I’m hearing it.”
“Fired?” I heard Junior say. “What’s that about?”
“What it’s about is that your daughter overcharged multiple people by at least two grand a pop.” Alice rolled her eyes. “She charged four people twice for gas, and those are just the ones that caught it. I’m sure more will roll around. And when I said I couldn’t help her, that I was in a meeting with the mayor of Accident, she went and pulled the plug on the Wi-Fi so I couldn’t work anymore.”
Junior opened his mouth to respond, closed it, then opened it again. But no sound was forthcoming.
He blew out a disgusted breath, then pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “Jaycee, I’ve tried super hard to make this a hospitable place for you. I’ve given you multiple resources to utilize, I’ve given you ample opportunity… but I just don’t think The Marina is a good fit for you. You can either start working at The Pizzeria, or you can find another job.”
Whoa, I hadn’t been expecting that.
But when you were at the end of your rope, you were at the end of your rope. It wasn’t like you could just magically produce more.
Jaycee had, obviously, been given multiple chances.
“That’s not fair!” Jaycee cried.
“What isn’t fair is the fact that you’re literally the dumbest of my children,” I heard Junior mutter, and more loudly, he said, “Well, The Pizzeria, where I can keep an eye on you, I think would be the best fit. You have one more chance, though. Don’t blow it.”