It seemed like Victor’s love language was nachos.
“My head hurts,” Jim said, slumping back in the chair. Alarmed, I stood up to circle around the desk, but he held up a hand. “Don’t get up, I'm fine.”
“You’re not,” I said, but sat down anyway. “Maybe we should call Kevin to come get you now.”
Jim let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. “It’s going to be months before I’m ready to work. Maybe longer before I can do a full day.”
“How can I help?” I asked.
Jim opened a single eye enough to look at me. “You could file the paperwork to have this business renamed Masel and Stanhope Investigations.”
It was so far from what I'd been expecting that I couldn't answer right away. Thankfully, Jim kept talking.
“I know the business isn’t as glamorous as you thought it would be, but if you became my partner, I’d be open to expanding the scope of what we did.” Jim gestured to Danzig and Marduk. “Especially since you’ve got them to look big and mean. As the old detective stories would say, they're your muscles.”
He chuckled at his own joke.
“But I don’t have a private investigator’s license,” I said.
“That doesn’t matter,” he said. “Once you’ve worked for me for a few years, you can take the test and you’re good. Hell, as a lawyer you might not need the three years. I’ll have to look into that. I’m only ten years from retirement anyway, or sooner. You can buy me out of my half when you’re ready to take over.”
I blinked, unsure about my feelings. The guys were carefully blank, as if making sure they didn’t sway me either way. That wasn’t helpful. I couldn’t make this decision without their input.
When I didn’t answer right away, Jim’s smile got wider. “You’re thinking about it, that's good. Talk it over with your menand look into the requirements. It’s steady work, but it can be boring and repetitive."
“Or exciting as hell,” I murmured, making Jim laugh, then wince. Kevin walked in as he was wincing and made an angry grumbling sound.
“Jim, I told you this was a bad idea.” He walked round the desk and pulled Jim’s chair away from the desk. “Let’s go home.”
It was a testament to how bad Jim felt that he didn’t protest even once.
“Think about it,” he said to me as Kevin guided him out of the office.
“I will,” I promised. Kevin shot me a curious look but didn’t ask. He was much too concerned about getting Jim home.
After they left, I looked at the guys. “I don’t know.”
I was still getting that blank feeling from them, which was annoying as hell. When neither of them spoke up, I threw up my hands. “Stop blocking me!”
Danzig spoke first. “We don’t want to sway you.”
Marduk nodded in agreement.
I let out an impatient breath. “But I need to know what you guys want to do before I can decide what I want to do.”
Marduk’s face went from blank to laughing. “We want to do what you want. We’ve lived a long time, and we’ve never been investigators. It might be fun for a while.”
“I know you guys live a long time, but I’m human. I’ve only got about eighty- or ninety-years total. Do you think I should do this?”
I felt confusion from the guys. “What do you mean you only have eighty or ninety years?” Danzig asked.
“Do you have plans you haven’t told us about?” Marduk asked.
I was confused by their questions. “Uh, I’m human, remember? I mean, some humans can live to be one hundred,but probably not me. I like to eat all the bad food, and I’m not giving it up.”
I felt understanding coming from the twins.
“Ah, no,” Marduk said. “You’re tied to us now. You’ll live as long as we live.”
