“I couldn’t accept it.”
“Honestly, now that they fired me, I’m going to be boycotting their products, so you taking them off my hands saves them from the landfill.”
Effie huffs but nods. I didn’t use much on her, just a few products to even her skin tone, a light shadow to showcase her blue eyes along with mascara and as I place the last stroke of an eyebrow hair, I hand her the mirror.
As she holds it in her hands, she begins to shake as she looks at herself.
“Now, I can’t go crying and ruin your good work. Goodness, I haven’t felt this beautiful in ages,” Effie says, her eyes watering.
Gently, I rub her arm as she continues to look at herself. She clears her throat. “Alright, now what do you need me to do?”
I have Effie and Angus out in front of the property. The old man hasn’t been able to keep his hands off his bride, or stop staring at her. It’s obvious that she loves the attention, and it gives me a sense of fulfillment I haven’t felt in a long time.
“Alright, Effie, I think let’s do a clip of you explaining the home’s history a little. Let’s keep it sweet and short. Angus, you just continue to look handsome,” I say.
He beams and we take a few takes of Effie. My phone is in need of a charge and I’m about to go put it on the charger when a familiar form makes its way through the garden gate. Internally I groan, outwardly I do my best to control my face.
“What’s all this?” Callum asks.
“The lovely Maisie is getting us on the internet,” Angus says, and wow, the power of having an old man be proud of you nearly knocks me on my feet.
Fuck, do I have daddy issues and dead mom issues? I’m truly, overwhelmingly, not doing hot in life.
“That’s so?” Callum asks approaching me. “Can I have a word?”
The part of me that’s rather petty and mean wants to tell him no, that he’s said enough words and I think I’ve heard about enough. Then I remember he’s Effie’s grandson and Lain and Greer’s pack mate.
“Sure,” I reply instead, and follow him out of the gate toward the street.
“You can’t help them with their business,” he says.
“Why not?”
He scratches his beard, which makes a pleasing sound as he shakes his head.
“They need to be retiring. They can’t be taking on more business. They need to be slowing down.” His tone isn’t as rude as it’s been before.
“They don’t seem interested in slowing down at all. They seem to handle me and Birdie just fine.”
He blows out a breath.
“Because the two of you are hardly there and you’re only in one room. If they have a full house, there’s no way they’d be able to manage it.”
“How do you know that?” I ask, and it’s the wrong thing to say as he puts his hands on his hips.
“Because I’m the one picking up the slack. I’m the one cooking half the time when they can’t. I’m their maintenance man. I’m the one who deposits their checks and makes sure they pay their bills. They can handle it because I’m the one managing fucking everything.” He says it all in a rush and then blinks at me like he didn’t mean to confess all of that.
“Oh,” I say lamely and he groans.
“If they want to keep the place open, I can’t stop them, but they can’t handle more volume, they just can’t,” Callum says.
“It’s what Effie wants,” I reply, because, well, my loyalties are with her, not Callum.
Callum lets out a frustrated breath.
“She just wants this place to go on. Graham would be more suited to take over. He could easily do what you’re doing right now with marketing. I don’t mind doing the cooking and fixing shit as needed, but I’d rather touch the stove with my bare hand than deal with a place like this.”
“That’s true,” I say quickly before I catch myself.
