Page 24 of Autumn at the Cat Cafe

“My boss has been bugging me to take a vacation, so I decided I might as well do it now.” Leo’s gaze scanned the café. He was looking everywhere except at her.

Her spidey senses started tingling a little, and that wasn’t good. “Cleaning a bookstore and apartment is a vacation?”

“Well...” Leo grabbed another fry and glanced at her. “I figured I’d get to know Pecan Corner. Maybe take a trip to Cleveland, or even Lake Erie. Gather information that will be helpful when I list the property.”

“I thought you were a hedge fund manager,” she said.

“I am. But I have background in real estate. I haven’t dealt with properties in several years, but I keep my license up to date.”

He was even more accomplished than she thought. And what he said made sense. But it also seemed like a lot of work for a guy who until now had wanted to speed out of town. A whole month was a long time, even if it went quickly. Her niggle of doubt grew. “Is your wife okay with that?” She wasn’t being subtle, but she had been wondering.

“I’m not married,” he said around a mouthful. “No girlfriend either.”

She felt her lips turn up in a smile at that news. Quickly she stopped herself. She had no business being happy he was single.

“Via, I don’t want this project to interfere with anything or... anyone.”

More blank eyes from him, but his comment seemed loaded. “It’s just me, myself, and I,” she said. “And Sir, of course.”

“Of course.” He pushed away the container, still sounding reserved, as if they’d mentioned their stock portfolios instead of their personal lives. Not that she had a stock portfolio.

“Guess all that’s left is to figure out a schedule,” he said.

Via appreciated that he liked a plan. She did too, and was firm about sticking to her calendar, with few exceptions. But she still wasn’t sure he was being as candid as he appeared. She couldn’t pinpoint why, and she certainly didn’t trust her own intuition. Still, it was enough to give her misgivings.

“Oh, I wanted to ask you about something,” he said. “I got an offer for the shop this morning.”

“Already?”

“I was surprised too, but this guy knew Earl. He also called again this afternoon. Mr. Percival—”

She sat straight up. “Are you sure that was his name?”

“Yes. Perry Percival. He was very insistent.”

She fell back in her chair. “I thought that slime bucket had disappeared,” she muttered.

Leo frowned. “So you do know him.”

“I haven’t met him personally, but Earl couldn’t stand him. Said Perry Percival could go pound sand.”

“Earl had quite the vocabulary.”

“He was a gentleman. He also didn’t have a temper, except when Percival started sniffing around the shop. He stopped bugging him about six months before Earl died.” She leaned forward, as serious as she could possibly be. “You can’t sell to him.”

Leo arched a perfect brow. “I can sell to anyone I want to.”

“Except him.”

“Why?”

“I just said he’s a snake—”

“You said Earl thought he was a snake. For all you know Earl could have had a beef with him or something—”

“If you knew Earl Smith, you wouldn’t have said that.” Her hands clenched under the table. “He didn’t argue or hold a grudge with anyone, except Percival. That’s how much of a weasel that man is. He won’t care about Earl’s collection or his legacy.”

“Did he know what Percival’s plans were?”