Page 33 of No Headlines Please

I recalled the silent, persnickety woman who had seemed overly bothered by the mess. "I did tell her. And I cleaned it right after she saw it. But who else called?" I shook my head in confusion. "The lobby wasn't that busy."

True, there'd been that couple holding hands who'd come down with me in the elevator. But they'd simply stepped around the mess like it was no big deal. Had a whole bunch of other people walked through the main entrance while I was upstairs gathering supplies?

Walt snorted. "Nobody."

I blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Nobody else called," he said. "It was Mrs. Stelter." His expression soured. "Three times."

Damn it. I should've known that woman was trouble. "Oh."

He glanced up toward the ceiling. "And I'm telling ya. Nobody needs that times three."

The phrasing made me pause. "Times three?"

"Yeah. Times three," he repeated. "Like triple the fun, except it wasn't."

Now, this I could believe. "She did seem pretty crabby – except she was really quiet about it."

"Hah! She wasn't quiet to me." His gaze drifted toward the elevators. "Just because she lives in the penthouse..." He frowned. "Well, one of the penthouses, like that's so special."

As he said it, my thoughts strayed to Maddox. The location of his apartment remained a mystery. Last night's elevator ride had been oddly chaotic, thanks to that large group crowding in to ride up with us.

By the time everyone hit their buttons, I had no idea who was going where. I only knew I was the first one off.

Just before I'd squeezed out, Maddox had given me the massive takeout bag from the restaurant, along a final reminder of the time and place we'd be meeting today for coffee.

He had even offered to walk me to Tessa's door. But I had politely declined, because I wasn't quite sure what that meant. Plus, there was no way I'd be inviting him inside – not with me being a guest myself.

Even worse, I was an uninvited guest, which was ten times trickier.

Now, here in the lobby, I glanced down at the eviction notice still clutched in my hand. The paperwork had contained two phone numbers – one for the main office and another for after-hours emergencies.

Desperate for answers, I'd ended up calling both. The main office had been closed for the weekend. No surprise there.

That left the second number. And even though my curiosity wasn't technically an emergency, I'd called it anyway, expecting to get another automated message.

Instead, my call had been answered by a real-live person – an older man who told me he was the building's onsite manager and said he'd be happy to help me make sense of the notice.

But he didn't look happy now. Mostly, he looked irritated, like Mrs. Stelter had just called with complaint number four.

Still, I gave him a hopeful smile. "Thanks a million for agreeing to help. That's really nice of you."

He didn't smile back. "I'd be more helpful if you brought me beer."

I hesitated. "You mean…to make up for yesterday?"

"Forget yesterday," he said. "I'm just saying, you scratch my back. I'll scratch yours."

Shit.

So, he wanted a bribe? I didn't even have beer.

Scarier still, I didn't have money to buy any.

Plus, how much beer did one guy need?

With a nervous laugh, I said, "But it's barely nine in the morning."