Page 24 of Violent Little Thing

“My ex-boss,” she answered, looking nervous to admit it.

“He still calling you every morning while he fucks Seraphina? Or himself?”

Silence.

I slowly turned my head toward Charleigh, who was looking at me nervously.

“Excuse me?” I asked carefully.

“Yeah, her boss is a real piece of work,” Kenny said as he pulled a Monster out of his cooler and popped the top. “He calls her once a day to ‘go over the day’s work’ but he is really in the shower masturbating or fucking Seraphina. We can’t tell if he’s doing it because of Seraphina—because she’s a bitch like that—or if he’s doing it because he’s really that sick. Probably both.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “And you didn’t report this to the head of HR?”

“She did,” Kenny supplied, ever so helpful. “Twice. But Nicole is terrified to lose her job, so she never filed anything. But she was obviously horrified by the news. But there was nothing that Nicole could do. Herschel, the co-owner, is great. He’s a sweetie, according to Charleigh. But Chris is a closet psycho. He threatened Birdee’s job, Nicole’s, and then started hinting around that he would make the rest of the family unhirable. Get her parents fired from their jobs if she left or complained anymore. She warned me that it may be a possibility, but I haven’t seen any side effects yet. Though I imagine that it’s possible now that she quit. It’s okay, though. I mean, it’s not like she’s going to get fired from her job when she’s working with you. And it’s not like I’ll get fired since I also work for you. Her parents, though…”

“What do your parents do?” I asked.

“They work at that power plant in Sawtooth,” Charleigh answered. “Have for over forty years now.”

I pulled out my phone and made a call to Hopps Junior. Hopps Senior owned the only bar in town that the Dixie Wardens frequented, but Hopps Junior, who also happened to be a Dixie Warden, was head honcho in charge at the power plant. I’d warn him to be on the lookout for retaliation.

It was illegal as hell, but it was clear that if Chris was willing to be with Seraphina, he wasn’t afraid to do some sketchy shit.

“HJ,” Hopps Junior answered. “How can you fuck up my day?”

I rolled my eyes at the dramatic. “You got a Skye and Thomas Kensington working for you.”

A long, drawn-out pause. “I won’t fire them for you.”

“I don’t want you to,” I said. “But I think there’ll be someone who does call and threaten you about them. Their daughter quit a toxic work environment. Guy’s full of piss and vinegar, and I imagine that he’ll be calling to do what he does best—cause chaos.”

“Noted,” he sighed. “I’ll keep an eye on them, though. Let you know if I hear anything.”

After I hung up, I relayed that information to Charleigh, who looked relieved. “I forgot about that.”

Beau pulled in with some paperwork I needed to sign, and I jerked my head toward the office and said, “Come on, Charleigh. Let’s get to work.”

Six

I don’t know how to flirt, but we can argue.

—Charleigh to Court

Charleigh

Exactly what Beau thought would happen, did happen.

We were officially in the finals, and Seraphina had tried to continue her antics with the officials. When that didn’t work, she tried to bribe who she could, but nothing worked out.

Where the Cowgirls were ending their season, the Condors were starting theirs.

The funny thing was, I knew nothing about soccer or football.

I wasn’t a sports person.

The closest I got to sports was PT in the Marines.

Since being out, I didn’t mind a good hike now and then. What I did not do was any exercise above a walk.