Page 20 of Bad Husband

She didn’t know why he wanted the job, and he told her it was best for her to not ask any questions. Rosemary was set for life, with the money he paid her. If his enemies ever found out the lengths he was going to, in order to win back his wife, it would completely ruin his reputation, but it was something he was willing to risk.

Stepping out into the diner, Heather was at the tables, putting out pots that looked like either salt or sugar. Chiara was behind the counter, wiping down, straightening everything up. He needed to give her space, so he went to Heather.

“What can I do?” he asked.

“Go and see Chiara, she’ll have jobs for you.”

He’d already pissed off his wife, but Heather didn’t know that. Stepping toward Chiara, he stood with the main counter between them.

“What would you like me to do?” he asked.

At first, Chiara didn’t even talk to him. She continued to work, and then she looked up and grabbed a clipboard. “You need to go and check the latest delivery, and be quick about it.”

“Delivery?”

“You need to check all the products have been delivered so Rosemary hasn’t been shortchanged. Also, check the produce for spoils, and if there are any concerns, call me,” Chiara said.

She shoved the clipboard at him, and he grabbed it and gave her a smile, only she was looking the other way. There was no winning with Chiara.

He made his way toward the stockroom, entered, and he saw the latest delivery. He’d never taken stock before, and for over an hour, he was looking through boxes, trying to make sense of what was written down. It wasn’t so confusing, but nothing seemed to match.

Marco continued to struggle his way through until Heather entered the stockroom. “You’ve been gone ages. Chiara asked me to check up on you.”

He had a feeling Heather wasn’t supposed to mention the fact Chiara asked her to check on him.

Heather frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Stock take?”

She sighed and took the clipboard from him. “You see these numbers, they’re the ones on the side of the boxes. Everything is sealed, so you just got to open them up, check, but this is not a fresh delivery, these are cans and seasonings.”

“Chiara mentioned checking everything.”

“You do need to. Trust me, my first week working here, Rosemary asked me to do exactly the same thing, and all I did was mark the numbers with the ones on the chart, and when she opened it up, one of the boxes was completely empty.” She let out a gasp. “I like, I couldn’t believe it, and it was a pain in the ass. Rosemary was pissed, and I think that might have been the first or perhaps third time I came close to losing this job.”

“Third time?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah, I mess up all of the time, but I’ve got a good heart and our Rosemary knows that. Also, even when she does fire me, I keep showing up, and it seems to make her happy I do that.” She gave a little shrug. “Anyway, you’re the guy that was in here a few days ago, right? Fancy suit, expensive watch, and you didn’t want me serving you.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I just wondered. Was that all fake, or are you just looking to get into Chiara’s pants?”

He was not used to people—strangers—asking him so many personal questions. People kept a wide berth from him. They were afraid of him. Heather wasn’t. She looked him in the eye as if she had nothing to fear.

“I’ve got to do this.”

“Sure, sure,” Heather said, popping her gum. “Just so you know, it’s a waste of time with Chiara.”

“What?”

“Someone hurt her bad. When she arrived in No Point, she was a mess. No money. No family. Nothing. Just beaten and broken, and it has taken us a long time to get her to feel like she’s at home. She’s not looking for a man, nor does she want to settle down.” With that, she left.

It fucking stung to know he was the reason she’d been broken. He hadn’t touched her, but he’d ordered the hit. He took a deep breath and got to work. There was no time to fail. Chiara needed someone to be strong and that was exactly what he was going to be for her. Strong. Someone she could rely on.

He would not fall apart.

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