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“Thought of what?” he said.
Still holding his shoulders, she leaned back, beaming. “I know the perfect person!” she said. “Oh, Randall, of course! It’s perfect!”
“Slow down, Katrina,” he said. “What’s perfect?”
“YOU are!” she said triumphantly.
“Thank you, I like to think so, but what . . .”
“For the JOB, Randall! You are perfect for the job!”
Randall could only stare at her.
* * *
—
No,” Erik said. “Absolutely not.”
“Just talk to him, Erik,” Katrina said. “Give him a chance to—”
“I said no, and I mean it,” Erik said. “I will not let some fortune-hunting guttersnipe take an important job at the museum!”
“‘Guttersnipe,’ for God’s sake,” Tim said. He’d come along to give Katrina moral support. “Listen to yourself, Erik—you sound like Grandfather!”
“I choose to take that as a compliment,” Erik said. “Grandfather would never have let some penniless drifter get close to this priceless collection. And I will NOT be the one to grant access to this museum to some . . . adventurer . . . whose only qualification is that he’s hypnotized Katrina into this ridiculous marriage!”
“This marriage has kept me out of prison, Erik,” Katrina said, starting to get angry in spite of her vow not to.
Erik stared down his nose at her. “Well, perhaps it would be better if you—” he began.
Tim jumped to his feet and leaned over the desk to go nose-to-nose with his brother. “Erik, if you finish that sentence, I swear to God I will thrash you,” he said with quiet anger.
Katrina could see a parade of different emotions march across Erik’s face. For a moment she thought he would take his brother’s threat as a challenge. But in the end, Erik’s overwhelming love of dignity won out. He simply shook his head and said, “All right, Timothy. Sit down.”
Tim
lingered for a moment. But he finally let a breath hiss out between his teeth, and he sat.
While her two brothers faced off, Katrina had recovered her cool. And now, as evenly as she could manage, she said, “I’m just asking you to talk to Randall,” she said. “See for yourself that he is completely qualified to, to, take on this job.”
“He’s nothing but a scam artist,” Erik said stubbornly. “After your money.”
“You don’t know that,” Katrina said.
“I think I do,” Erik said. “What else could he want?”
“Don’t be such an asshole, Erik!” Tim snapped.
“I’m not actually hideous,” Katrina said. “And Randall hasn’t taken a penny from me so far.”
“All the better to take it all later,” Erik said.
“Jesus Christ, Erik, you—” Tim began. Katrina put a hand on his arm and stopped his outburst.
“Erik, you’re being completely unreasonable,” she said.
“I don’t think you are in any position to comment on anyone being unreasonable,” Erik said.
