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“I understand why you felt the need to put me on time out, but I haven’t heard an argument that will change my mind.”
The board goes silent.
My princess watch flashes. Talia must be tired of waiting.
“If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I’m in the middle of a date.”
Pandemonium breaks out from my board members. I end the call to cut off their squawking and hand the tablet back to Mosely. He slips it into its case and gives me a tired look.
“Did you have to do that?”
“Was I lying?”
He rolls his eyes.
Chuckling, I return to the arcade. When I get close to the door, I hear a loud crash and a pained cry.
“Talia!” Heart screaming, I burst through the glass doors and run pell-mell into the neon lights.
Up ahead, Talia’s sitting primly in one of the empty booths in the dining area. A woman in a white top, black slacks, and an apron is on her knees, gathering an upended slushie cup. Green ice and juice ooze into the carpet.
An exhale of relief freezes in my throat until my eyes catch on the smirk etched into my niece’s face.
Is she…
That isn’t…
There’s no way that’slaughter,is it?
“Do you need help?” Mosely rushes past me to assist the worker.
Talia notices our presence and her head whips up, shoulders snapping back. A flash of guilt passes through her expression before she smiles sweetly at me.
“Uncle Dare.”
I walk forward slowly. “What happened here?”
“She tripped,” Talia says, pointing a dainty finger at the worker who pulls her lips into her mouth and stares at the ground. The floor isn’t the only thing that sopped up a green slushie. The waitress’s shirt looks like an impressionist art painting. Or a nasty pee stain glowing under a black UV light.
Talia looks at the employee too and her bottom lip starts trembling. She bites down on it, but there’s no hiding the intention of a giggle.
A strange, dark feeling takes root in my stomach.
‘She’s a gremlin’.
Lucy’s words echo back to me.
No.
There’s no way that’s true.
“I’m sorry,” the worker says shakily. She holds the slushie cup to her chest to hide her bra that’s beginning to show through the damp shirt. Her head is bent down in shame.
With decisive movements, I shrug out of my jacket and shroud it around her shoulders. She looks up in surprise.
I step back and slip a hand into my pocket. “Mosely, call the manager. Tell them to send a cleaning crew. Also, this young lady will need a change of clothes.” My stare is intentional. “See to it that she gets what she needs.”
He nods, knowing what to do. It’s not uncommon for us to make amends after one of Lucy’s drinking binges, but I never expected to do the same for my niece.
