Page 26 of Stage Smart


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“I helped design every single item in that carton. Even sat on the test panel.”

Interesting. Isn’t the point of a test panel to prevent things like this from making it to market?

“Wow,” I say, holding up another… thing. This one has a crown. A scepter is glued to its hip-fin, presumably because it has no arms to hold a scepter.

“Can I tell you another secret?”

Can I say no?

“Sure.”

He leans close. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m not actually a music tour person.”

No shit.

“Right. You’re the Talent Liaison for Sandeke Telecom.”

He snorts a laugh and shakes his head at my ignorance. “No, no, my friend. I’m not that either. Well, I am but in the same way Antarctica is a country. That’s just my cover.”

“Your cover?”

I’ll leave the Antarctica thing alone for now.

“I’m here undercover,” he whispers.

Oh right. The spy thing.

“Wow. So you’re spying for Team Jarvis?” I joke.

When his expression grows suspicious, so does mine.

“How did you know?” he hisses.

“Know what?”

“That I’m undercover for Jarvis.”

“You just told me.”

“No, I said… Wait! Who do you work for?!”

Pretty sure the entire planet knows the answer to that.

“Larinda,” I say.

He huffs as he straightens and returns to his pointless anti-sorting.

“Obviously, which is why I can’t tell you more.”

“You just told me, though.”

“No, I said… never mind. Put the merkins behind the collectible figurines.”

I choke a little. Did he just say merkins? He knows the primary audience for these concerts are preteen kids and their parents, right?

I scoop a pile of fabric squares from the box and stare at… yeah, still don’t know what I’m looking at. Whatever it is would make a terrible merkin, but I don’t really have a theory for anything else. Apparently, they think they can get ten bucks for it, though.

“These are… merkins?” I ask, glancing back at Chad who is now scowling while placing things in random piles. My own sleuthing abilities must have upset him. Not sure why since all I did was repeat back exactly what he told me but, admittedly, I don’t have a ton of tactical spy knowledge. Maybe the latest spy trend is to tell everyone you’re a spy and confuse the hell out of them.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com