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“That’s what we all called him back in the day. Less feminine than Darby, don’t you think?” Rob grinned, reminding me of a child in need of attention who thought the way to get it was by saying smart-mouthed quips.
“I always thought it was because he was so good at darts,” Arianna said to Jamie. “He was really good at them.”
“Why would we call him Darbs, then, instead of Darts?” Rob shot me a look as if to say,Can you believe how dumb this chick can be?
“I thought it was a mixture of the two,” Arianna mumbled.
Rob ignored her. “It’s pretty here in Colorado—I have to give you that. Now that I’m here, it’s a little easier to see you here, Darbs. I never saw you as a rugged type of guy, but it seems like you fit right in.”
“Living here doesn’t require one to be rugged,” Jamie said, loud enough that the table next to us turned to look. “But we do appreciate simple, straightforward, and polite people.” The unspoken words were obvious.And you’re clearly not.
“Don’t get me wrong.” Rob glanced toward the window. “It’s great here. I can see now why all the rich and famous come to ski and look for a moose or whatever. It must be rough to see all the tourists come and go, throwing money around when you’re a humble teacher, giving to the community.” Rob looked even more pleased with himself for being gracious and kind to poor old Darbs.
“I’ve done fine,” I said.Pretentious prick.
“He’s a very popular teacher,” Jamie said. “With parents and kids. He teaches reading and writing to adults for whom English is a second language.”
“What a Boy Scout you are,” Rob said. “Master carpenter and saving the old people of Emerson Pass.”
“They’re not all old,” I said under my breath, and then had some of my beer.
“You’re so busy,” Arianna said. “How do you keep up with it all and still have time for Jamie?”
“I’m not that busy,” I said. “The carpentry jobs aren’t often, plus my summers are free. Jamie and I are more about quality time than quantity anyway.” What did that even mean? This night was wearing thin already.
“This is a close-knit community,” Jamie said. “When my inn burned down, the whole town rallied around me and I’d only recently moved here. That might be hard for you to understand, Rob, given what you do.”
“What I do?” Rob asked.
“Big corporate money and all that,” Jamie said, lifting her chin slightly.
“You’re mistaken,” Rob said. “My company has a philanthropic element. At least that’s what my accountant tells me.” He laughed.
“What about your buddy Mikey?” Jamie asked. “You screwed him out of what was rightfully his and everyone knows it.”
Rob’s face went from smugly pale to outraged red in a second. “What? How wouldyouknow anything about that?”
“I know how to use a computer,” Jamie said. “There were quite a few stories about how he wrote the code and then you ousted him.”
“Those stories were exaggerated by the press,” Arianna said. “He and Mikey parted ways with no hard feelings, isn’t that right, babe?”
“Sure. He made a lot of money for hisactualcontribution,” Rob said. “Regardless of what the rumors say. People have been coming for me ever since.”
“Ever since when?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Since the IPO,” Rob said. “People go insane when there’s money involved.”
“It’s only a rumor that Mikey sued you for firing him and taking credit for all his code?” Jamie asked innocently as the server approached with our first course, a garden salad made with arugula and cherry tomatoes. “Or is that all made up too?”
Rob spoke through gritted teeth. “Like I said, Mikey’s been well taken care of for what he did for us, but the man was not the leader we needed to take us public and meet the demands of our stockholders.” His mouth twitched upward into a smile.He looks like a ferret, I thought.
I took another grateful sip of my IPA. A little tart with a hint of citrus for spice. Kind of like Jamie. If she were a drink, she might be this IPA or a glass of hearty red wine.
Beside me, Jamie nudged me in the ribs. “Don’t you agree?”
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked as I stabbed a tomato.
“That you can’t believe everything you read.” Jamie smiled but her eyes glittered with intensity. “And big money controls the narrative these days, doesn’t it?”
