4 Cope
Twelve hours after his triumphant smackdown at the theater, Cope still felt like he was walking on air.
Jude had plenty of things to say to him once they’d gotten home and tucked Wolf into bed.
His son had been begging to go to more theater events if they were all as exciting as Alistair Hooke’s performance.
Now, he was sitting in his office reading stories from the local newspapers describing what had taken place the night before, calling Alistair the lowest form of conman, while referring to Cope as a hero.
Unfortunately, Carson and Cole were concerned over what had taken place and called a meeting. Cope rolled his eyes.
“You ready, Cope?” Carson asked, poking his head into Cope’s reading room.
“Yup.” Cope shut the lid of his laptop and followed Carson into the conference room where Ten and Cole waited for them.
He was surprised to see Fitz, Ronan, and Jude, who were sitting together, posing a united front.
What the hell was happening here? “Hey, guys.” Cope shut the door behind him and took a seat at the table. He could feel the tension in the room.
“I wanted to get everyone together to talk about what happened last night with Alistair Hooke,” Carson began, sounding solemn. “I spoke to Ten and Ronan to get a fuller understanding of what happened and I have to tell you, Cope, I’m very concerned.”
Hold on a second, was Carson about to drop the hammer?
Cope had been nothing but a loyal, hardworking employee for years.
He’d not only brought in new clients, but had a high retention average with previous clients.
He’d read for people at block parties, street fairs, and in grocery stores, always making sure to hand out his West Side Magick card.
Taking a deep breath, Cope turned to Carson.
“What is it that’s concerning you and how can I help resolve it? ”
“I would certainly hope you’re going to help resolve things!
The phone has been ringing off the hook all morning, we’re slammed with appointments, and there are members of the media who want to interview you.
The shop is going to be an absolute madhouse today and I’m not sure we have enough people on the schedule to handle the volume. ”
Cope blinked a few times. “Wait, hold on. You’re not going to fire me for running my mouth last night?”
“Fire you?” Carson laughed. “I’d like to clone you to help serve customers today.”
“Can I help?” Jude asked. “I’ve been cleared to return to work and Kaye’s got the kids today.” He looked eager to jump right in.
“Can you answer phones, book appointments and run a cash register? Carson asked, grinning.
“Uh, yeah, sure I can, with a little help,” Jude said.
“Great, you’re hired.” Carson turned to Ronan. “You’re a hell of a salesman. If you want to jump in, we’d love to have you. Same with you, Fitz.”
“I think we can fit that into our schedule.” Fitz looked a little shell-shocked.
“Let’s get to it, guys!” Carson grabbed his notepad and was out the door. Cole was right behind him.
Cope had never felt so relieved in his entire life.
He’d been pretty sure Carson was going to start shouting about how stupid and irresponsible he’d been with Alistair Hooke, which he himself had to admit wasn’t his best move, but it seemed like the fates were smiling down on him instead of kicking him in the sack.
“Guys, a minute,” Jude said, pointing to Ten and Ronan.
“I’ll go learn how to run the cash register. What could possibly go wrong?” Fitz grinned.
“All you need to do is flirt, Fitz!” Jude laughed. “You’re tall and handsome, use your assets to your benefit. Smile and charm them. Before you know it, the store’s stock will be totally sold out.”
“Smile and flirt,” Fitz muttered under his breath as he left the room.
“What’s up, Jude?” Ronan asked, looking concerned.
“Everything happened so fast last night and we all went home in separate cars. I wanted to know if Everly was okay?” Jude’s attention was on Cope as he spoke.
“Is Everly hurt?” Cope asked. He’d been so busy showing off his gift that he’d somehow missed there was something wrong with his niece.
“Right before everything happened with the air horns and the militant-looking protesters, Everly grabbed Aurora and pulled her down to the floor. She shielded Aurora with her body and both girls had their hands over their ears,” Ronan said.
“She told me something bad was going to happen.” Jude shook his head. “Fitz managed to run into the row behind us, bent over the seat, and grabbed Aurora. I did the same with Everly and told Ronan to get out of the theater with Wolf, while I came to rescue you.”
“Rescue me?” Cope asked, sounding as stunned as he felt.
“I was killing it last night. How dare that asshole come to our town with his fake psychic schtick? I put Alistair Hooke in his damn place. Maybe now no other desperate people will get conned by him.” Cope had gone from feeling euphoric to angry within seconds.
He most certainly had not needed saving last night.
“What the hell did I need rescuing from?”
Jude sighed, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but in this room. “From yourself.”
“What?” Cope stared at his husband. He couldn’t have been more surprised by what Jude was saying if he’d broken into a rousing chorus from “Send in the Clowns.”
“Babe, what you did was overkill. The protesters had been able to prove Hooke was a conman with the Facebook page they’d created to trap him.
You banged the final nail into his coffin, but then you went overboard, talking about his mother and carny aunt.
I’m afraid that once Hooke gets over his humiliation, he’s going to come for you. ”
“Same with Debunked,” Ten said. “The last thing we need is them shining an unfavorable light on any of us.”
“What kind of Twilight Zone is this?” Cope couldn’t believe what was happening. “All we have in this business is our reputation. A fake like Hooke brings us all down. I was expecting Carson to say that our bookings were down today because people were questioning if we could be trusted.”
“I agree,” Ronan said. “Same goes for us in our line of work.” Ronan pointed between himself and Jude. “I just don’t want you to get hurt or targeted. I love you like a brother Cope and would do anything for you. I hope you know that.”
Cope listened closely to what Ronan was saying.
He’d always been Jude’s best friend and had done so much to take care of their family after Jude’s accident.
Cope knew he was coming from a place of love, which brought him back around to where the conversation started.
“What happened with Everly? Did she see something coming for me or was she just alerted to what happened last night?”
“I talked to her after we got home last night. Everly was tired and still a little freaked out. She said something was coming, but she wasn’t able to see exactly what that was.” Ten wore a worried look. Obviously he wasn’t able to see what Everly had with his gift.
“I’m so sorry,” Cope said, feeling like shit. “I promise my days of playing psychic avenger are over.”
“Good enough. Now, let’s get to work. It’s going to be one hell of a day.” Ten took Cope’s hand and walked out of the room.
As they headed for their reading rooms, Cope tried to read Ten and came up blank. What the hell was up with that?