Chapter Two #2
The alternative is the street, and for someone as petite and quiet as Minnie, I can’t imagine how poorly she’d fare.
I get up from the table and head back to the counter, in part so that she won’t see my expression.
What the fuck? Who kicks out their kid? Admittedly, Minnie is older than I thought at first, but come the fuck on.
What kind of parent would choose to put their daughter in this situation?
I return a few minutes later, with my expression more composed, bearing pastries and another cup of coffee. I put the coffee in front of her, along with a muffin, while I claim the bear claw. “The muffins are good,” I tell her. “You should try it.”
“You didn’t need to get me anything,” Minnie says.
“Sure I do. You’re my assistant. And my assistant isn’t going to sleep in her car.”
Again, Minnie glances up at me. “What?”
“I have a guest room,” I tell her. “You’re moving in. If it makes you feel better, we can put a bolt on the door so that you can lock me out.”
Minnie stares at me. Her full lips part slightly, like she wants to argue with me but has no comeback.
I realize how bossy I just sounded. Shit, I sound like Dante, don’t I?
I didn’t know I had a little Dante in me, but here we are.
I kind of like it. Maybe next I should work on my looming abilities.
“But, Kepler…” Minnie nibbles her bottom lip.
“Kepler?” I repeat.
“My baby,” she mumbles. “I can’t leave without him.”
Jesus Christ, her parents threw her out of the house with her baby?
She’s been living in a car with her kid?
Dante just saddled me with a single mom who has no experience as an assistant?
I’d be pissed, but it’s not like I’m going to turn my back on her now, although I might need to track her family down and give them a piece of my mind.
I’m not brave enough to go toe-to-toe with Dante.
“Bring him,” I say, with an airy wave of my hand, as if I welcome babies I’ve never met into my house all the time. “What’s one more?”
Minnie straightens her shoulders. She sits back in her chair, unfolding from her hunched posture for the first time. “Why?”
“Why, what? You and… Kepler, was it?” Weird name for a kid, but okay.
Minnie nods.
“I’m not going to let you live on the street. In Vegas. I have a spare room, you need a spare room. Seems pretty silly to let it go to waste while you boil in the parking garage.”
She still isn’t convinced, but at least she doesn’t say no.
“Julie vouched for you. And Dante vouched for me. I’m also pretty sure he would drag me into an alley if I did anything to hurt you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
A tiny smile flits across Minnie’s face. “Not an alley. He’d make a statement.”
“Should I be worried about cement shoes, then?” I chuckle.
“Supposedly, he once put up a massive billboard of Camden’s dad’s naked body to get back at him for something.
Who knows what? Anyway, I won’t fuck with Dante, so…
” I almost say I won’t fuck with you, but that sounds weirdly sexual even in my own head, and I don’t want to scare her off again.
“You can trust me to mind my own business,” I say instead.
Minnie takes a swig of her coffee. “Okay, we’ll give it a try. Just until I have enough for an apartment. Deal?”
“Deal.”
We shake on it. Minnie has a remarkably firm grip for someone with such tiny hands.
“I can walk you to your car,” I offer. “You should come check the place out. See if you need anything.”
“I’m sure it will be great. You don’t need to walk me anywhere, though. I have to go to the main office to pick up Kepler.”
I guess it’s a good thing she didn’t leave her baby in the car, though I certainly wouldn’t leave any kid of mine around Dante. His bullshit could be contagious. “It’s fine, I’ll come with you. I’m in no rush. Anyway, you should probably follow me home, right? We’ll go together.”
Minnie throws back the rest of her coffee, then folds up her muffin in a napkin and tucks it in her bag for later, along with the rest of the sandwich. “Okay, let’s go.”
We head up to the main office. The whole time, I run through a list of things in my head.
If Minnie’s hoarding sandwich ends, I’m guessing money is tight.
I’ll have to buy whatever she needs, and I need to do it in a way that won’t make her feel like I’m being patronizing.
I have plenty of spare linens and towels and crap like that for when my family visits.
When I was growing up, we never had a lot to spare, but we had enough.
I’m not going to let a single mother do without just because she’s too shy to ask for help.
Money isn’t a problem for me, but I don’t want Minnie to feel like I’m buying her, either.
This could be a tricky line to walk.
As soon as we step through the office door, Minnie freezes. I bump into her back, and have to catch her shoulder to steady her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Kepler!” she wails. “He’s gone!”
I’d believe just about anything when it comes to Dante, but kidnapping? That doesn’t seem like his style. I peer over Minnie’s shoulder, expecting to see an empty stroller or something. A small grey pet carrier sits next to Renee’s desk with the door open, and nothing inside.
“He’s blind and loose in the arena!” Minnie presses her hands to the side of her face. “Dante’s going to kill me.” She drops to her knees to begin her search.
I keep staring at the carrier for a moment while the wheels in my head creak into belated action.
“So Kepler’s not an actual baby. Got it.
What are we looking for here?” I turn my head slightly only to get an eyeful of Minnie’s ass.
Her oversized shirt has ridden up, and those leggings are…
very form-fitting. Also, slightly sheer.
Minnie doesn’t have a lot of curves, but she must do squats or something, because, damn.
From the next room, Dante’s voice calls, “Dubois, what are you staring at?”
I jump and whip toward his office door. He’s glaring at me through the glass. Shit. I didn’t realize he was in here. That’s supposed to be Sergio’s office. “Nothing, sir.”
“Good. Now get in here, both of you.”
I try to make up for my ogling by holding a hand out to Minnie to help her to her feet. Her cheeks are red, and she appears to be on the brink of tears. I guide her over to the office door and open it. At the same time, Dante stands up from the desk with something furry cradled in his arms.
“Kepler! There you are.” Minnie rushes forward.
Dante pats the furball on its pink tummy. “Yeah, Cannoli looked bored.”
“It’s Kepler.” Minnie folds out her arms toward the sleepy Furby-looking thing Dante’s holding.
“He looks more like a Cannoli to me.” Dante ignores her and keeps petting the…
“Is that a ferret?” I ask.
Dante raises an eyebrow at me. “What the hell did you think it was?”
“He’s wearing goggles,” I argue. “You don’t see that every day.”
Minnie hovers around Dante like a worried parent. “He doesn’t like strangers. Don’t look him in the eyes.”
“Hence the goggles?”
“They limit his sensory input. He likes them.”
As if in agreement, Kepler makes a weird hissing chirp, like a modem dying. Dante finally relents and hands the little fuzzball back to Minnie. I’ve never seen a ferret this close, but I have to admit, he’s pretty adorable. Especially with those little goggles.
It sinks in that I’m going to be living with this little monster rather than a literal human newborn, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I’m not sure how high-maintenance ferrets are, but I’m positive they’re quieter at the very least.
Minnie adjusts her grip on Kepler. “Okay, so I guess we’ll be going. Good news, Dante. I’ll be moving the rust bucket out of the VIP parking.”
Dante waves a hand. “Too late, cupcake, I already moved it.”
Minnie’s eyes widen. “Where? My things are in there!”
Dante bellows, “Renee!” loudly enough to make Kepler jump. He digs his little claws into Minnie’s skin as he scrambles up onto her shoulder.
“I’m on it!” a breathy voice calls from outside. Renee appears with a rolling cart laden with bags. She pulls open the door and body-blocks it open. “I’m on it. So, Minnie, is it? Here are all your belongings.”
“But… my car?”
“I’m taking care of it,” Dante assures her.
Minnie shakes her head. Her eyes go glassy, and she hunches over again. “I can’t be an assistant without a car.”
This is about more than a vehicle. Whatever had Minnie so nervous in the cafe had her searching for exits. Whatever made her leave home must have been bad enough that she wants to know that she has a way out.
“It’s being taken care of,” Dante says. He’s either oblivious to, or indifferent to, her fear. “Didn’t I get you a job? And a place to stay?”
“But what will I drive?”
Dante grasps her forearm. “Trust the process.”
“But…”
I step in before this can go on much longer. “When he gets like this, it’s best to just roll with it. I’ll drive. And carry.”
Minnie wilts. “Okay.”
“Hey!” Sergio Giovanetti pops his head in next to Renee. He glowers as his father. “What’s going on here? What the…is that a ferret?”
Dante pats the air in front of him. “Don’t worry about it. Everything is under control.”
Minnie shrinks back from the tension crackling between father and son. Renee and I just sigh. This is par for the course when it comes to these two. On paper, Sergio is running things now. Yeah, right.
“Mom! Dad’s doing it again!” Sergio bawls.
Dante turns back to his computer. Which is Sergio’s computer, theoretically. “Leave your mother alone. She’s busy.”
“Busy doing what? She’s retired. You’re retired!”
“She’s getting the team a ferret.”
“Aw, I want a ferret.” Renee makes kissy lips at Kepler, who turns to her, even though he can’t see her through his sensory input goggles.
Sergio rubs his temples. “We’re the Venom. Why would we need a ferret?”
Dante shrugs even as he clicks around on the computer. “Make it work.”
Minnie appears to be on the verge of a meltdown, so I steer her out of the room while the Giovanettis keep sniping at each other. The sad little cart of personal possessions is still there, bearing even fewer items than I initially realized.
“Is this everything?” I ask.
“Everything except my car.” Minnie bundles Kepler back into his carrier.
“Okay. So. You, the ferret, a couple of nanotech textbooks, and one small carry-on sized bag of belongings are coming to live with me. Cool, cool, cool.”
Minnie stands up, clutching her purse to one arm and gripping the handle of Kepler’s carrier with the other. Her chest heaves. I’m pretty sure she’s one trigger away from a panic attack. “You’re right. This is crazy. I can figure something else out.”
I scoop up her meager belongings. Even with my gym duffle slung across my shoulders, I can carry everyone in one go. “Nope. Dante said I needed an assistant. And you’re it.”
With that, I march out of the offices, with a woebegone new hire trailing after me.