Chapter 12
Troy
I WAITED FOR AZAR TO answer the phone. It took him two rings, as it always did.
“I got your message,” Azar said as a greeting.
We had a system worked out, one that benefited us both. If someone brought him apple charlotte, Azar would keep an eye on that person.
“It’s for her protection,” I clarified because most of the time, I needed him to watch someone for other reasons. “Did she tell you what her favorite flowers are?”
“Sweet pea flowers, but she likes anything with a good scent. Doesn’t care much about roses, though.”
“Thanks. Let me know if you see anyone snooping around.”
We ended the call, and I remained in my car, watching the restaurant I was supposed to have a date in. I was way early, but something told me I should be here. It could’ve had something to do with Mira going into the restaurant with another man. No, not a man. She was out with a raging asshole who thought being an alpha gave him permission to treat others like dirt.
I got out of the car and came closer to the door. I wasn’t spying. Really, I wasn’t. I just had a date at the same place, courtesy of Love Bites who arranged the date for me.
My day got a little better when the dirtbag stormed out of the restaurant. Of course, Mira let him have it.
“Hi,” a feminine voice pulled me into the reality of why I was here. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t to stalk Mira. “I’m not late, am I?”
“No, I’m early,” I assured her even though Selena looked like the kind of person who knew exactly what time it was, even if she didn’t have a watch. The way she carried herself made her look like she was wearing a power suit even when she wore a casual dress.
I opened the door for her, then followed her inside. The hostess took my name to check the reservation, then led us to a private corner with a good view of both the street and the restaurant.
“Occupational hazard?” Selena asked. “Wanting to watch everyone, I mean.”
So, she read up on me. I could appreciate it.
“Yes. Sometimes, it feels like I’m always working, even when I’m not.”
I didn’t want to be on a date, and it had nothing to do with the sulking mermaid sitting in the middle of the restaurant. Somehow, I didn’t think it was her choice to sit there. She would’ve picked a dark corner.
“What brings you to Whynot? Or are you ready to finally leave the dark side?” I asked.
“Sorry, but I never was on the dark side. I’m only here for business, but I saw advertisements for Love Bites and thought I should try it out. Who knows, maybe I’ll lure some unsuspecting merman away from the losing side.”
The town of Because had been our friendly rival for as long as I could remember. Some took this rivalry too seriously, but most of the time, we were just trying to outdo each other during every festival.
Selena’s phone pinged with a notification. “Excuse me.”
She opened the messenger and read, her face going between bewildered, concerned, disgusted, then back to bewildered.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“No. I rented space for an event I’m planning, and it’s been nothing but one disaster after another. First, I noticed that it smelled like ghosts, but the ghost detector didn’t find anything. Now, there is sewer water coming out of electrical outlets, but it’s so cold that it froze solid. The florist I had hired just texted me that she slipped, fell, and broke her leg. Somehow, her fall triggered a fire alarm.”
I had a feeling about this. Not a good feeling. “Are you renting that empty storefront?” The one I had seen her in with my client’s husband.
“Yes. How did you know?”
“Rumors are, that place is cursed. Every business that ever opens there ends up failing.”
Organizing an event, huh? Maybe the husband wasn’t messing around on his wife, after all, or maybe he was but not with Selena.
“Oh.” She frowned at the phone. “A curse would explain it.”
“I’m surprised you found a florist to work on that place. Most locals wouldn’t go anywhere near it.” That was putting it mildly.
“I thought I had such a hard time with it because of the timeframe.”
“What are you organizing there, anyway? Maybe I can help you find a better location.”
“I’m not allowed to talk about it. The only reason I was hired was because I’m not from Whynot, so I wouldn’t tell my aunt who would tell her dearest, closest friend. All in secret, of course. You get the point.”
I did. Small town gossip spread in perfect confidentiality like wildfire. Problem was, if this involved my client and her husband, then I might need to know what was happening. I was literally getting paid to do it.
“Maybe if you tell me what the requirements are, I can go from there,” I said.
“Well, I need to fit about twenty guests. It also needs to be someplace that would look ordinary from the outside while having all the decorations and people on the inside.”
Like a surprise party? Waves have mercy, was my client getting suspicious of her husband because he was setting up a surprise party for her? It would explain why he was sneaking around.
“And when do you need it?”
Selena wrinkled her nose like the thought disturbed her. “In two weeks. There’s really not much time to change locations, but I can’t have sewer water coming out of outlets. That’s just disgusting. It’s supposed to smell like lavender, not sewer.”
The poor woman looked miserable. Working in a cursed building would do that to a person. I could help her.
Getting involved in the planning would help me figure out if the guy really was just planning a surprise party or if he was cheating. Then again, I knew whatever he was planning would take place in two weeks. I could simply ask my client if there were any significant dates coming up.
The downside of helping Selena was that as nice as she seemed, I just wasn’t interested, and I didn’t want to lead her on. If I simply promised to let her know if I find a good location and took her phone number, she might take it the wrong way.
Mira’s dejected form lingered in my periphery. What would she think if she saw me and Selena exchange numbers? Did it matter?
My little mermaid got me feeling all sorts of things. I spent half the night staring at her picture, trying to figure out if she and Kiora were one and the same. Then I imagined all the ways I could punish her for giving me a false name, and then I spent the rest of the night beating off to the thoughts of spanking my best friend’s daughter.
I was turning into a pervert, and it was all her fault. I should spank her for that, too. Or I should stop thinking about her that way for my own safety because Dylan would murder me.
“I might know a place you can use on short notice, but I have to check with the owner,” I said to Selena.
“You’d be saving me so much headache if you did.” Selena pulled out her phone. “What’s your number? I’ll text you so you have mine.”
I glanced in Mira’s direction, but she was already gone. I shouldn’t care what she thought about me giving my number to another woman. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t even planning on taking it any further with Selena.