Page 88 of House of Scarlett
Meryl shrugs. “I don’t know enough about him or his background to say whether or not I’d want him to volunteer yet, but I like his energy and his enthusiasm. You may keep him plenty busy with your work, Mr. Legend, but I find that sometimes people like Bump have much more to offer the world than we realize.”
Gabriel’s expression is skeptical as hell, but I want to hug Meryl Fosse.Thisis why I’ve been so desperate to get her as a client. Because she’s real and smart, and she sees the good in people.
“I’ll think about it,” Gabriel says with a lift of his chin.
Meryl nods at him and then shifts her attention back to me. “I’ll see you both Saturday night, Scarlett. I’m truly looking forward to it.” There’s a shriek from behind her, and she glances over her shoulder. “I’d better get back to my kids before they overrun the adults. Have a good night.”
As she walks away, Gabriel looks down at me. “Saturday night? I thought it was next week?”
I grimace. “Sorry. I meant to tell you.”
“It’s no big thing. We can make it work, anyway. I just need to tell Q.” He glances toward Meryl’s group one more time. “You think she’s serious about wanting Bump to volunteer, or was that some weird rich-bitch posturing that I don’t understand?”
I slip my hand into his. “She was serious. She’s good people, Gabriel. That’s why I’ve been so anxious to get her business. She’s not fake like a lot of the other ones. Meryl Fosse’s organization does important work.”
He turns to watch Bump throw another Skee-Ball. “Huh. Maybe she’s right. Maybe that’d be good for him.”
My phone buzzes in my purse, and I pull it out, more from habit than concern about it being an emergency. But when I see Amy’s name on the screen, I pause.
“I need to answer this.”
He waves a hand at the tickets flowing out of the machine Bump’s playing. “Go for it. I’ll be right here.”
“Ames?” I say as I tap the screen.
“Hey, sorry to bother you tonight, but I need to ask you a question.” The tone of her voice immediately puts me on edge.
“What?”
“What are you wearing?”
I jerk my head back at the question. “Why?”
“Just humor me, Scarlett. I swear I have a point.”
I look down at my jeans and plaid blouse and describe them to her.
“What about earlier today?”
“Why, Amy? You’re freaking me out.” My voice grows louder, and Gabriel’s attention zeroes in on my face. He leaves Bump and comes to my side.
“The troll is back, and this time, he said something about you wearing a pink dress. I was gone all day, so I don’t remember a pink dress. When did you wear one last?”
“Earlier today. When I went to pick up doughnuts for the girls, I was wearing a pink dress.” My stomach twists, and I move back a few steps to lean against the side of a video game.
Gabriel moves beside me. “What’s going on?” he asks, his gaze cutting from me to the phone. “What’s happening?”
Amy keeps going. “Shit.He’s here, Scarlett. That sick fuck isherein the city,and he saw you today.”
“Send me the screenshots. I’ll call the detective.”
Harsh lines etch into Gabriel’s face. I can tell he wants to rip the phone from my hand and demand answers, but he doesn’t. As soon as I hang up the phone, we’ll be having a conversation that I didn’t want to have tonight, but now there’s no other alternative.
“Sending them now. This guy is sick, Scarlett. We need to stop him.”
“I know, Amy. Trust me, I know.”
Once I end the call, Gabriel corners me next to the arcade games. “What’s going on? Your face is white as a fucking sheet. What happened?”
