Page 130 of Bone Deep
I stop still in my Valentino loafers. Alarm bells go off in my head. There's no way Jen does not have commentary about what happened yesterday. She knows. I know she knows. If we hadn't seen her comments on the recorded video, the dozens of texts she sent me and Ryan would have tipped us off. There wasn't a single word to any of the texts, either. They were all emojis ranging from ninety-nine laughing emojis in one text to a mix of eggplants, peaches and the splashing water one. And I think she sent every GIF involving whipped cream that exists. So yeah, there's no way she's here to go over budget allocations.
“Yes. Grab a seat.” I tell her, waving to the seat opposite my desk. I round the corner and sit, wake up my computer. “Okay. I show three new executed contracts this month. Is that accurate?”
Jen raises a brow. I know she's expecting me to call her out, but I'm not taking the bait. We stare at each other a moment and she folds first.
“Yes. That is accurate. The commitment from the agency to THRIVE on those comes to one-hundred forty-seven thousand dollars and some change.”
I nod. “Excellent. That will assist with some holes I've identified in—”
“Speaking of identifying holes...” She digs into the bag she set on the floor by her chair. “Silly me, I completely forgot. I brought you something.”
I grumble, “Oh here we go.”
Jen hums and comes up from digging in her bag, plops a bottle on my desk and spins it around so I can see the label. I drop my gaze to the writing on the bottle: Dr. Bones' Back Pills. I look up at her and narrow my eyes.
“I thought you might need these. Your back has to be killing you hauling all that bulk around.” Then she loses it, doubled-over cackling loudly.
“Jen,” I say, sternly, but she just continues laughing.
“Jen,” I repeat, gritting my teeth now. She's howling.
“Ha ha. Very funny. Can we just go over these numbers, please?”
Jen picks up her bag. “Actually, I have a meeting I need to run off to.”
I narrow my eyes at her. She stands and taps on the desk. “We do need to go over those numbers soon. I just wanted to swing by and give you shit.”
I wave her off. “You've had your fun. Be gone, woman.”
She laughs. “And Spence?”
I cock one brow at her.
“I know Anthony is handling everything. But I'm here for you. Let's grab a drink soon, okay?”
I wave her off again. “Yeah, okay.”
She turns to leave and I say, “Can you send Dita in on your way out, please?”
“Yeah, yeah.” she calls back.
Jen walks out and I shake my head. I'm never going to live this down. A moment later, Dita pops in my office. “You needed me?”
I nod. “Have any calls from a Carl Schlapp come in?”
Dita crinkles her brows and moves her mouth like she's thinking. “Not that I’m aware of. Would you like me to get them on the line for you?”
I shake my head. “No. He’ll probably call me direct. Just checking. He’s an investigator I hired for one of our athletes a few weeks ago. If he happens to call the office, interrupt me. No matter what.”
Dita smiles. “You got it. Door open or closed?” Then she
“Closed. I have a video call for the next hour.”
Dita turns and leaves, closing the door behind her.
I look at the time on my computer. One minute to spare. I pull up my calendar and click the link to my call and wait. After a few seconds, Dr. Walker pops up on camera.
“Good morning, Spencer.”
