Chapter 24

"Well," I began, "when we showed up, it was absolutely crazy with people everywhere."

"You mean like party guests?" Charlotte said.

"No. With workers, like me." I made little air quotes. "The help."

"And…?"

"And they even hired a valet parking service. I have no idea where they parked the cars, but the whole setup was really official, with guys in fancy red uniforms and everything."

"But what does that have to do with you?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm getting to that," I said. "So anyway, Naomi and I are unloading our stuff. And I might've left the van open, which wouldn’t have been a problem, except, well, there were these two crazy hounds."

Charlotte said, "Flint and Lansing?"

"Right. His dogs, apparently. And get this. Somehow, they end up inside the van."

"Somehow?" Charlotte laughed. "You mean through the door you left open?"

"Oh, fine. Yes. Probably. But anyway, they're rampaging through the whole cargo area, causing this huge ruckus, and some 'helpful' valet guy decides the only thing he can do is – get this – shut the van door."

"You're kidding." Charlotte looked horrified. "He trapped them inside the van?"

"Right. And I just wanna clarify, I wasn't even out there when this happened."

"Where were you?" she asked.

"Inside the house, getting everything set up. But then, I hear all this yelling."

"From who?"

"Everyone," I said. "But mostly, from this event planner – Ms. Hedgwick. Apparently, she'd hired some 'dog-wrangler' to keep the dogs entertained, and she was hollering for the guy to get out there and do his job."

Charlotte's eyebrows furrowed. "Dog wrangler?"

"Actually, I don't know what his official title was, but he was supposed to keep the dogs somewhere else, where they wouldn’t cause any trouble."

"Like where?"

"I dunno. But trust me, they had plenty of space." I waved away the distraction. "So anyway, like I said, I hear all this yelling, so I run out there, and everyone's standing around the van, doing nothing but listening."

"To what?" Charlotte asked.

"Mostly clattering and barking."

"So what'd you do?"

"So I go to the back of the van, fling open both doors, and there they are." I tried not to smile. "The hell hounds."

"So they were vicious?"

I thought of the dogs, with their excited eyes and floppy tongues. I felt a warm, happy glow as I recalled them slobbering all over Zane's front windows. "No. But they were insane. And snacky."

"Snacky?" Charlotte cringed. "You don't mean –?"

"Yup," I said. "For party food."

"But wait, I thought you already hauled it into the house."

"Not all of it," I said. "In fact, that's why I left the stupid van door open in the first place. We had more stuff to take in."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like, we had these little meatballs, some bacon and artichoke wraps, these cute little finger sandwiches, all kinds of stuff."

Charlotte said, "And the dogs got into it?"

"Not all of it. But enough to make a huge mess." In spite of everything, I couldn't help but smile at the memory of how happy they'd looked, frolicking among the catering goods.

"So," Charlotte prompted, "what'd you do?"

"Well, at first, I don't do anything, because I'm sure they're gonna bolt out of there any minute."

"But they don't?"

"No," I said. "They don't. And they won't, even after I call to them. I mean, there they are, surrounded by meatballs."

Charlotte winced. "You don't mean they—"

"Got into them? Yeah, they totally did. The other stuff was sealed up pretty good, but the meatballs broke from their container and rolled all over the place."

"So then, what'd you do?"

"Well, I've got to get the dogs outta there, right? So I hop into the van and grab a wad of meatballs off the floor."

"A wad?"

"You know, a handful. And I start tossing them out the back of the van. And I'm yelling, 'Fetch, doggie, fetch!'"

Charlotte laughed. "Doggie?"

"That was before I knew their names."

"Well, that explains everything," she said. "So did they? Fetch, I mean?"

"Not at first, because they've got all this meat inside the van. I mean, they'd be stupid to leave, right?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Totally."

"So anyway, before I know it, I've thrown like fifty meatballs. And they're scattered all over the parking area." I sighed. "And I might've hit a valet or two."

Charlotte was laughing again. "You didn't."

"Hey, you know I've got the worst aim in the world." I glanced away. "And if you think I can't throw a meatball, you should see me throw a shoe."

"Wait," Charlotte said. "Why would you throw a shoe?"

I waved away the question. "Don't ask."

Charlotte was shaking her head. "I can't believe I'm just hearing this. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Honestly, it was a little embarrassing."

"Just a little?" She looked beyond amused. "So why are you telling me now?

My gaze shifted to the wine. "I dunno."

Charlotte leaned forward. "Is there anything else you wanna confess?"

"Like what?"

"Admit it." Her tone grew teasing. "You think Zane Bennington's hot, don’t you?"

Once again, an image of Zane flashed in my mind. As usual, he was beyond sexy, with that thick hair, gorgeous cheekbones, and a body to die for. With an effort I shoved aside the image and reminded myself that he was not a nice person.

I gave an irritated sigh. "Of course, I think he's hot. But he's a total jerk, so it doesn't count."

Charlotte gave me a knowing smile. "That's what you think."

Already, I'd had enough of Zane Bennington. I didn't want to talk about him, and I sure as heck didn't want to think about him.

Already, he was haunting my thoughts far too often. Oh sure, most of those thoughts were homicidal, but every once in a while, a different kind of thought burrowed its way into my brain.

Like just now.

And it was pretty darn annoying.

Deliberately, I changed the subject. "Back to the catering thing, it was such a total nightmare."

"It wasn't all bad," she said. "Like you said, the dogs were happy, right?"

"Oh yeah. They had a lovely time. Me, not so much."

"So I've gotta ask," Charlotte said. "How do you know you weren't fired for that?"

It was a good question. And lucky for me, I had a good answer. "Because," I explained, "everything was mostly smoothed over until Zane got involved. And with the dogs, these things happen, right?"

Charlotte gave me a look. "Not to normal people, they don't."

"Hey, I'm normal."

But Charlotte was shaking her head. "You're not normal." She gave me a cheery smile. "You're better than normal. You're unique."

"You mean like a snowflake?" I frowned. "I'm not sure that's a compliment."

"Well, look on the bright side," she said. "With the money you're making now, you can afford your own dog." She grinned. "And maybe a wrangler, too."

"I don't need a wrangler," I said. "I need a psychic."

"Why?"

"Because I still don't know why Zane hired me of all people."

"Did you ask?"

"Sure."

"And what did he say?"

"Nothing. As usual."

"Who knows? Maybe he likes you."

"Him?" I said. "Not a chance."

"Why not?"

"Because he hates everyone. And he might even hate me more than he hates most people."

"That can't be true," she said. "If he hated you, he wouldn't have hired you."

I bit my lip. "Unless it's some sort of punishment."

"Oh come on," she said. "Do you know how many people would kill to be in your shoes?"

I did know, which only made me feel worse, because on some level, I knew I should be thrilled. And yet, I wasn't. I couldn’t be.

It wasn't only because I didn't like him. It was because, in spite of what my sister might think, I knew there had to be some nefarious reason he'd hire me of all people.

Maybe he wanted to see me squirm.

If so, he definitely knew exactly what he was doing, because my first day proved even more uncomfortable than I'd anticipated.