Bylines & Skylines (An Avery Shaw Mystery Book 9) (27 page)

And there it is. My mother is nothing if not predictable. Er, semi-predictable. Holy crap, though. We’re buying a house! How much more of an adult am I expected to be? I’m pretty sure I’m at my limit.

“
T
his is embarrassing
.”

Eliot didn’t let my tone bother him as he followed me into The Monitor’s office. After throwing herself at Eliot – and gushing nonstop about how she always thought this was a great idea and she was going to decorate our house because I have terrible taste – Mom left Eliot and me to toil at work while she went shopping. I could tell Eliot was fascinated with Mom’s reaction, but he didn’t force me on the issue. That was a good thing, because I had no idea how to explain it – or absorb it.

What he did press me on was sticking close to him on the last day of the convention. Fish texted, asking me to stop at the office before heading to the convention center. I had no idea what he wanted to talk about on a Sunday morning, but I knew it wouldn’t be good. The only thing I liked about the situation was that it would force me to separate from Eliot because the office was in the opposite direction from where he was heading.

He had other ideas.

“I don’t see why it’s embarrassing,” Eliot countered, his eyes bright as he watched me wave my security pass in front of the door scanner. “You should be happy I love you enough to protect you.”

“Yeah. That’s just what I was thinking. Oh, wait. No, it wasn’t.”

Eliot mustered a smile, though just barely. “You’ll live,” he said. “If Fish has a problem with me being here, I’ll explain the situation and make him understand.”

“Explain the situation to me,” I prodded. “Make me understand.”

“I love you and I don’t want you hurt.” Eliot’s answer was succinct, the words sweet, but his eyes flashed impatience when they locked with mine. “I also don’t trust you not to seek out trouble and turn the last day of the convention into a steaming pile of crap.”

I was pretty sure I’d just been insulted. “For the record, I don’t seek out trouble.”

“Fair enough,” Eliot said, holding the door open and ushering me into the empty lobby. Only a handful of people worked Sundays and almost all of them had shifts later in the day. Still, there were three vehicles in the parking lot and I was sure that meant something annoying was about to happen. “I honestly don’t believe you purposely cause trouble. Er, I don’t believe that some of the time. There are times you purposely cause it.”

“Oh, the love is just flowing this morning,” I muttered, earning a genuine smile.

“You’re going to find trouble today,” Eliot said. “I can feel it. I’m doing the best I can by you, and that means I have to stick close even as you do your best to shake me. Everything is going to come to a head and we have a lot to deal with. I’m not losing you before we get to enjoy the new house.”

Now he was just playing dirty. He knew I was excited about that house. In fact, I was so excited I packed a box before leaving for the office. Yes, I know that seems trite and a little schmaltzy, but I couldn’t help myself. Sure, it was a box of
Star Wars
memorabilia, but it totally counts.

“I don’t want to ruin what has been a pretty terrific day so far,” I said, leading Eliot into the dark hallway. The only lights came from emergency panels at varying locations along the corridor. I was used to the darkness. It clearly set Eliot on edge, though, because his eyes were alert as he held my hand and scanned every shadow we passed. “However, I am an adult and I never look for trouble.”

Eliot snorted. “You always look for trouble.”

“That is a lie.”

“It’s not a lie,” Eliot countered. “I’m sticking close to you today and that’s all there is to it. I’m not just worried about you tripping over a murderer, though, if that helps.”

Not really. “What else are you worried about me tripping over?”

“Well, you picked fights with those birdmen yesterday and they might be after you,” Eliot replied, refusing to let me goad him into raising his voice. “We don’t know if Jason Voorhees was after you because of the murder or something else. With you, it’s so hard to tell because people often want to kill you mere minutes after meeting you.”

“Thanks,” I said dryly.

“Don’t mention it,” Eliot said. “And, if I’m being honest, I’m slightly worried Cara will show up and challenge you to a hair-pulling contest.”

I widened my eyes, surprised. I hadn’t even considered that. “Do you really think she’d do that?”

Eliot shrugged. “I don’t think she’s wrapped all that tight lately,” he replied. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think she’s overtly a bad person. I think months of feeling inferior to you and being told it was all in her head wore her down, though. Then she found out that it was all for nothing and Jake dumped her. She might be on the edge.”

I considered the statement and then brushed it off. “I’m not afraid of her. Even with a bum knee, I can take her out without breaking a sweat.”

Eliot chuckled. “I’m not worried about her beating you up,” he said. “In fact, I’m not worried about anything she could do to you. You’re stronger and smarter. She’s an idiot if she takes you on.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“The damage she could do to Jake in the process,” Eliot answered. “Trouble, I know you can take her. I want you to be careful, though. You won’t be arguing on behalf of just yourself. You’re going to have Jake’s fate in your hands, too. He’s been through enough.”

“You’re awfully sympathetic to your rival,” I pointed out. “Just for the record, I wouldn’t be nearly as sympathetic to your ex-girlfriend.”

“I don’t have an ex-girlfriend who is still in my life,” Eliot pointed out. “I don’t want Jake out of your life. I don’t think it will be good for either of you and it will backfire on me because it will make you both tense. This situation is entirely different and completely weird and we’re just going to have to muddle through it.”

“You’re a good man.” I meant every word. “You care about other people’s feelings.”

“I care about your feelings and, believe it or not, I care about Jake’s feelings,” Eliot said. “I do not, however, consider him my rival. I’m too awesome and great to have a rival.”

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “I guess I can agree with that.”

“Good,” Eliot said, stopping in the middle of the empty newsroom and glancing around. “Does that mean you’ll be on your best behavior and not fight with me today?”

“That means I’ll try to stay out of trouble,” I clarified.

“I guess I can’t ask for more than that,” Eliot said, shaking his head. “Where is everyone?”

I pointed toward the conference room on the far side of the cubicle row. “Before we go in there, though, you have to promise me something.”

Eliot arched an eyebrow and waited.

“I’m willing to play ball with you today on your security turf,” I said. “This is my turf, though. I’m calling the shots in there. Don’t get involved when I start arguing with Fish … because there will be a lot of arguing and I might do some things you find odd. Just … go with it.”

Eliot smirked and dropped a quick kiss on my mouth. “And now I’m looking forward to watching you work your magic over co-workers. It is a happy day.”

We could both agree on that.

“
T
HANK YOU
for joining us
, Avery,” Duncan said, his eyes narrow slits when they landed on me as I entered the room. “And thank you for bringing your boyfriend. I didn’t know that was allowed.”

Because his wife left him after securing a green card, I was pretty sure he was sex-deprived and mentally unstable, so I didn’t take his snide comment to heart. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t be punished for it later, though.

“Oh, when they sent that memo out they omitted you from the list,” I said, feigning sweetness. “We didn’t want you upset because you got dumped in the dirt by a woman who was hoarding money in another country just so she could get away from you.”

“You take that back,” Duncan snapped.

“That’s never going to happen,” I said.

“What’s going on?” Marvin appeared behind me in the open doorframe, huge bags under his eyes. If I had to guess, he was hungover and not happy in the least to be called into work on a Sunday morning.

“Duncan and Avery are giving me indigestion and making me happy I never fathered children,” Fish answered. “I don’t think I could’ve survived having kids around because they fight all of the time.”

“You could’ve if I was your child,” I said. “Duncan is terrible, though, so I agree no one would want him.”

“Shut up, Avery!” Duncan shouted. “I don’t have to put up with your mouth. That’s not part of my job description.”

I decided to step out onto a shaky limb and test my boundaries. “Am I not still the boss?”

“Of course not,” Duncan scoffed. “You lost that privilege when you were sick on Friday.”

“I wasn’t sick,” I countered. “I was banged up.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” Duncan countered.

“You certainly didn’t help,” Eliot interjected, taking me by surprise. “You screamed like a helpless teenage girl while she was being attacked. You’re lucky I didn’t thump you for abandoning her like you did.”

On one hand, it was sweet Eliot was so worried about me. On the other, I was annoyed because I told him to be quiet and let me handle this meeting. Instead of commenting on his lapse, I shot him a warning look and he had the grace to look abashed.

“I didn’t abandon her,” Duncan said, although I had no idea who he was talking to. I didn’t believe him and Fish and Marvin clearly didn’t care. “I was calling for help. Isn’t getting help more important than anything else?”

“I wasn’t there, so I can’t comment,” Fish said.

Eliot took a step away from me and purposely averted his gaze. “No, it’s not more important,” he argued. “She could’ve been killed. That guy had a knife. Not only did you refrain from helping, you made things worse with the screaming. Just for the record, if something had happened to her because you refused to act I would’ve made sure something happened to you.”

“Oh, that’s kind of sweet,” Marvin said. “He’s threatening Duncan’s life because of you, Avery. It’s cute … and totally scary.”

“He is sweet,” I agreed, looking my friend up and down. “You smell as if you slept in a ditch. Did you even shower between the bar and here?”

“I didn’t shower,” Marvin replied. “I did brush my teeth. That’s more than enough.”

That was only true in his world. “Did you brush your hair?”

“I’m going for that hipster messy look,” Marvin replied. “It’s all the rage with the kids.”

“You’re not a kid, though.”

“I’m a kid at heart.”

“Will you two stop with that inane chatter?” Fish asked, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in his chair. “I swear. You’re going to give me a migraine.”

Realization dawned and I couldn’t help but grace my boss with an evil grin. “I don’t think Marvin is the only one who is hungover.” This was going to work out to my advantage. I could feel it. “Did you have a late night, too?”

“I wasn’t planning on having to come here, that’s for sure,” Fish said.

“Why are we here?”

“Because the higher-ups want coordinated coverage and a big blowout for the final day,” Fish replied. “They want multiple stories on events … and apparently there’s some big magic show on the roof tonight.”

“Yes, Griswold the Magnificent,” I said. “I’m guessing his magic is of the Cracker Jacks box variety, but I’m sure it will make for decent photos.”

“I’m not willing to give up the murder coverage either,” Fish said. “So, I’ve decided to send all three of you to the convention.”

“Well, at least you understand my worth,” Duncan said. “I’ll pick out two things to cover and make sure the story is impeccable.”

“You can’t even make sure your personality is impeccable for more than thirty seconds at a time,” I pointed out. “I’m the boss. I’ll decide what you cover.”

“No, you won’t,” Duncan argued. “This coverage is important. Fish, tell her.”

Fish opened his mouth and glanced between us for a moment, his mind clearly busy. The only thing the visual lacked was smoke coming out of his ears. I knew I’d won before he even uttered a word. “Avery is the boss,” Fish said. “You do what she says. That goes for you, too, Marvin.”

“As long as I get to see hot chicks with their boobs hanging out, I’m happy,” Marvin said. “I also need a Pepsi … and maybe a McDonald’s breakfast or something … but after that, I’m good to go.”

“That should be included in your obituary,” I teased, smirking when Marvin shot me a dirty look. He’s a hypochondriac and terrified of death, so any mention of him dying is always met with hostility.

“There will be no obituary,” Marvin said. “As for the coverage, just tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”

“And that’s why you’re my favorite co-worker,” I said, pressing my lips together.

“I’m not doing what she says,” Duncan announced.

“And that’s why you’re the office tool,” I added, earning an amused headshake from Eliot as he leaned against the conference room wall.

“You’re doing what she says or you can find another job,” Fish said. “I don’t have time to play games with you.”

Duncan was flustered. “But … .”

“No buts,” Fish said. “She’s in charge and I want multiple stories coming out of that convention today. As for the murder … Avery, I’m going to leave that to your discretion. If we get a story solving it, that would be great. If there’s no movement on that front, though, you’re going to have to write a story indicating that.”

“There will be movement,” I said. “Trust me.”

“I don’t trust you, but I believe in your instincts,” Fish said, shifting his eyes to Eliot. “Why are you here?”

“Because I believe in her instincts, too,” Eliot replied. “That means I’m watching her today because I know she’ll find trouble. I’m determined to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Oh, son, it’s cute how you fawn all over her, but it’s hardly realistic,” Fish said. “Avery is a force of nature. She can’t stop herself from finding trouble.”

“Then we’ll deal with it when it happens,” Eliot said. “For once, I refuse to let things get out of hand.”

“You live in a topsy-turvy world with a chaotic woman,” Fish said. “Things are going to get out of hand.”