Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(23)

“Those signs were not properly marked.” No one informed him about the five or more different Peachtree roads, and only dumb royals named so many the same. Whoever was in charge of the city’s design had poor foresight.

“You had to be told what Nutella is,” Jeremy continued to argue, his face not moving an inch more from under his jacket.

“You don’t know what Nutella is?” Rudy asked him.

Edarra smiled. “Jeremy, if you’re so sure about me after two strikes, you can write me a recommendation.”

Jeremy scooted forward to hang on the back of her seat. “My recommendation would be worth gold for the person good enough to sway me to being that nice.”

Edarra waved her hand as if brushing away his words. “Are you that important? I don’t recall you following in your father’s footsteps and running for office.”

Jeremy snorted. “Never. I’m just saying that the Council would consider it a miracle if I made friends.”

Clive didn’t know if Jeremy was boasting or stating the truth. Jeremy and Simone did have power if the Council wanted them to stay employed and out of trouble so badly. But while Jeremy’s attitude hindered his business standing, Clive couldn’t figure out why Simone had the same problem. She was proficient at her job, and other than listening in on phone calls without permission, he had seen no reason for her bad luck. Maybe their last job together was the answer. Unlike riding back home where one of his knights could put off a taxing conversation by begging off to scout ahead, they were trapped in a fast-moving metal box. It was the perfect time to ask about their deceased former employer. “When did the two of you meet?” he asked Simone.

Simone tapped her bottom lip in thought. “What was it, five years ago?”

“I think so,” Jeremy said.

Simone slowed her hands massaging in deep circles on Rudy’s shoulders. “I wanted extra money to play with and looked for a job through the agency. I ended up at the skeeviest place, where this guy was scouring the help-wanted ads the moment I walked in the door.” She snapped her fingers, and Clive knew from experience that the gesture was followed by her thumb aimed at whoever she was talking about. “He actually offered the paper to me to use after him.”

“Don’t act like I wasn’t right,” Jeremy said.

“That time, yes, but you treated every job the same way.”

“Just like you came to every job with optimism like an abused puppy.”

“Why not?” Simone shifted, sending her grumbling husband farther to his side of the long seat. “The office shut-in routine wasn’t working great for you.”

The next shifting came from Jeremy’s side. Without seeing, Clive bet he was pulling on his tie.

“Let’s go back to me being right and you ignoring my warnings,” Jeremy said.

“There’s a difference between saying it’s a shitty job and not mentioning that the boss is a trash fire.”

“I said that he was a scumbag, and me rummaging in the help-wanted ads should have told you no amount of positive thinking was going to save that job.”

Clive did want them talking, but perhaps setting a ward to prevent violence in the car first would have been wise.

“I still think the second job we worked together wouldn’t have gone sideways if you had been nicer,” Simone muttered.

“I had nothing to do with that!” Jeremy threw his jacket aside.

“You wouldn’t give her the spell ingredients she asked for, and you brag about having everything.”

“Not for off-duty shady work I don’t,” Jeremy shot back. “Do you think I was going to let her piss off that coven with ingredients that would lead back to me?”

Clive’s and Edarra’s eyes met in the rearview mirror again, and he fought hard not to smile. They argue like siblings.

“What coven?” Edarra asked.

“A bunch of thieves who were raiding the shops at the nearby outlet mall. Our boss cursed them without knowing they were part of a larger outfit,” Jeremy explained.

“The biggest criminal coven in the whole damn state.” Simone sighed. “One day I came to work, my rims, tires, and most of its inner electronics were gone. I had to buy a new car after that fiasco.”

“Who was Jeremy’s fourth and your third boss?” Edarra asked. “How bad was he?”

“He wasn’t one of the bad ones,” Simone whispered.

“Levi? The one who was murdered?” Clive asked. Finally.

“Underestimated the ugliness of the business,” Jeremy said.

“Did you two like him?” Clive didn’t think they had anything to do with the death, but they were so sensitive about broaching the subject. Something held their tongues.

“Better than most of our bosses. Nice doesn’t work in this town.”

There was real regret in his voice, but he and Simone fell silent, signaling an end to the questioning. The rest of the ride was quiet as they dropped off Jeremy and then stopped in front of Simone’s home.

“The two of you can sleep in a couple hours,” Clive said to Simone as Edarra carried Rudy like a child into the house. Soon it would be just him and the Amazon. In the side mirrors, the running car fogged the air.

“I think I’ll come in on time anyways,” Simone said. “My boys have been a little stir-crazy since their favorite big kid has been put out of action.”