Park Avenue Player(4)

I sighed. “Okay. Thank you. Is there anything else? Because I have an appointment I really need to get to.”

“No, ma’am. If your car is drivable, you’re free to go. Mr. LaCroix has to wait for a tow.”

“Okay. Great. Have a good day, officer.”

“You, too. And be careful driving.”

It felt odd to just pull away without saying anything to Hollis. So I waited a minute, until the cop got back into his car and drove off. Then I got out of my car and walked over to the Mercedes. Hollis was leaning against his trunk, playing with his phone.

“Umm…is there anything you need?” I asked. “A ride or anything?”

“I think you’ve done enough for the day. Thank you.”

God, why did I even ask?

“Great.” I offered an insincere, plastic smile. “Have a nice life.”





Chapter 2




* * *





Hollis




Addison was going to kick my ass for being late. I’d asked her to sit in on the interviews as a favor, and wound up missing the entire first one. I looked at my watch. The second one was likely half over by now, too.

The elevator arrived at the fifteenth floor, and I walked through the double glass doors, tossing my briefcase on the reception desk. Everyone was gone for the day, but I heard voices coming from the conference room down the hall. I was already late, so stopping at the men’s room couldn’t make it any worse.

I yelled to let Addison know it was only me. “Addison, it’s Hollis. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Nice of you to show up!” she shouted. “Maybe you need to replace that gaudy Rolex you wear with a Timex.”

I ignored her and went to the men’s room. I’d had to take a piss for the better part of an hour while waiting for the damn tow truck. After washing up, I took off my jacket and headed to the interview. With the day I’d had, I really hoped the candidate was a good one. I needed help desperately.

Addison had pushed her chair back to look down the hall and saw me coming. She tapped her watch. “Had this thing for fifteen years. Paid only fifty bucks for it, if I remember correctly. Yet it miraculously manages to keep time.”

“Sorry I’m late.” I walked into the conference room and turned to offer an apology to the candidate sitting with her back to me. “Someone hit me while I was trying to pull into a parking spot.”

The woman turned and started to speak. “That’s funny… I—” She stopped mid-sentence, and I looked down to find out why.

You’ve gotta be freaking kidding me. I shook my head in disbelief. “You?”

Her smile fell just as quickly as mine. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Hello, Hollis.”

Elodie.

No.

No fucking way.

I held my palms up. “Okay. I’m very sorry, but this is not going to work. I don’t want to waste your time or mine. So, I suggest—”

“Are you serious? You’re not even going to give me a chance because you think I caused an accident that was your fault?”

“Just the fact that you still believe you had no part in it shows you may be a bit delusional, Elodie. That’s not a trait I’m looking for when it comes to this position.”

Addison interrupted our squabbling. “Well, it’s quite a coincidence that you two had an accident, and Elodie is one of your interviews today. But let’s move on. Clearly, you’re already too biased to make a fair decision on this, Hollis. I think you need to at least give Ms. Atlier a shot by allowing her to sit for this interview as planned and not judge her based on something that has nothing to do with the job.”

I shut my eyes, letting out an exasperated breath. It had been a long day, and I didn’t really have the energy to protest.

Let’s just get this over with.

Rubbing my temples and feeling like a vein in my neck was about to pop, I said, “Fine.” I took a seat and held out my hand toward Addison. “Show me her resume.”

Addison handed me the sheet of paper, and I examined it. Elodie Atlier from Connecticut had been a nanny for two years, but that was a long time ago. After that, she had a pretty big gap in employment, and then she’d spent the last two years working for a private investigator.

“What exactly is it that you do for the private investigator?”

“Umm…a little of this and a little of that.”

I huffed. “Enlightening. You sound very qualified.”

She glared at me. “I was a nanny for twins for two years.”

“Yes, and…what are you doing now? How does a little of this and a little of that at your current job make you qualified to take care of a child?”

“Well, I…multitask at work. And I have to…deal with a lot of different kinds of people. Those are both qualities of a good childcare provider.”

My gut told me she was hiding something. “Give me an example of how you multitasked?”

She looked down. “Well, I…sometimes…assisted with surveillance and also helped out the photographer. “

I tossed the paper aside. “So you helped spy on people…and what? Took selfies? Exactly how does your current job equate to relevant work experience, Ms. Atlier?” I couldn’t help that I laughed a little at the end of that question.