Soul Possession(12)

She grimaced because, man, it was hard to swallow her pride. She’d never been good at it. She rubbed absently at her knee and then stared down at the scars that lined either side of her leg.

Bill collectors weren’t particularly understanding, and she did have to eat and pay tuition. If she had any hope of getting back on her feet both literally and figuratively, she had to suck it up and go back to the bar.

If she went now, she could be back in time to cook breakfast for the guys. They wouldn’t even know she’d been gone if things went well with Merriam. And if worse came to worst, she’d collect her tips and her paycheck and resign herself to having to go job hunting instead of taking a long lazy day.

Saturdays were the only day she gave herself off. The rest of her time was spent studying or working.

She hurriedly dressed, splashed water on her face, and pulled the unruly mass of her hair back and twisted it into a knot. Then she tip-toed back through the bedroom, stopping in the kitchen to leave a quick note. Just in case they got up before she did.

On second thought, she’d better check to see if they had the fixings for breakfast, because if not she’d need to stop off at the twenty-four-hour grocery down the street. Eggs were cheap, as were cheese and mushrooms. She could make a mean omelet and she could make biscuits from scratch.

She shook her head after searching the fridge. Judging by the takeout cartons and the pizza boxes, they ate out often and weren’t much on cooking.

Satisfied with her plan, she quietly let herself out of the house and headed for her car.

Twenty minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of Powell’s Pub. As expected Merriam’s jeep was parked on the side, but the rest of the lot had long since been deserted.

Digging into her purse for the key she hadn’t yet returned, she got out and hurried to the door. After letting herself in, she headed toward Merriam’s office in the back, and sure enough, light shone from underneath the door.

Jessie paused, sucked in her breath, squared her shoulders, and knocked.

“Who the hell is it?” Merriam demanded. “I’ve got a gun, just so you know.”

Jessie was well acquainted with the gun Merriam kept behind her desk. Merriam liked to flash it around and generally let it be known she armed herself. She said it discouraged dumbasses from trying to score easy cash.

“It’s Jessie, Merriam. I need to talk to you.”

There was a long pause. “Come in.”

Jessie opened the door and peered in to see Merriam sitting behind her desk, a scowl on her face.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve coming back here after walking out last night.”

Jessie’s mouth dropped open. “You fired me! What the hell else was I supposed to do?”

“You seemed interested enough in working the night out until those two cops started sniffing around you.”

Jessie was convinced the woman had never smiled in her life. She was wrinkled, looked about seventy, even though Jessie knew she was in her fifties, and she had the deep rasp of a lifelong smoker.

“Look, Merriam, I didn’t steal anything from you. You have no proof and I want my job back.”

Jessie was absurdly proud of how confident and forceful she sounded.

Merriam’s lips thinned. “I know you didn’t steal the money. But I’m not happy about you skipping out of here last night so I haven’t decided if you get your job back yet.”

Again Jessie’s mouth flopped open. “You know I didn’t steal the money? And you fired me anyway? Are you crazy?”

“You aren’t making a case for me rehiring you,” Merriam said dryly. “I didn’t find out you didn’t steal the money until after closing. That’s all I’ll say about that. Now I’m short one more employee so if you’ll get your ass into work tonight to cover, you can have your job back.”

For a moment Jessie stood there at a loss for words. She’d expected to have to fight. She’d been prepared to fight. Then her eyes narrowed because, really, it had been far too easy and Merriam was anything but easy.

Merriam scowled. “Quit gawking. I made a mistake. You won’t hear me saying so again. You either want your job back or you don’t, but make up your mind so I can figure out if I need to hire two new employees.”

Jessie smiled then. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be in tonight.”

Merriam waved her hand in dismissal. “Get on out of here then. I’ve got work to finish up so I can go home and go to bed.”

Feeling giddy and triumphant, Jessie turned and hurried out of the office.

“Don’t forget to lock the door back on your way out!” Merriam hollered behind her.

Jessie shook her head and walked out, locking the door before she headed for her car. Halfway there, she stopped and did a fist pump. The day was definitely looking up.

And she had time to run by the store and be back before the guys were even out of bed.

Truitt stirred and automatically reached his hand out only to grasp air. He patted the place where Jessie had been and frowned when he felt the coolness of the spot. He raised his head, blinking bleary eyes to see Rick sprawled on the other side of the bed.

He sniffed as the aroma of cooking food wafted through his nostrils. Whatever it was, it smelled damn good. His stomach growled and he rolled over, rubbing his abdomen. Actual home-cooked food was a novelty. He and Rick either ate out, got delivery, or cooked out of a can. They’d given up on microwaving shit because, well, it tasted like shit.