The Pepper in the Gumbo (Men of Cane River #1)(68)

There was a knock at the door and two delivery men stood there, black uniforms pressed and clean, the ScreenStop seraph clear on the breast pocket. “We’ve got equipment for Mr. Paul Olivier?”

Paul came forward and signed the clipboard. “That was fast. The warehouse is fifteen minutes away.”

The shorter of the two cleared his throat and said, “We might have broken the speed limit just a bit. Mr. Olivier, I just want to say what a huge fan I am. I’ve got every game you guys have ever designed and I’ll be at the grand opening. I’m gonna camp out in line a few days before to make sure I get in.” His blue eyes shifted from Paul to Andy and back. “You guys rock. Seriously.”

Paul smiled and took two cards out of his wallet. He scribbled something on the back of each and handed them over. “Show this at the door and get in without waiting in line. For you, plus a guest.”

They both looked stunned. “Thank you so much,” the shorter one whispered.

“The best thanks would be everything making it up the stairs without getting dropped,” Andy called over. He tried to look serious but he’d never been able to pull it off. “And have a good time at the opening. I think we’re going to have hush puppies and gumbo and fried catfish.”

“Really?” The other delivery guy finally spoke.

Paul shot a look at Andy. He had no idea about the food. He didn’t handle that part personally. He supposed it would be the usual opening fare, catered by someone local and everything tasting like it came out of a box. And, always, non-spill drinks only.

“Maybe. It’s still under discussion.”

“Speaking of food, I’m starving.” Andy wandered to the kitchen. “I thought we were hiring a cook.”

“They’re starting next week. I thought we could live on sandwiches for a while.” Paul frowned. “Except I never went to the store.”

“Does anybody deliver?” Andy pulled out his phone. “Maybe there’s a Thai place. I’m craving Thai.”

The cable guy straightened up. “Not sure about that, but my Aunt Glynna runs the Round’emup Café two blocks down. You can get it to go. Pretty good food. A little spicy for my wife’s taste but the ribs are famous.”

“Ribs?” Andy looked down at his shirt, then at Paul. “You run down there and get us some while I’ll go change into something I can throw away.”

Paul snorted. “It’s a lot easier to eat ribs with your fingers than to use chopsticks.” He looked around. “Keep an eye on everything, okay? Alice left me in charge and if this installation goes south, it’s my neck on the chopping block.”

“Aye, aye,” Andy said. “And see if they have any biscuits like at the breakfast place. Those were great.”

“Gotcha,” Paul said and walked out the door. Halfway down the hallway, he pulled out his phone. A few hours earlier he’d called his legal team and asked them to find papers naming Alice Augustine, or anything mentioning By the Book. They got right back to him with the name of a lawyer in Houston.

He dialed the number and seconds later was transferred to his lawyer’s line.

“Mr. Kimmel, I’d like to talk to you about settling a case that was filed against a friend of mine. Her name is Alice Augustine and the claimant is named Norma Green.”

***

“Bix, I’m sorry it took me so long,” Alice said, rushing toward the desk.

“Not a problem. We had two customers. Both looking for something from that website you like.” Bix hadn’t even looked up from his e-reader.

“Browning Wordsworth Keats?” Alice set her purse down and smoothed back her hair.

“Yep.” He still hadn’t looked up.

“What are you reading?” Alice looked over his shoulder and almost giggled at how large the font appeared. Every word took almost half a page.

“Clive Cussler. I loved his books. Haven’t read them in years.” Bix touched the screen and showed her a row of book covers. “Now I got them all.”

“They look so bright.” Alice could never get over the covers. Just like the customer who showed her the first one, it seemed almost clearer than real life.

“Paul got me the fancy one that shows all the colors. It even connects to the Internet. Me and Ruby watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s last night when we shoulda been sleepin’ but we don’t regret it for a minute.”

Buying one of those was probably like tossing a penny on the sidewalk for Paul, but Alice couldn’t help being a little impressed. “You’ll be just as addicted as Charlie. All the time you used to spend doing other things, you’ll be attached to that screen.”

Bix stood up and stretched. “What other things, Miss Alice? I couldn’t see to read. I never knew I could watch those movies on the Internet. Ruby wants to watch Casablanca tonight.” He flipped the cover closed. “I feel like this little contraption gave me back a lot of my old friends. I don’t know how to thank Paul. I really don’t.”

Alice stood by as he got up from the desk. Her cheeks burned at the quiet rebuke in his words.

The front door opened and a man walked through, carrying a roll of cable over one shoulder. “We’re about done up there, Miss Augustine.”

“Thank you. Did everything go okay? You didn’t run into any problems?”