Petey’s hands were all over the air as I walked in behind him. “I was busy with some customers when I heard them. When I got there, the guy was already advancing on Sam. I don’t know why they chose to have a problem with us,” he said. “I mean, we didn’t do anything, and Sam here, it looked like she’d had enough. She got fed up, you know? So yeah.”
Keifer still didn’t look like he was buying it, his eyes flat and a skeptical expression on his face. Or he was just pissed about it.
“Sam’s a cool chick, boss,” Petey added. “I’d keep her around for sure—all twisty and fierce.”
“Okay.” Keifer held a hand up, sitting forward in his desk chair. “Stop. You’re not going to roll over on your co-worker. I got it. Now…” He transferred his no-nonsense gaze to me. “How about we get the real story, hmm?” He snapped his fingers, pointing to the chair next to where Petey stood.
I folded my hands on my lap. “Petey had nothing to do with those guys. He was trying to protect me.”
“I’m aware. Petey hasn’t been in a fight for an entire year.”
“Yeah?” Petey grinned.
Keifer shot him a dark look. “I haven’t caught him, I mean.”
Petey laughed.
Keifer returned to me. “You were saying?”
“Those guys didn’t come to the carnival for me, but now that they know I work here, or…” I coughed. “…used to work here, they’ll be back. This is all my fault.”
“Come on.” Adam came inside, followed closely by Becky. Cass stayed out in the hall. “It was four on one. That’s not fair, and it’s not Sam’s fault. You can’t fire her, sir.”
Keifer’s eyebrows furrowed together. He leaned back in his chair, taking his time as he studied Adam. “And who the fuck are you?”
“Oh. Uh.” Adam held his hand out. “I’m Adam Quinn. You might know my father, Steph—”
“Get that hand out of my face.” Keifer stood up, looking at me. “This is what we’re going to do. You are fir—”
“That’d be a mistake.”
Mason spoke from the back of the office. He must’ve come in after me, and now leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Everyone looked at him. It was like a sleeping panther had woken up, and everyone remembered they’d left the cage door open. Tension rippled through the air, and I glanced at Keifer. His eyes were locked on Mason. He didn’t know Mason, but he knew this wasn’t another Adam Quinn who’d tried to assert his dominance with a weak handshake. Mason was the real deal.
Keifer responded with a softer, “And you are?”
Mason shook his head. “My name doesn’t matter.”
“Then what does?”
“You have an opportunity here.” Mason pointed to Adam and Becky, then to me. “If I were you, I’d be hiring townies for one reason and that’s the draw they can have on the local community. That’s why you hired Sam and Mark, right? You were eventually going to put them somewhere their friends would come and hang out? Spend their money on your food, games, booze.”
“Maybe.”
Keifer wasn’t giving a lot away, but neither was Mason. He continued to lean against the wall. He rested one foot over the other, striking a casual pose.
“Those guys who attacked Sam aren’t guys you want to side with,” Mason said evenly.
“Who says I am?”
“They’re the type that will come in, get drunk, and piss all over your place. Your carnival will get vandalized, and you know I’m right.”
Keifer’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t going to let them back in.”
“Firing Sam is the wrong decision.”
Keifer’s nostrils flared. “You already said. I’m still waiting to hear a good reason.”
“Put her in the beer garden. That’s where she and Mark wanted to work in the first place.”
“Every goddamn employee works their way from the bottom up. I ain’t putting any greenie in there. No new kid is going to pour my beer and fuck up my till. You got that?”
“So fast-forward the orientation,” Mason shot back, standing straight now. His arms lowered to his side, but that only increased the tension in the room. His voice remained deceptively calm. “Put them in the beer garden. We’ll come hang out. And if we’re here, everyone else will come, too. Quinn’s connected to the rich preppy group, and I’m connected to Roussou people. Put Sam somewhere we can be, to help protect her, and you’ll double your normal sales.”
“We do just fine on the weekends.”
“I’m not talking weekends. I’m talking afternoons. If you do your homework, you know there’s a good crowd at Manny’s every night. That’s our crowd. We’ll bring them here instead.”
I cursed inwardly. Heather would love that.
Keifer seemed to be thinking it over, his gaze skirting from me to Mason and back again. Finally, after a longer-than-necessary silence, he pointed to me. “This your boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Were those guys after you because of him?”
How did he—
He smiled. “Four on one girl? It’s always payback if that happens, sweetie.”
I flushed, but glared at the same time. “My name’s not sweetie. It’s Samantha.”
Mason came to stand next to me. “You can fire Sam. That’s fine. She doesn’t need this job. But she likes being here. Do what I’m suggesting and at the end of the summer, you can throw a big bash. Tell everyone Mason Kade is celebrating at your carnival before he returns to Cain U for his last year.”
Petey’s head whipped around, and Keifer went eerily still, almost glaring at Mason now. A vein popped out along the side of his jaw. “The football superstar? That kid?”
“Yeah,” Mason said. “That kid.”
Keifer jerked his head forward. “You that kid?”
“I’m that kid.”
“Rumor’s that your daddy’s pretty rich, too.”
“He is, and he’s marrying Sam’s mom. That’s how we met, and that’s why she doesn’t need this job. You’re the one losing out if you fire her.”
“Now.” Keifer barked out that word, leaning down to rest his hands on his desk. His jaw twitched. “I know that now, but the real question isn’t whether I want to miss the chance at those extra sales. It’s whether I want to deal with a bunch of spoiled pricks for the rest of the summer. You don’t think we can draw in our own crowd? You don’t think that’s what we do for a goddamn living, boy?” He waved to the door, dismissing us. “Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and have those guys carted back in.”
Mason took my hand. “Fine.” He led me out of the office. Adam and Becky trailed behind us. We found Matteo and Cass sitting on opposite ends of the bench outside. They stood when they saw us.
“What happened?” Matteo asked.
“Sam was fired.”
Adam added to Mason’s short explanation. “The guy’s an idiot. He’s losing a ton of money. He should’ve listened—”
Mason interrupted him. “Where were you?”
“What?” Adam took a step back.
“You were there. You could’ve helped her.”
Adam’s eyes widened. He looked at me, then Becky before turning back to Mason. He coughed. “I went to get Mark. I’m the one who told Becky to get security. She’s the reason Petey even knew something was going on. We had no clue. They were behind the tent, and music was blaring. We couldn’t hear.”
That was bullshit. Petey might’ve been distracted because he was doing his job, but Adam would’ve noticed Caldron before he went between the tents.
“It’s true,” Mark said. “Adam came and got me. He’s faster than Becky.”
It felt off, but Adam’s bases were covered. I had another issue to deal with. I dropped Mason’s hand and rounded on him. “Did you do that on purpose?”
Keifer still didn’t look like he was buying it, his eyes flat and a skeptical expression on his face. Or he was just pissed about it.
“Sam’s a cool chick, boss,” Petey added. “I’d keep her around for sure—all twisty and fierce.”
“Okay.” Keifer held a hand up, sitting forward in his desk chair. “Stop. You’re not going to roll over on your co-worker. I got it. Now…” He transferred his no-nonsense gaze to me. “How about we get the real story, hmm?” He snapped his fingers, pointing to the chair next to where Petey stood.
I folded my hands on my lap. “Petey had nothing to do with those guys. He was trying to protect me.”
“I’m aware. Petey hasn’t been in a fight for an entire year.”
“Yeah?” Petey grinned.
Keifer shot him a dark look. “I haven’t caught him, I mean.”
Petey laughed.
Keifer returned to me. “You were saying?”
“Those guys didn’t come to the carnival for me, but now that they know I work here, or…” I coughed. “…used to work here, they’ll be back. This is all my fault.”
“Come on.” Adam came inside, followed closely by Becky. Cass stayed out in the hall. “It was four on one. That’s not fair, and it’s not Sam’s fault. You can’t fire her, sir.”
Keifer’s eyebrows furrowed together. He leaned back in his chair, taking his time as he studied Adam. “And who the fuck are you?”
“Oh. Uh.” Adam held his hand out. “I’m Adam Quinn. You might know my father, Steph—”
“Get that hand out of my face.” Keifer stood up, looking at me. “This is what we’re going to do. You are fir—”
“That’d be a mistake.”
Mason spoke from the back of the office. He must’ve come in after me, and now leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Everyone looked at him. It was like a sleeping panther had woken up, and everyone remembered they’d left the cage door open. Tension rippled through the air, and I glanced at Keifer. His eyes were locked on Mason. He didn’t know Mason, but he knew this wasn’t another Adam Quinn who’d tried to assert his dominance with a weak handshake. Mason was the real deal.
Keifer responded with a softer, “And you are?”
Mason shook his head. “My name doesn’t matter.”
“Then what does?”
“You have an opportunity here.” Mason pointed to Adam and Becky, then to me. “If I were you, I’d be hiring townies for one reason and that’s the draw they can have on the local community. That’s why you hired Sam and Mark, right? You were eventually going to put them somewhere their friends would come and hang out? Spend their money on your food, games, booze.”
“Maybe.”
Keifer wasn’t giving a lot away, but neither was Mason. He continued to lean against the wall. He rested one foot over the other, striking a casual pose.
“Those guys who attacked Sam aren’t guys you want to side with,” Mason said evenly.
“Who says I am?”
“They’re the type that will come in, get drunk, and piss all over your place. Your carnival will get vandalized, and you know I’m right.”
Keifer’s eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t going to let them back in.”
“Firing Sam is the wrong decision.”
Keifer’s nostrils flared. “You already said. I’m still waiting to hear a good reason.”
“Put her in the beer garden. That’s where she and Mark wanted to work in the first place.”
“Every goddamn employee works their way from the bottom up. I ain’t putting any greenie in there. No new kid is going to pour my beer and fuck up my till. You got that?”
“So fast-forward the orientation,” Mason shot back, standing straight now. His arms lowered to his side, but that only increased the tension in the room. His voice remained deceptively calm. “Put them in the beer garden. We’ll come hang out. And if we’re here, everyone else will come, too. Quinn’s connected to the rich preppy group, and I’m connected to Roussou people. Put Sam somewhere we can be, to help protect her, and you’ll double your normal sales.”
“We do just fine on the weekends.”
“I’m not talking weekends. I’m talking afternoons. If you do your homework, you know there’s a good crowd at Manny’s every night. That’s our crowd. We’ll bring them here instead.”
I cursed inwardly. Heather would love that.
Keifer seemed to be thinking it over, his gaze skirting from me to Mason and back again. Finally, after a longer-than-necessary silence, he pointed to me. “This your boyfriend?”
“Yes.”
“Were those guys after you because of him?”
How did he—
He smiled. “Four on one girl? It’s always payback if that happens, sweetie.”
I flushed, but glared at the same time. “My name’s not sweetie. It’s Samantha.”
Mason came to stand next to me. “You can fire Sam. That’s fine. She doesn’t need this job. But she likes being here. Do what I’m suggesting and at the end of the summer, you can throw a big bash. Tell everyone Mason Kade is celebrating at your carnival before he returns to Cain U for his last year.”
Petey’s head whipped around, and Keifer went eerily still, almost glaring at Mason now. A vein popped out along the side of his jaw. “The football superstar? That kid?”
“Yeah,” Mason said. “That kid.”
Keifer jerked his head forward. “You that kid?”
“I’m that kid.”
“Rumor’s that your daddy’s pretty rich, too.”
“He is, and he’s marrying Sam’s mom. That’s how we met, and that’s why she doesn’t need this job. You’re the one losing out if you fire her.”
“Now.” Keifer barked out that word, leaning down to rest his hands on his desk. His jaw twitched. “I know that now, but the real question isn’t whether I want to miss the chance at those extra sales. It’s whether I want to deal with a bunch of spoiled pricks for the rest of the summer. You don’t think we can draw in our own crowd? You don’t think that’s what we do for a goddamn living, boy?” He waved to the door, dismissing us. “Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind and have those guys carted back in.”
Mason took my hand. “Fine.” He led me out of the office. Adam and Becky trailed behind us. We found Matteo and Cass sitting on opposite ends of the bench outside. They stood when they saw us.
“What happened?” Matteo asked.
“Sam was fired.”
Adam added to Mason’s short explanation. “The guy’s an idiot. He’s losing a ton of money. He should’ve listened—”
Mason interrupted him. “Where were you?”
“What?” Adam took a step back.
“You were there. You could’ve helped her.”
Adam’s eyes widened. He looked at me, then Becky before turning back to Mason. He coughed. “I went to get Mark. I’m the one who told Becky to get security. She’s the reason Petey even knew something was going on. We had no clue. They were behind the tent, and music was blaring. We couldn’t hear.”
That was bullshit. Petey might’ve been distracted because he was doing his job, but Adam would’ve noticed Caldron before he went between the tents.
“It’s true,” Mark said. “Adam came and got me. He’s faster than Becky.”
It felt off, but Adam’s bases were covered. I had another issue to deal with. I dropped Mason’s hand and rounded on him. “Did you do that on purpose?”
