“You mentioned food for two but not what you would like. Considering the time, it could be breakfast or lunch, so I prepared a New York Strip steak and scrambled eggs. I hope that will be to your liking.”
Wow, she’s really laying it on. “That’s perfect, Mayela,” I assure her.
“It sounds wonderful,” Elena replies. “May I help you with something?”
Mayela shakes her head. “I’ve got everything ready.” She beams. “If you’d like to wash up, there’s a bathroom around the corner then down the hall to the left.”
“Thank you.” She gives her backpack a quick glance then disappears down the hall. I follow Mayela into the kitchen.
I toy with the idea of offering Mayela her very own Academy Award then think better of it. She’d likely stick it onto the dashboard on my truck, and I’d end up having to ride around with it like a Jesus bobblehead.
“This is an interesting turn of events,” Mayela says low enough to keep the conversation private.
“She came to work,” I clarify, pointing at the backpack I set on the table.
“Mm-hmm.” She pulls the plates from the warming oven. “After what you did for that girl, I’d expected her a long time ago.”
As Bill’s sister-in-law, she’s privy to a lot of what went on in my life. If not for her, I would have ended up graduating high school in the county jail.
“I’m surprised at you.” I grab two drinks from the refrigerator. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a dirty mind, Mrs. Hinojosa.”
She huffs. “Who are you trying to fool, young man? I’ve known you since before you could string a sentence together,” she says smugly.
While I can follow her line of thinking more than most, she lost me on this one. “What are you getting at?”
“Did you think that because you’ve never brought a woman home, you have everyone thinking you lead the life of a monk?” She goes by with her nose in the air, leaving me to trail her without uttering a proper comeback.
I set the drinks on the table and unbuckle my gun belt so I can sit down to eat. Mayela puts down the plates and picks up the laptop.
She holds her hand out for the weapon then swaps it for the laptop. “I’ll put this away then head out.”
“Thanks.” The image of Elena’s expression when she saw me coming out of Bill’s office flashes into my mind. Her eyes went straight to the laptop. A minute ago, I thought she looked at her backpack, but since I laid them out beside each other, I can’t be sure. Now I’m wondering where she was focusing, and more importantly, why.
My gut tells me there’s something going on with her and Bill. I just don’t see him pulling the kind of shit Derrick’s trying to find. And Elena hasn’t been here long enough to have been involved. So, what’s she playing at?
There’s one way to find out. But if I’m going on a fishing expedition, I might need help with part of the task. I grab my phone and dial Ezequiel.
“Yeah,” my ranch manager answers right away.
“I’m going to send you an inventory list. Grab the security lead and check out the locations listed so we can account for everything.”
“The guy left a couple of weeks back.”
And they probably haven’t hired someone else to replace him since they were ready to sell. “So, who’s in charge of security?”
“Bill said they were looking.”
I blow out a breath. “Then get the admin to go with you.”
“The woman?” he asks, incredulous.
“Yeah.” From the sound of it, he’s familiar with the security admin. And he may have reached the same conclusion about her I did. Well, there’s no other way to do this and keep it under wraps. “That way, it looks like you’re doing rounds.”
“Are you—”
“Just do it.” He rarely pushes back, so I have to imagine his objection is about the woman and not the task. Right now, I don’t have the time or the patience to explain what’s happening. “We’ll talk later.”
“Got it,” he replies, falling back to his usual self.