“Marv? Hey, Marv, are you here?” she called out for the older homeless man who often hung around. But there was no one back here. Drat, she’d come out and look for him later. She turned around, only to find him standing behind her.
She let out a cry, dropping the bag.
“Marv! You scared me!” How the hell had he managed to sneak up on her?
“Sweet little thing like you shouldn’t be hanging out in an alley.”
God, now he sounded like Duke. He’d caught her going to throw the garbage out the other day and had a fit. She’d only been doing it because Rory had been bitching about having to do her work and she couldn’t take it anymore. Mind you, Rory bitched about everything. Especially if it was to do with her. Nothing she ever did was right for him.
But she shouldn’t complain. Other than Rory’s moodiness and Duke’s overprotective tendencies, she was really enjoying this job. Duke could be abrupt, but she was growing used to his manner. Madden was sweet, despite the fact he looked like he broke faces for a living. And most of the clients, while often scary looking, were surprisingly sweet and respectful.
Now if she could just get a hang of the damn ordering system, she’d be happy. She’d mucked up the last order she’d submitted. She could tell Duke was a little frustrated, but he’d been patient as he’d gone over it again.
Duke was bossy and protective, but like one would be to a kid sister. Not someone he wanted to drag into bed. Which was disappointing.
Her Little hadn’t been out once since she’d come to work for him. Not even at home. It seemed like she’d retreated for a while.
“I wasn’t hanging out; I was searching for you.”
Marvin had long, scraggly dark hair. She was uncertain of his age, but she guessed he was probably in his sixties. He was slightly stooped with baggy clothes. She worried he didn’t get enough to eat and always packed some dinner for him
.
Duke wasn’t particularly happy that she’d befriended him, and had made her promise she wouldn’t be alone with the older man. But Marvin was harmless.
“Here, I brought you some clothes. My ex left them behind and I think they might fit you. I’ve washed them all.” She was lying. Greg hadn’t left a thing behind and he wouldn’t be seen dead in the warm, flannel shirt and thick, down jacket she’d bought. While it was summer, it still got cold at night. So she’d bought Marvin a new shirt and jacket, removing the tags and washing them.
“Your ex? What kind of fool would leave you?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t think I was good enough for him, I guess. Greg wanted someone sophisticated and intelligent. Personally, I think he just wanted someone with more money so he could live the high life. . .and I can’t believe I just blurted that all out.”
Marv just gave her a gentle smile. “Thank you, sweet girl. That’s so kind.”
“I also included dinner and some cookies that I baked this morning. Are you sure you don’t need any bedding? I have some spare stuff I was going to donate,” she lied.
“No, no, I’m fine for bedding. You go on, and get to work. I have to make my rounds.”
She wasn’t sure what his rounds included, but she knew he liked to move around different places so she nodded and squeezed his hand. She walked to the front of the shop and unlocked it, heading to the alarm. She input the number, but the little red light continued to flash.
Had she gotten it wrong?
She re-entered it. More flashing red lights. Drat! Panic flooded her and she raced to her desk for the piece of paper she’d written the code on. The alarm started blaring as she searched through the top drawer. Where was it?
The phone on the front desk started ringing and she picked it up.
“This is Mason security,” a calm voice stated. “Your alarm is going off.”
That seemed like an idiotic statement. “Yes, I know! I can hear it!” Along with most of the block, no doubt.
“Are you in distress, ma’am?”
“Yes, I’m in distress! I can’t find the damn pin number and the alarm is blasting my ear drums!”
Suddenly, the alarm stopped. She sighed with relief, slumping into her chair. “Thanks for turning it off.”
“We didn’t, ma’am.”
She stood up, looking over the high back of her desk towards the door. A heavily tattooed, blond, surfer-looking guy stood there. Another sort of panic filled her until she realized he wouldn’t know the alarm number unless Duke knew him.