Page 13 of Bang

I heard myself say, "Seriously? What happened?"

His jaw clenched. "Trust me. You don't want to know."

He looked so disgusted that I felt the blood drain from my face. "She didn't do anything to Willow, did she? Because if she did—"

"She didn't."

"Oh." I blew out a relieved breath. "Well, that's good."

"No kidding," he said. "So, the job's yours if you want it."

Next to us, Livia spoke up. "But she alreadyhasa job."

I did a double take. "I do?"

With a tight smile, she replied, "Yes. With my dad's jewelry store. Remember?"

"Well, I remember interviewing," I said. "But the manager, he said he'd let me know next week."

"Screwhim," she said. "You're hired."

I frowned. I wasn't sure Livia had the authority to make such an offer. "Um, seriously?"

She nodded. "Oh yeah. Trust me. I'll make it happen."

Still, I hesitated. "Makeit happen? Meaning it hasn't happened already?"

She made a sound of annoyance. "Well, you only interviewed yesterday."

"I know," I said. "And I'm really thankful. I just mean, without an actual offer–"

She sighed. "It's handled, okay?" And with that, she smiled up at Mason. "So you need a nanny, huh?"

He gave her a long, cold look. "Me? No."

At this, Livia threw her head back and laughed, just like she had earlier, exceptthistime, she couldn’t quite pull it off. And when she finished, she got the same funny looksI'dgotten from the people around us.

Even Mason looked a little disturbed. In a tight voice, he told her, "That wasn't a joke."

"Sureit was." She beamed up at him. "You are so funny."

Oh, please.Under my breath, I mumbled, "I thought he was an a-hole."

As a general rule, I didn't curse. Aside from some creative word-smithery, I hadn't truly cursed in years, not since deciding to become a grade-school teacher.

The wayIsaw it, if I gave up those words ahead of time, it would greatly reduce my odds of accidentally cursing in front of the kids – which is why I'd gone with the abbreviated version of what Livia had called Mason earlier.

Even so, she looked at me like I'd just said the F-word in Sunday School. With a little frown, she said, "I can't believe you just said that."

"Me?"I said. "You said it first."

"Yeah, butIwas only joking."

I knew Livia.She hadn't been joking.But I also knew that she'd forgive a guy just about anything if he was hot enough. And Mason wasveryhot.Rich and famous, too.He was Livia's dream guy on steroids.

By now, one thing was beyond obvious. A-hole or not, she wanted him,bad.

As if to prove my point, she turned back to Mason and said, "Hey,Iknow! You should hireme."