Page 49 of Cold Hard Cash

“I wouldn’t go around advertisin’ that, kid.”

“It came out wrong!”

“Ya think?” Maury snorted, then groaned irritably. “Get your ass down here so I can talk some fuckin’ sense into you. I still got—”

“Still got the crowbar, I know,” Jimmy finished for him, very familiar with this threat. “Look, I know it’s totally nuts, and maybe I am nuts, but—”

“James motherfuckin’ David Poe, I swear to fuckin’ Christ—”

“He believes me, Maury,” Jimmy said quietly. He didn’t need to raise his voice. He knew that Maury would understand exactly what he meant and the weight that such a thing carried.

“Well, fuck, kid,” Maury sighed. “Look, we’ll talks about it, okay? Come on down to the shop.”

“Ohh, Jimmy!” the familiar voice of Rowena Legrand sang out, knuckles wrapping at the door. “Are you decent?”

“I’ll try,” Jimmy said quickly to Maury, then called out, “Yup! One sec!” He turned his attention back to the phone, saying, “I’ll try to come by soon, okay?”

“I love you, ya fuckin’ idiot.”

“Love you, too,” Jimmy said with a smile, waving at Rowena as she came sauntering in.

“Awww, who was that?” Rowena pouted dramatically. “Not anybody I gotta worry about, I hope.”

Jimmy shook his head, laughing, “God, no. It was my friend, Maury Martine.”

“Maury the Mouth?”

“Yeah. We’re close. He’s kinda like a dad to me. It’s, well, it’s a long story.”

Rowena came over and bounced on the edge of the bed. “Oh, I love long stories!”

Jimmy glanced at his phone. It was already after ten o’clock. He was surprised he had slept so late. He smirked at Rowena, teasing, “I think I’m supposed to be getting ready for work soon?”

Rowena waved her hand. “Pffft! Whatever.”

Jimmy frowned, saying, “Cold said not to be late...”

“Uh, he got you a job working for me,” Rowena said with a dramatic roll of her eyes and glancing at her nails. “We’ll show up whenever the hell we want.”

“For you?” Jimmy was surprised.

“At my club,” Rowena said proudly, pausing to reconsider. “Well, it’s really Roddy’s club, but he lets me run it. La Belle downtown? Ever hear of it?”

“Wow, yeah!” Jimmy had certainly heard of it. It was a popular piano bar housed in a renovated theater. He had seen the marquis lights all his life, and he was excited to know he would be working at a place he had always admired. “Wait, what am I gonna be doing exactly?”

Rowena shrugged, asking flatly, “I dunno. What are you good at?”

Jimmy made a face, mentally reviewing his random resume of the many careers he’d had over the years. He sighed, admitting mournfully, “Losing jobs.”

“Okay. We’ll find something nice and easy for you,” Rowena giggled, patting his feet playfully. “Now, come on! Get some damn clothes on! We’ll grab breakfast, and you can tell me how a sweet little thing like you got tangled up with Maury the fuckin’ Mouth!”

Jimmy grinned, waiting for Rowena to go downstairs so he could poke through his purchases to find something to wear. He had no idea what kind of work Rowena was going to choose for him, opting for an outfit that was somewhere in between dressy and casual. Jeans, vintage sneakers, t-shirt, with a red plaid button-up.

He fixed his hair, mourning the absence of his toothbrush but managed to find some mouthwash. Grabbing his wallet and keys, he nearly forgot his new phone before he hurried downstairs to find Rowena.

Jimmy nearly got lost trying to figure out where she was, finding her in a beautiful kitchen appointed with stainless steel appliances and marble countertops. She sat at a center island outfitted with a stovetop where a very tall and spindly man was scrambling eggs. There was a large pitcher filled with something slushy and orange, and Rowena was already pouring two drinks.

“Awww, look at you, pretty!” Rowena teased, whistling and offering one of the drinks toward him.