Page 20 of Slumming It

Hireher?The girl who'd been hiding under my bed?

I almost laughed in her face. "Why would I do that?"

"Well…" she said. "It sounds like you're looking for local properties to buy. Am I right?"

Looking and buying were two different things. I could buy the whole town and not break a sweat.But did I want to?On this, the jury was still out. More likely, I'd buy only one building and burn it to the ground. "Let's say I were. So what?"

"Well…" she said again. "Don't you think you could use a local expert?"

My eyebrows lifted. "Meaning you."

"Why not me?" she said. "I've lived here my whole life."

If she was trying to impress me, she'd failed. With a scoff, I replied, "Yeah, you and a few thousand other people."

"So?"

"So why shouldn't I hirethem?"

"Because they're not offering. And you already said that I owed you." She shrugged like it was no big deal. "Maybe this could be my way of paying you back – you know, by consulting."

Yeah, right."For free. That's what you're saying?"

She hesitated like she was seriously considering it. This told me all I needed to know. Her plan wasn't to help my business. It was to help herself, and it didn't involve money.

But whatdidshe want?

Me?

Call it arrogance, but that was the usual way of things. From women both single and married, I'd been offered plenty of free services, and they'd all come with a cost. Maybe clout. Maybe acommitment. Maybe a good time, which I was willing to provide up to a point.

But this was something else. I knew this just like I knew that she couldn't afford to work for no money. Her clothes weren't just dirty. They were cheap. And the more she talked, the more I suspected that she actuallywasthe housekeeper, which wasn't a mark in her favor as far as consulting went.

I let the silence hang until she broke it with a sigh. "Look, I can't do it for free. We both know this."

No shit."We do?"

"Sure," she said. "I mean, doyouwork for free?"

I was no charity. One way or another, I always got paid. "What doyouthink?"

"So, get you my point, right? I mean, if I'm working foryou, I can't work here, which means the hotel will have to hire somebody else, maybe eventwopeople."

It sounded like somebody else’s problem to me. "What doyoucare?"

"I'm just being responsible, that's all. And besides, I've got bills to pay like everyone else." She gave a nervous laugh. "Unless you're offering me free room and board."

I wasn't offering her shit.Still, I couldn’t resist tweaking her. "Is that a hint?"

She cocked her head, making her golden-brown hair tumble over the dusty shoulders of her black turtleneck. "What kind of hint?"

The move, practiced or not, got under my skin in a way I didn't like. With practiced scorn, I said, "So, you want to shack up?"

She straightened. "I didn't mean room and board withyou."

"Don't flatter yourself." I jerked my chin toward the nearest wall. "I meant, I've got a couple of open rooms." I made a show of looking around. "Unless you're allergic to shitholes."

"Hey! Stop calling it a shithole, alright? The place is comfy andreallyclean." But then she hesitated. "Well, except for under the beds, which I plan to remedy right away."