Page 70 of The Body in the Backyard

“Absolutely not.”

“I’m hereto see your boss’s checkbook,” a freshly showered Nick said when assistant to the asshole Henry opened Griffin’s front door. Bella’s tiny dog wore a crystal-encrusted collar and yapped at his ankles.

The assistant winced. “I’m afraid Mr. Gentry isn’t here.”

“Yesterday, I told him to be here. Half an hour ago, I texted him to be here. Where is he?”

“I–I’m not sure. He was looking at his phone, and then said he had an important meeting. He left in a hurry.”

“An important meeting on a Saturday morning that he didn’t need his assistant to attend.” Nick strolled across the threshold into the foyer. “Sounds suspicious to me. Especially if he left immediately after I texted him to tell him I was coming to collect.”

The dog pranced over and sniffed his boots before resuming her yaps.

Nick scooped up the piece of fluff and cradled her to his chest. “You know what? I think I’ll just wait here for your boss.”

Henry’s eyes widened. “Look, I know Mr. Gentry is really good at avoiding paying people, and he can be kind of a horrible tool, but that’s no reason to hurt a dog.”

“What?” The dog slurped Nick’s chin with an enthusiastic kiss. “I’m not going to hurt a dog.”

“Oh, so you’re going to hold her for ransom. Makes sense. I should have thought of that.”

“First of all, if I was going to intimidate Gentry into paying me, I wouldn’t ransom his fiancée’s dog. I’d throw him in another dumpster or pick him up by the lapels so his tiny feet were dangling off the floor. Second, Gentry’s not paying you either?”

“Technically, I’m just an intern, which apparently means he’s free to abuse me as he sees fit,” Henry explained.

“Here’s a thought: Why don’t you just quit?”

“My parents said if I stuck out an internship until the end of the year, they’d front me the money to take my punk band on tour.”

Nick eyed Henry’s thick nerd glasses and his pristine shirt.

“I know. I look more likely to fix your printer network settings than front a punk band.”

“It’s the glasses,” Nick told him. “I wonder if your parents would still honor the deal if something unfortunate happened to your employer?”

“I don’t know. I guess I could check with them.”

Just then, Bella swept into the room in a pink robe with feathers at the cuffs and hem. “There’s my little sweetie weetie! Mommy needs her kisses before she goes to the spa.” She plucked the dog from Nick’s arms and placed several loud kisses on its head, adding fresh lipstick stains to the white fur.

“I’ll just go be…uh…somewhere else,” Henry said and scurried away.

“Your fiancé owes me money. I’ve come to collect,” Nick said.

“Griffin’s not here,” Bella said with wide guileless eyes. She looked like an anime character.

“I don’t care if the check has his signature or yours on it.”

“Oh, I can’t write checks out of Griffin’s accounts. Not until I’m officially Mrs. Gentry. Speaking of, do you have any opinions on napkin rings? I had decided on these beautiful brushed gold ones, but Griffin said they made his hands look too small.”

Nick pinched the bridge of his nose. “Bella, where did Griffin go?”

“Gosh. I don’t know. He was gone when I got up. I take my beauty rest very seriously.”

“That’s great. I care so much about what you’re saying,” Nick said dryly. “Can you just call him and tell him to get his ass home?”

Bella cocked her head to the side. The dog did the same. Both stared at him with blank eyes.

“Hmm, I never thought of that. I guess I could call him,” she said finally.