Page 8 of Winning You

Then he panicked. “Fuck.”

Lucas blinked.

“Fuck!” Oh my god, heneversaid fuck on the job. He was so getting fired. “I didn’t know you were…”

Lucas threw up his hands. “Oh, here we go again. You didn’t know I was blind? Don’t they at least brief you on the places you’re about to inspect?”

Humiliation crept up his neck, a burning hot path. How did he not notice this man was blind? He had a blind daughter, for fuck’s sake! He opened the fridge again and looked closer. In his periphery, he could see Lucas smirking.

The binswerelabeled. In braille.

He swallowed. “There should be print on these as well.”

“For what? Fun?” Lucas demanded. “I’m the only one who works here. What is the point of having print labels?”

“Because it’s against regulation!” It was…maybe. Probably. He didn’t know. He was well aware he was trying to save face because he was beyond embarrassed.

“Oh my god, you are such a dick. You are a prejudiced?—”

Lucas’s rant was cut off when Frankie’s phone began to ring, and he looked down to see it was the school.

“Oh, hell. Excuse me, I have to take this.” He stumbled for the door and managed to make it out onto the street without braining himself before he answered. “Yes?”

“Hey, Frankie. It’s Grace. Elodie had a seizure,” came the voice of the school receptionist he’d come to know very well

His heart sank. “How bad?”

“Not too bad. It lasted about forty-five seconds, but she had an accident, and she’s not feeling very well now. She’d like to go home.”

And this was why he couldn’t quit his job. He could just not show up to the other trucks he had to do today because none of them knew he was coming. So long as all of his reports were filed by the end of the week, he was golden. He wouldn’t have that kind of freedom anywhere else.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Thank you. Sorry to interrupt your day so early.”

“It happens. Thanks, Grace.” He hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket, then grabbed his wallet and pulled out one of his cards, scribbling a time on the back. Nine a.m. tomorrow. That should give him plenty of time to finish his inspection without impacting his daily sales.

And the night would give Frankie to come up with a way to apologize for being an unintentional asshole. Twice.

“I’m sorry, I have to cut this short. Here’s my card with your re-inspection appointment time on it.” He thrust it at Lucas, who fumbled, then took it and ran his fingers over it.

“How the fuck am I supposed to read this?”

Okay. Unintentional asshole three times.

“Don’t you have anyone who can read it to you?” Four times. God, what waswrongwith him.

He started to clear his throat and tell him the appointment time, but Lucas shook his head and said, “You know what, I’ll figure it out. Have a nice fucking day.”

Frankie left without another word. What else could he say that wouldn’t make the situation worse? He didn’t trust himself with another syllable, so he stayed quiet until he pulled up to the school to collect Elodie and tried to forget what an absolute shitshow he’d made of the entire situation.

CHAPTER TWO

LUCAS

“Quick question:do you think a judge would let me off for murder if I tell him that it was the health inspector who has a vendetta against me? And if not, do you think I have the right face for prison?”

“No, and no,” Gage sighed into the phone. “Lucas, you are too pretty for prison, and I’m pretty sure the health inspector doesn’t have a vendetta against you. People tend to hate them for doing their jobs.”