Fire & Brimstone (Neighbor from Hell #8) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,86
don’t you just go back to work for Lucifer? We both know that’s what you want,” the know-it-all-bitch said as she devoured her pie.
“Because…”
“Because, why?” Melanie asked a bit distractedly as she searched the empty wrappers on the coffee table for another pie.
“Just because,” she said, in no mood to get into this argument again.
“Because you’re a stubborn bitch with too much pride and not enough common sense to realize that you’ll never be happy anywhere else?” Melanie said, earning a furious glare.
“I really hate you,” she said, deciding that if Melanie managed to find another pie that she was going to take it from her and stomp the shit out of it.
“You love me and you know it,” Melanie said with a sigh and a shrug as she gave up on her search for more junk food and returned her attention to her laptop.
“You’re lucky that I do,” she said as she glanced down at her phone and felt her stomach sink when she saw that she didn’t have any missed calls.
“That’s what I tell myself everyday,” Melanie said with a smile and a wink for the sole purpose of trying to make her forget that no one was calling.
Feeling even more depressed than she had this morning, she tossed her phone aside and forced her lazy ass to get up. “I’m going to the bathroom. Let me know if anyone calls.”
“Will do,” Melanie mumbled, already lost in whatever code she was working on.
Deciding that tonight’s theme was going to be self-pity, she stepped over Mojo, who had fallen asleep by her feet in the hopes that Melanie would share her junk food with him, and walked to the bathroom, replaying all the conversations that she’d had today in her head. She’d been polite, smiled and had taken her time filling out all the applications. So, why wasn’t anyone calling her?
Shutting the bathroom door behind her, she walked over to the sink, looked at her reflection in the mirror and-
Screamed somewhat hysterically.
*-*-*-*
“Could I ask you a few questions about Rebecca Shaw?”
He sighed heavily for effect. “I don’t think my wife would like me talking about her. Not with the trial around the corner.”
“I’m sorry?” came the confused response after a heavy pause.
“So am I, but if you’re calling about getting me to drop the charges I’m afraid that you’re out of luck. My wife is determined to see this thing through.”
“I-I’m just calling for a reference.”
“That’s how it starts. She comes in with this adorable little smile, neatly typed resume and then before you know it you’re trying to remember the safe word and hoping that your wife doesn’t figure out where all the olive oil is going,” he said as he scrolled through next week’s schedule, seeing if any changes needed to be made.
“I think I’m going to hang up now,” Rebecca’s latest interested job prospect whispered nervously.
“It’s probably for the best,” he agreed, clicking Save.
Satisfied that he’d saved Rebecca from making a terrible mistake, he pushed his chair back and left his office. It was time to check on the stubborn woman and make sure that she hadn’t been offered any jobs on the spot, because if she had then he was going to have to figure out a way to get her fired before her first day.
So far today he’d helped her dodge five-perspective jobs. He wasn’t counting the jobs that he’d threatened his relatives not to give her. They knew better then to do something that would encourage him to focus his attention on them. While Uncle Jared would normally take any threat of revenge as a challenge, he knew exactly what Lucifer was capable of. While most of his brothers and cousins would try to annoy the shit out their uncle, he usually took the more subtle route and found a way to turn someone’s life upside down to the point where his intended victim would start to wonder if they were going insane.
He didn’t take shortcuts, not like his cousins. When he did something, he gave it his all and his uncle knew that. Which was why…
Was that screaming?
“Shit!” he snapped as he hurried up the stairs and ran straight for her apartment door. He didn’t bother knocking since it was never locked these days. He swore if that fucking dog knocked Rebecca on her adorable ass one more time that he was going to-
“Stop screaming!” Melanie screamed.
“What the hell do you mean stop screaming?” Rebecca screamed back.