Galen's Gemma - Dale Mayer Page 0,1
she said. Tapping her clipboard, she looked at him. “So, you can do ugly, can you?”
“I can also help Harrison on this art job.”
“Nope, we’ve been told to butt out of that one. The insurance company is bringing somebody in, and the cops don’t want everybody crossing the line, so it’s on hold.”
“But the fresher it is—”
She shrugged. “I can’t do anything about it. So, in the meantime, Harrison will work it on his own, quietly in the background, while you head off to Germany to meet up with Zack.”
Harrison sucked in his breath and glared at Ice. She just smiled benignly at him. “Did you arrange this with my wife?” he asked.
“Nope,” she answered, “but you wanted the art job, so you got the art job.”
“You said it was on hold,” he protested.
“But you also know it’ll come back on our plate eventually, so no point in you being completely green when that happens. You might as well get up to speed now.”
“It could be a big waste of time and money,” he warned.
She smiled. “It could be, but we’ve rarely had any of those, so that’s your job.”
He nodded. “In that case, I’ll get on it. I suspect a lot of it is cyberstuff anyway.” He poured himself another cup of coffee and quickly disappeared.
Galen looked at her and smiled. “You get jobs of all kinds here, don’t you?”
“I do,” she said.
“So, who is Zack?”
“Somebody we’ve been looking at working with for a couple years,” she said. “He’s in Germany right now, waiting for you.”
“Then I better get packing.” He pulled off another piece of the cinnamon bun and sat here quite comfortably, in absolutely no rush.
“You fly out in two and a half hours,” she said, “so you’ll be tight for time anyway.”
He nodded. “I’m already packed, so I’ll sit here and enjoy this.”
She nodded. “Take one with you, if you want.”
“I might just do that,” he said, then motioned at her clipboard. “You gonna give me any idea what I’m going into?”
She looked up at him, and her eyes twinkled.
His stomach fell. “Please don’t let it be some ridiculous waste of time.”
“How do you feel about beer?”
He brightened. “I love beer. But isn’t it kind of cliché to send me to Germany to look after some beer issues?”
“Well, a lot of beer could go with the job,” she said with a laugh. “Or at least afterward, if you need it.”
“Now that I’m up for.” He grinned. “But you’re still not talking.”
“One of the biggest breweries over there is having some issues with theft, but that’s been compounded by the death of the new manager. But we aren’t sure of all the details, and Zack said he needs backup. So you’re it.”
“If you say so.” He popped the last piece of the cinnamon bun into his mouth, then picked up his cup and threw back the last of his coffee. “Am I driving to the airport and leaving the vehicle there or catching a ride?”
She shook her head. “Levi is taking you in. He’s got a bunch of stuff to pick up in town anyway.”
“Look at you guys,” he said. “The owners of the company and you’re both grounded.”
She shrugged. “We’re grounded all right but, this time, by choice.” She patted her tummy.
Chapter 1
Landing in Berlin was one thing, but trying to do a transfer through the massive airport wasn’t the easiest when his first flight came in forty minutes behind schedule. Galen made his next flight by mere minutes, earning a glare from the gate attendant. He gave her a winning smile. “Not my fault the flight was late.”
She didn’t answer, just checked his boarding pass, scanned it, and nodded toward the doors.
He took the long path to the plane with quick, easy strides, and the door of the aircraft was buckled up behind him as he walked down the aisle to find his seat. Sure enough, as was his luck, he was in between two little old ladies. He stared at the seat, then shook his head and tossed his bag up in the top, thankful there was a little bit of room. Often, when you were the last passenger, there wasn’t even that.
He took a seat between the women, whom he discovered were friends, and, from the looks of things, they were settling in for a good chat on the flight. Groaning silently, he sank deeper into his seat. It sounded like it was time to meditate as the two old hens cackled back