it looked like the pair was headed that way, fast. She exchanged a glance with Robert, giving a nod in the direction of the reference section where the pregnant customer still browsed. Eyes wide, he gave a return nod of comprehension and trotted off in that direction. If Darla couldn’t defuse the situation, at least no innocent bystanders would walk into the melee.
Darla reached into her pocket again for her phone; then, with an air of authority that she didn’t quite feel, she held up the cell so both men could see. “If you gentlemen have an issue with each other, take it outside, now. Otherwise, I’m calling the police.”
A few seconds ticked by, both men’s angry gazes still locked. Then Curt took a deep breath and with seeming effort managed a halfhearted smile for her. “No worries, Darla. I don’t want any trouble. I’m just here to pick up my special order.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m outta here. I got a store to run,” the other man retorted, stuffing the cash into his back pocket. “But in case you forgot, Benedetto, you and me, we got some unfinished business. I’ll be seeing you later.”
Long arms swinging, he shuffled to the door and slammed it shut behind him, leaving behind an unpleasant atmosphere that was equal parts anger and poor hygiene. Darla reached under the counter for the organic gardenia air freshener she’d purchased from Hilda’s shop the previous week. She gave a few defiant spritzes in the direction that the porn shop owner had gone; then, aware that she was shaking in reaction, she settled on the stool behind the register and heaved a deep breath of her own.
“Hey, Darla, I’m really sorry about all that,” Curt ventured, his expression contrite. “That Bill, he’s a class-A jerk. I never figured I’d run into him in a nice place like yours. Uh, not that I hang out at his store or anything.”
“Of course not,” Darla agreed, politely accepting that bit of fiction. “Unfortunately, he came looking for one of his ex-employees who happens to work for me now. He was trying to threaten me and Robert, and doing a pretty good job of it. At least you distracted him.”
“Yeah, well, the guy holds a grudge.”
Darla knew from Curt’s dour tone he was referring not so much to Robert’s situation as to whatever “unfinished business” the porn shop owner had alluded to before leaving. Not that she planned to pursue the subject. The less she knew about Curt’s dealings, the better!
Nodding, she said, “I think that situation is all settled, but if he ever sets foot in my store again, I’ll have him arrested for trespassing.”
“Good plan.” Then, literally brushing off the earlier unpleasantness—and sprinkling a bit of plaster dust on her clean floor, in the process—Curt resummoned his flashy grin. “So, is my book in yet?”
Darla took a look under the counter where special orders were staged, and then shook her head. “Sorry, it doesn’t look like your book on vintage trims and moldings has arrived yet.”
“No problemo. We still have the last bit of wiring to finish before the new plaster goes up.” Curt glanced about the shop. “Where’s that big cat of yours hiding?”
“Hamlet? Oh, he’s somewhere around.”
“Are you sure?”
Darla smothered a smile. The feline in question had slipped away during the confrontation between Bill and Curt. Now he reappeared, silently padding his way out of the children’s section and beyond Curt’s line of sight. Spying the man, Hamlet halted and shot him the same look of green-eyed contempt he gave Curt every time the man entered the store. Darla did a silent countdown—three, two, one—and nearly laughed aloud when, right on cue, Hamlet flopped on the floor to give Curt his patented kiss-off treatment.
Unfortunately for insults, Curt chose the same moment to pause in front of one of the barrister-style bookshelves that housed their first editions. While Hamlet was busy flinging hind leg over shoulder, Curt was using the glass front as a makeshift mirror while he dislodged a bit of leftover breakfast from between two back teeth; thus, he missed the demonstration. Hamlet paused in midlick as he realized his dissing was going unnoticed. Scrambling upright again, he hissed in Curt’s direction before stalking off.
“Oops, you just missed him,” Darla said with a smile, pointing at the cat’s retreating form. “Maybe next time.”
The man shrugged. “Well, I seen a big black cat that looked just like him running out of my brownstone this morning when I got there.”
“Really?”