My Ex's Uncle, My Trap novel · Chapter 6 of 24

Chapter 6: Leave Her to Me

Winston drove away with the spaghetti pot on his passenger seat.

I called a car and gave the driver the name of the only hotel downtown with a doorman in a top hat.

Rule one was no lies. I was going to find out how good his rules were.

At 12:06 a.m. I knocked on the door of suite 2104.

He opened it in a white undershirt and suit pants, barefoot, holding a pen.

"Rhi," he said. "Is your mother..."

"My mother hit your nephew with a dish towel. She's fine."

"Good," he said, and meant it.

"March eighth. Eleven forty-two at night. You texted your brother. Leave the Keating girl to me."

He went still.

Then he stepped back and held the door open wider.

"Come in."

He unlocked his phone and held it out to me.

"Read it yourself. The whole thread. Then I'll explain whatever you want."

I came in. I took the phone.

The thread with Clifford was short. They didn't talk much.

March 8, 11:31 p.m., Pierson: Who builds the rooms at Lock & Key? The site credits R. Keating.

11:38, Clifford: Winston's girlfriend, a scholarship case. Why?

11:41, Pierson: I want to hire her at Deadbolt after graduation, so keep Winston out of it.

11:42, Pierson: Leave the Keating girl to me.

I read it three times.

"You wanted to hire me."

"I wanted to offer you the best design job in my company," he said. "After graduation. Properly, with a contract."

"Why didn't you just say?"

"Because you were dating my nephew, and I didn't want it to be about him."

I sat down on the arm of his couch, because my knees had opinions.

"He made it sound like you were buying me."

"I know what he made it sound like."

He sat in the chair across from me, not too close.

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