Free Fit for the Job by Darien Cox Page A

people who with all his heart he thought were friends. And they’d turned on him in a heartbeat. He wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to try friendship again anytime soon.
    “Yeah, we’ll you weren’t too far off in that assessment,” Bodie said, and pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket. “Do you want to wait in here while I go call Eben? He’s out right now. Working. Just so you know, he’s gonna ream me out for calling him. You’re welcome.”
    “Actually,” Jay said. “I’d like to talk to Sassy again before I leave. Alone.”
    Chuckling, Bodie shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “It’ll be fine, I promise,” Jay said. “I need to earn her trust if she’s going to work with me and not against me.”
    Earn her trust . Well, that was exactly what Eben said he wanted. Bodie stood. “I’ll take you up.”
    “No, I can find the way.” Jay stood.
    Bodie frowned, conflicted.
    “It will be fine, Bodie. Just let me go up and talk to her. You can call Eben in the meantime. I’ll be back down shortly.”
    Finally, Bodie nodded. “All right. But tread lightly. And shout down if you need me. I’ll be in the kitchen. And don’t...let her know we discussed this. About her problems with Eben.”
    Jay smiled at him and made a zipping gesture over his lips. “Not a word, I promise.”
    Once Jay left the room, Bodie strolled out into the kitchen and leaned on the counter, staring at his phone. Dreading the call he had to make. He was sure he was about to incur Eben’s wrath for interrupting him at work. For intruding on him when he was in the zone , as he put it.
    Tate stepped into the room. “You okay?”
    “Yeah. Thanks for covering my shift today. We’ll be leaving again in a few minutes, but I’ll be back soon.”
    “No problem,” Tate said. “It’s not like I have a whole lot else to do. This neighborhood is quiet. You sure you’re okay?”
    Bodie smiled. “Fine. Just need to call Eben at work.”
    Tate chuckled and patted Bodie’s shoulder. “Good luck with that.”
    Tate left the room and Bodie stared down at his phone again. He knew that Eben might very possibly just say fuck it, and let Jay go. Hiring Jay could have simply been another one of his whims. He’d had several hair-brained schemes in the past two months to try and lure Sassy from her ice cave, but nothing had panned out so far. But if Eben did want to keep Jay around, he’d have to yield to his demands.
    And Bodie really hoped he would. Because he was convinced Sassy would like having Jay around.
    And I wouldn’t mind keeping him around a while longer myself .
    With that thought, he steeled himself, and dialed Eben.
     
    ****
     
    Jay knocked on the girl’s door. “Sassy, it’s Jay. Can I talk to you for a minute?”
    He heard murderous shrieks and growls behind the closed door, but was fairly certain they were coming from the television.
    He waited, and when a minute passed with no response, he knocked again.
    Sassy pulled open the door and looked at him, her eyes puffy from crying. She frowned as she peered out into the empty corridor. “Where’s Bodie?”
    “He’s downstairs,” Jay said. “I was hoping we could talk alone for a minute.”
    Face set in a pretty scowl, she looked at Jay. “Fine.” She turned and re-entered her suite.
    Jay followed her in and closed the door behind him. When Sassy returned to her place on the sofa, he wandered over and took the chair beside her once again. Glancing at the TV screen, he saw Brad Pitt on an airplane bashing a zombie in the head with a piece of carry-on luggage.
    “So I’m gonna try and help you out,” Jay said.
    Sassy cocked a skeptical eyebrow. “With what?”
    “Your home confinement problem. We’re going to see if your dad will let you do activities off the property.”
    Sassy let out a guffaw. “Yeah. Good luck with that.”
    “Hey,” Jay said. “I’m doing what I can with what I’ve got to work with. I wasn’t expecting