Hailey snapped on a pair of latex gloves. “Is food being served out of this kitchen?”
“Well, yes, but …”
“Then I’ll get right to work so we can all move on.”
Chapter 3
Time for an Upgrade
Hours later, Hailey groundher molars as she handed Bruno Keating the form that listed the areas where his bar had failed and what needed to be remedied.
“This is outrageous!” he thundered. “Either I’m being set up or you’re doing this to be spiteful!”
“If I were being spiteful, sir, I would have shut you down.” She pointed at the report. “I have at least three good reasons.” A stretch, maybe, but not by much.
The sour woman whose name and purpose were still mysteries stepped forward and placed a placating hand on Bruno’s forearm. She leveled Hailey with a frosty stare but spoke to the fuming owner. “Perhaps you should thank Ms. Bailey for her willingness to work with you.”
“Are you shitting me?” he exploded. “This is bogus!”
Fatigue invaded Hailey’s bones as she checked her clipboard and gathered up her purse. To her chagrin, Bruno decided to walk her out. Crowding her on the boardwalk that ran the width of the building, helooked around before dropping his voice. Gone were the flames that had been blazing in his eyes. “How about you and I come to some agreement?” In the daylight, lines creasing his mouth and eyes appeared deeper.
She tucked an errant strand behind her ear—why did her bun never hold together?—and hoisted her strap a little higher on her shoulder. “Excuse me?”
“Let’s say your report gets a fewtweaksbefore it becomes part of the record. Pretty little lady like you could probably use some extra cash in her wallet to spruce up her appearance.” Waggling his eyebrows, he motioned up and down her frame with his hand. “Looking good costs money. Think what a new wardrobe could do for your honey-blond hair and blue eyes. Dress a little nicer, and you could hook some guy with a sizable bank account. Easily. Then you wouldn’t have to crawl around greasy kitchens anymore.”
Hailey wasn’t sure what shocked her more: that he was trying to bribe her or that he was insinuating she was on the hunt for a meal ticket she could land if she dressed “nicer.” She mustered all her willpower and squelched the urge to spit his words right back at him.Hewas the outrageous one.
Instead she put on her steadiest professional voice—like the one Kaylee used on her temper-tantrum-throwing third graders. “I’m sorry, sir. The report has already been uploaded, and there’s no way I can pull it back, even I wanted to.” A total lie—she hadn’t uploaded anything yet—but hey, when doing battle with a cobra, you needed to spit some venom of your own. “Now, if you’ll excuse me …”
His face went through the most interesting transformation. First, it turned skim-milk white. Then ballet-slipper pink surged up his neck to his forehead, turning raspberry red, and finally a violent purple. It even showed on his scalp, visible beneath his thin platinum strands.
“I’m a taxpayer who pays your salary, and I want to file a complaint,” he raged.
“You’ll find the main number for the department on the report. Feel free to call and ask to be directed to the department head. His name is—”
“I’m not talking about a complaint againstyou.I’m talking about the Miners Tavern. You need to inspect them.Now.”He flicked his finger inthe general direction of Bowen Street. “No notice, just like the shit you pulled on me.”
To say she was confused was an understatement. Nevertheless, this guy was freaking unbelievable. She sucked in a fortifying breath. Her sister would be so proud of the serenity in her tone, and she couldn’t wait to tell her—if she ever got to Denver. “Dell’s is the only establishment I was directed to inspect today. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s five thirty, and I have a long drive ahead of me.”
He barreled ahead as if he hadn’t heard her. “They’ve violated every rule in the book, and no one’s had the guts to call them on it yet. You look like just the girl to do the job. So you’re not interested in monetary rewards, but how about a nice feather in your cap for busting that bunch?”
Hailey jabbed her thumb over her shoulder, unable to corral her incredulity. “You’re talking about the place that just opened on Bowen Street?”
“Oh, so youdoknow the place.” His snakelike smirk returned. “Maybe you’re lacking some details, like the fact that the owner has cut so many corners there’s no middle left. He’s a menace to the public, starting with that old place he supposedly restored. All he did was slop a coat of paint on it. What about the electrical? The plumbing? Who knows?” He threw his hands in the air. “I did everything I could to get the building department to act responsibly, but his brother is in bed with the whole bunch, so guess what? His place got every rubber stamp imaginable. He’ll cut corners with his food prep too, and you people will regret that you didn’t do something about it when you had the chance.”
Wow, if ever a pot had called a kettle black … The guy with the bar falling down around his ears had the audacity to call out someone else?
“Have a nice day, Mr. Keating.” Hailey hurried to her driver’s side door, flung her stuff into the passenger seat, and slid behind the wheel. Slamming the door a little harder than she’d intended, she cranked on the engine and sped back to Bowen Street. Her phone rang, and she pulled over, safely out of sight of Dell’s and its malicious owner.
“How far away are you?” her sister sang when Hailey picked up the call.
“I’m still in Fall River.”
“What?”
“I haven’t left yet.”
“Oh no! Why?”
