"What about my purse?" the second blond said.
Lawton threw purse-girl half a glance. "Zip it, Bethany."
She frowned. "It's Brittney."
"Whatever."
This is when Chucky bounded in from somewhere near the back of the house, sliding on the marble floor as he took a corner at full speed. When he saw me, he gave a yip of greeting and then dove for my legs, nearly toppling me over when he slammed into them.
I couldn't help but laugh as I choked out, "Bad dog." From the tone of my voice, he probably thought I was praising him. But I couldn't help it. Chucky was more soaked than I was, but I swear, I saw him smile.
No wonder he was happy. He'd had steakanda purse for dinner. Oh yeah, and some guy's shirt. It was a total doggie buffet.
A few feet away, Brittney edged toward Lawton and pouted in a way she probably thought was pretty. "But the purse," she persisted, "it was a Louis Vuitton."
I felt my smile fade. This wassonot good.
"If you so say so," Lawton said.
She turned to glare at me. "You're gonna have to pay for it, you know."
I felt myself pale. I'd never owned a Louis Vuitton, not even secondhand. But Ididknow that even a basic one probably cost more than my car. Granted, my car was a piece of crap. It was old, ugly, and the heat didn't always work. But more to the point, I definitely didn't have nearly that kind of money lying around.
"Your ass," Lawton told her. "It was a knock-off, and you know it."
Her perfect face showed a hint of pink. "Well, it wasn't acheapknock-off." She pursed her lips. "She's still gonna have to pay."
With something like a sigh, Lawton reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a black wallet and peeled off several hundreds. He held the money vaguely in her direction.
She hesitated just a moment before sauntering over and snatching it out of his hand. She gave me a dirty look as she stuffed it into her ample cleavage and then stood, possessively by Lawton's side.
"You're lucky he's such a gentleman," she said.
I was immensely grateful that Lawton had taken care of the purse, but the idea of him as a gentleman was beyond ridiculous. I'd seen one of his fights on the Internet. The guy was a brute, and from what I'd seen in the tabloids, there was nothing gentlemanly about him.
But I'd never say that out loud. I'd had years of suppressing my real thoughts and feelings behind a mask of civility, and this was no time to break that pattern.
"Yes," I said, summoning up my very best upper crust persona. "He's very kind."
At this, Lawton gave me a curious look, and for the briefest moment, I felt like he saw straight through me. And then, just as quickly as it had come, the look was gone. Or maybe I'd been imagining it all along.
Besides, I had more important things to think about. How much money had he tossed at her? I couldn't tell the exact amount, but it looked like a lot, at least by my budget-conscious standards. Given that the purse was a fake, she'd probably made a tidy profit from the deal.
Thinking about it, I realized something that made my mouth go dry. Now, I owed him money instead of her. This hadn't solved anything. Not really.
Swallowing, I turned to him and made myself say, "If you'd like to send me a bill, I'll make sure you're promptly reimbursed."
Oh God, I sounded like an accountant. No wonder, since that had been my major and all. Still, what the hell was I saying? Reimbursement would be anything but prompt. Unless – maybe I could ask the Parkers to pay for it.
They checked in about once a week, and I had a cell phone number for emergencies. Was this an emergency? It was their dog, after all. But then I'd be forced to explain how I'd let Chucky get out in the first place.
No. This was my fault, and I'd need to pay for this fiasco myself.
Damn it. Whatever amount Lawton had thrown at her, it was too much. That chick's profit was going to come out of my hide, and I didn't have anything to spare. Lamely, I continued on, "I'd just need a receipt, uh, for my records."
Records? What records? Shit, I didn't know.
"Nah, I've got it," he told me with a half-shrug. He spared Brittney a glance. "Besides, that'll show Barbie for leaving her purse on the floor."
