He greeted me. “Hey, boss. Things go okay today?”
“Fine. Someone moved out of a unit, but we got a new renter, so…”
“Good.” He went over to the coffee pot and filled a cup.
I thought I should inform him about the town gossip. “Uh, you may not remember Jenna, but she’s my assistant, works half days during the week. She was a year or two behind us in high school.”
He shrugged his shoulders and gulped down the coffee. Jesus, how he didn’t burn his throat, I had no idea.
“Long story short, the rumor mill has been busy. Pretty much everyone who’s still around from high school knows you’re back.”
I watched him wince and rub a hand over his whiskers. “I was afraid of that. I thought I recognized a few people at the fast food place in town, but I wasn’t sure. It’s been years, after all.”
I got up and walked over to where he stood. “Why are you back, Lonnie? Really. You’ve always hated it here. You wanted the big city lights—”