Page 10 of Haunt the Mall
“Praying mantises eat after copulating. Widows, um…”
“They’re necrophiliacs?” He almost sounded impressed with my knowledge.
Well, I was full of creepy fun facts. “I guess the male is still kind of alive? Like a chicken with its head cut off. It probably lasts for a few minutes—and that’s better than most guys.”
He laughed and hung his head, his bangs swooping to cover his face. “How unfortunate.”
“Yes, well…” I didn’t want to blatantly ask about his endurance. “Speaking of minutes, I should probably get back to work,” I said.
He nodded and swept a nearby aisle. “Enjoy your car snack.”
“I will. Oh, except I didn’t drive. I walked. I work in the mall. Hot Contra in case you couldn’t tell.” I gestured to my ensemble.
His lip twitched up as his gaze swept over my outfit. “You’re very on-brand.”
“Yeah, well, I’m also a manager. Gotta represent.” Oh my gosh, was I trying to sound cool for this random man? “Anyway, thanks for lunch. Have a great day.” Raising the popcorn bag to salute him, I pivoted hard on my heel and power-walked away. He didn’t ask for my number. Or where I worked. Why had I given that away? He already had my name. If this was more than a flirty way to pass the time, he’d show he was interested.
The scrape of the brush combined with the rising incline of the wall divide reminded me of last night: the spider limb that had stretched up as part of a prank, and whatever had brushed against my leg. I stopped in my tracks. “Yesterday, was that you with the spider gag?”
He shrugged and slow-blinked like a cat.
That was a yes. “Where is it?” I asked.
“I have to keep some secrets.” Smirking, he scraped the floor. “Come back and see us again soon, Miss Silver.”
An unspoken implication wormed into my brain; Next time, we’d get better acquainted.
6
Locked Drawer
I was late. Running only served to bounce the popcorn out of the bag and onto the mall floor. Security was going to be up my ass about littering, so I power-walked until I got back to the store.
AJ glanced up from sorting pin-buttons. “How was it?”
I closed my fist around my cross, my heart throbbing underneath it. “Good. I loved—”
Bree kicked the dressing room door aside with her hip and wielded an empty hanger like an ax. “Look who’s late. Should we write you up?”
I feigned a smile. “No. I had extenuating circumstances.”
Nodding, she dragged the hanger edge against the wood edge of the dressing room door. “I’ve had some of those.”
Sure. She had car troubles, long lines, snowstorms, and diarrhea. Or at least that was what she told my predecessor every time she strolled in late. Ten minutes weren't a big deal. Lies were, though. Especially now that she was trying to feed them to me.
She crept closer, her nostrils quivering. “You brought us a snack?”
I twisted away and cupped the bag against my breast. No way was I sharing my special gift with everyone. “This isn't a penance for being late. It’s my lunch.”
AJ pushed his glasses up and tilted his head. “You didn’t eat it during the movie?”
“I was distracted.” More by the sultry manager than the movie, but both were enticing. Plus, I only got popcorn at the end. But that’d be difficult to explain. I didn’t want them to get the wrong idea about the manager and me. We were still a mystery. “I’ll put this away and eat it later,” I said.
“Are we allowed to snack during the day now?” Bree teased.
“Yeah, when we’re on break.” I went into the storage closet to escape the inquiries. Boxes of various sizes offered lots of decent spots to hold snacks. Yet part of me hesitated to plop my bag in plain sight. Who was to say my coworkers wouldn’t steal a few handfuls and get butter all over the clothes? Plus, they might ruin the sentimental gesture with their germs. I rolled the top of the bag down to preserve some freshness, then locked it in my desk drawer.
Better safe than sorry.