Ruby Red Marionette

fortynine | red

"Not only did you bail out on me yesterday, but you weren't even there to share the glory of those ribs. They taste even better when they're free."

The whole clan wasn't at the house today, just Tyler. He was understandably upset with Isaiah.

"I'm sorry. But I told you, after that creepy guy came, we were too scared to even leave the house," Isaiah explained.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Dude, compared to everything that the PM has done to us, your interaction with this 'Ren' person sounds pretty damn attractive."

"Any interaction with Red Liquor employees or PM is dreadful, no matter how harmless they seem," I said.

Tyler shrugged. "That's the reason why you should just forget about the ones that you can. The thing with Charlie has to be talked about, but this? This is minor. We can let this one go."

"I'm not letting anything go, Tyler." I took a jacket out of the closet and put it on.

"Where are you going?"

I couldn't answer his question. I couldn't tell him that the PM told me to wait 2-5 days for my answer, and that was two days ago, so the truth could be revealed to me at any second now. I couldn't tell him that if I waited for them, I'd have an anxiety attack like the one yesterday and Isaiah might not be able to bring me out of it.

"I'm going shopping."

"Are you sure?" Isaiah asked. "Your eyes tell a different story. You look like you're about to go draw somebody's blood."

I sighed. "You never know what I'll do to get the last pair of jeans on sale in my size."

Tyler and Isaiah stared at me for a while, briefly considering if I was being serious, and then shrugged in acceptance.

I left the house before either of them could change their minds.

- - -

I didn't exactly lie to Tyler and Isaiah. I wasn't going shopping, but I was going to the mall. Just not for stores.

There was a place in the mall called the Chattanooga Business Directory. You could go there to get information about businesses, which ones were shady and which weren't, when they were established, and a lot more.

So you could imagine why I was there.

It was on the fourth floor, far away from clothing stores and restaurants. When I walked in, the only sound in the store was people typing on keyboards, hushed conversation, or the sound of water coming out of a cooler in the corner.

"Hello ma'am, how may I help you?"

I turned around to see a woman at the front desk, summoning me over to her.

"Yes, I could use some help," I walked over to her. "If I wanted to know the manager or CEO of a certain business, would you be able to help me find out?"

She paused for a moment. "Ashley, could you come here please? I have a question."

Another girl, Ashley, rolled her desk chair over to the front desk. "What do you need help with?"

"I have a client here who asked if we'd be able to tell her the manager, head, or CEO of a certain business," The first girl said.

"Well, we wouldn't be able to give you personal information, like credit card numbers or their address. The only information we could provide you with is a name," Ashley explained.

"That would be fine," I said.

They led me to the back of the store, near a group of computers. I sat down in front of one of the desks while they worked. I wanted to peer behind the screens to see what they were doing, but I stayed put in my seat.