“It has to be tonight,” Basil said. “Regional already replied to Pat’s e-mail. They’re sending a Consultant Team first thing tomorrow morning. They’ll want a full tour of the store. And they cannot arrive to find a Brooka smeared with … you know.”

“Why us?” Amy asked.

“Because you’re both loyal and reliable partners.”

Amy rolled her eyes. “Seriously.”

Basil hesitated. “All right, I’ll be honest. I had Tommy and Gregg from Replenishment all lined up, but the Indians are playing the Sox, so they backed out. Then I asked David Potts and his brother Russell, but this morning they called in sick. So I tried Eduardo Pena, but he has to watch his grandchildren. Then I tried Tania from Café, but she’s watching an eBay auction. Now I’m asking you, because I know you’ll both say yes.”

“Really?” Amy asked. “You’re positive?”

“Ruth Anne will agree because she’s discreet, she’s responsible, and she cares about Orsk. You’ll agree because you want to go back to Youngstown. I saw your transfer request on the computer this morning. I know you don’t like this store, and I know you don’t like me. But if you work this extra shift, I’ll make sure your transfer goes through, and you won’t ever have to see me again.”

Amy’s instinct was to fire back with a wisecrack, but she was startled to realize his proposal actually sounded pretty good. “You’ll pay time and a half?”

“Even better: double overtime,” Basil said. “In cash at the end of the shift. Just to show how much I appreciate your participation and your discretion.”

Amy quickly did the math: eight hours at double overtime would net her two hundred dollars, enough to keep her roommates at bay until her next paycheck.

“Count me in,” she said.

“Me, too,” Ruth Anne said. “It’ll be fun. Like a sleepover party.”

Basil shook their hands, sealing the deal.

“Meet me at the employee entrance at ten o’clock,” he explained. “I’ll let you inside while Operations finishes cleaning. We’ll wait in here until everything’s quiet, then we’ll do our first sweep. And not a word to anyone, understand? This is a covert operation.”

The door to the break room burst open and Matt and Trinity tumbled inside. “There’s people in here,” Trinity exclaimed, feigning surprise.

“Hey, guys,” Matt said. “What’s up?”

Basil immediately tried to act like nothing was going on, which made it look like something was absolutely going on.

“We were just dialoguing,” he said. He turned to Amy and Ruth Anne. “Thank you for your feedback. It’s been duly noted and I’ll pass it along.”

“Feedback about what?” Matt asked.

“Is everything okay?” Trinity asked, searching Amy’s eyes for clues. “There’s a real weird energy in this room. Like someone’s just had a difficult conversation.”