Read Words With Fiends for Free Online Page B

boxes that had been delivered right after lunch. Darla was tempted to follow after him, but decided against putting the youth on the spot. Still, she couldn’t help but silently fume.
Another secret?
Bad enough that she hadn’t known about her store manager’s various avocations. Now, James was apparently confiding details of his personal life to Robert while leaving her, his employer, totally out of the loop.
    Remember what you told Jake. No more digging around in other people’s pasts.
    She allowed herself to feel noble about that particular resolve. Even so, she was still inwardly grumbling a little when five o’clock came, and it was time for her and Robert to head to the dojo for their Friday night lesson.
    â€œI may stop back in before closing if I don’t stay to watch the sparring class,” she told James as she and Robert pulled on their coats and shouldered their gym bags. “But don’t wait on me if I’m not back by seven.”
    â€œHamlet and I have everything under control,” James assured her with a glance at the feline, who had made his way to the main counter and now lay on his back with his rear paws shoved up against the register.
    Darla nodded. “All right, then we’ll play it by ear. And if you want to come in early tomorrow to meet Hamlet’s, uh, therapist, please do.”
    â€œActually, I have already committed to be out with Ms. Washington again tonight, though I can cancel those plans if you feel I should be here with you.”
    Darla raised a brow.
James and Martha, two nights in a row?
All she said, however, was, “No, you have a nice night out, and I’ll see you when you come in at your usual time.”
    â€œVery well, then. You and Robert enjoy your evening, as well, and consider the shop to be in good hands—and paws—until tomorrow.”
    The walk to the dojo was swift and, by mutual choice, relatively silent. Robert had been avoiding her since his seeming slip regarding James’s personal life, likely feeling that she would grill him on it, given the chance. Not that she would ever do such a thing, Darla virtuously reminded herself. She didn’t want to put him in the uncomfortable position of worrying about betraying one or the other of his bosses.
    Truth was, her only thought for the moment was getting to the dojo, and fast! She was sure she was on the verge of frostbite by the time they reached the Tomlinson Academy of Martial Arts. Compared to Darla’s building’s elegant entry, with its balustraded steps leading to a glass-windowed door, the street-level storefront that housed the dojo was workman-like, save for a pair of knee-high concrete fu dogs painted red that flanked the doorway. A large window gave a glimpse into the studio, where passersby could see the students practicing their synchronized moves.
    And, just in case it wasn’t obvious what was taking place inside, the red wooden door was emblazoned with both the dojo’s name and the TAMA logo: an anime-styled, oversized punching fist with the letters
T
,
A
,
M
, and
A
tattooed on its respective knuckles. Cliché and macho as it might be, the logo made for a cool-looking T-shirt. She and Robert had each bought one after their first class.
    Inside the dojo was a wide vestibule leading directly to the sensei’s office. Darla privately called that hallway
Master Tomlinson’s Hall of Fame
. Interrupted only by the broad archway midway down, which opened to the training area, the walls were a veritable scrapbook of the man’s long martial arts career. In one large glass case, ribbons and medals covered four decades of championship wins, while another case held rows of trophies. The rest of the wall space was covered with photographs of Master Tomlinson over the years.
    He’d worn his dark brown hair tied back in a short ponytail in some pictures, while in others he’d had the long hair and bangs look straight out