Aida bit her lip to keep from saying something she might regret later.
He only stared back at her, head cocked as though waiting for her to be the one to speak. His mouth was curved in a little half smile more disarming than Aida cared to admit.
“Why would you come all the way here just to check up on me?”
“I like to see our scholars in their natural environment.” He glanced around the chapel.
“I’m not an animal you are viewing on safari.”
Mo began to laugh, a rich, melodious laughter that Aida thought she might enjoy if she didn’t feel like the butt of his joke.
“Ahh, but, my dear, in some ways you are.”
Aida perched on the edge of the pew farthest away from him. “No one has told me what you do for MODA.”
He chuckled. “Quality assurance. I poke and nudge and make sure everyone is working.”
Why couldn’t he give her a straight answer? She tried a different tack. “How long have you been with the company?”
Mo leaned back and put his arms out along the backside of the pew. “From the beginning. I like to think the whole thing was my idea, but my cofounders would likely disagree.”
Aida cursed to herself. Of course, he had to be a founder. She likely had no recourse if he continued to harass her. It was no wonder Trista put up with him. “Does theM-Oin MODA stand for Mo?”
“Yes, and no.”
Aida waited for an explanation, but he only looked at her with that same damn smirk on his face. He didn’t seem opposed to her questioning, only amused.
“Who is Lady Ozie then? I thought she owned the company.”
Mo rolled his eyes. “Oh, Ozie. Is that what they told you? Ifthere is anyone more dramatic than me, it would be her. But yes, in a fashion, she does. But then again, so do I. So do others.”
“Others?”
“Yes, others.”
Aida had to work to keep the frustration out of her expression. Mo seemed to enjoy making people squirm, but she refused to give him the satisfaction. She decided she would do her job. Her innate sense of curiosity gave her a spectacular ability to keep asking questions, and so she did.
“What is Lady Ozie like?”
Mo gave a shake of his head. “You don’t want to meet her. Really, you don’t. She’s just a bundle of misery, woe, depression, suffering, anxiety, grief, and continual distress. I can barely stand to be around her myself.”
Suddenly Aida’s strange job made a little more sense to her. “Is that why I’m collecting happiness?”
For a moment, Aida thought she saw him tense up and she realized that somehow she had hit a nerve. But then he relaxed again, and his smirk turned into a brilliant smile.
“Yes, Miss Reale, that’s exactly why. So tell me, how is that going for you?”
Aida looked around the beautiful little chapel, the interior aglow from the morning sunlight. A surge of emotion rose within her. “It’s going well. I enjoy this work. Being able to see so many beautiful places makes me very happy.”
He snorted. “An unfortunate side effect, I assure you.”
Aida raised an eyebrow. “I shouldn’t be happy in my work?”
“You can be whatever you want. I don’tactuallyhave control over that.”
“And yet, here you are, saying things that, in fact,doreduce my happiness.” Aida knew her words were bold if this man was actually one of her bosses, but she also had the sense that the only way he would react favorably toward her was if she could take it and dish it back.
“Ahh,” Mo said, nodding his head, suddenly contrite. “Yes, I do forget myself. You are right. I should let you do your work. But you are sofun. I lose all restraint.”
