“I did not imply—” I stopped myself, shook my head. “That’s not the case. Okay?”
“She’s very nice,” he went on. “Pretty, one might say.”
“I mean, sure,” I conceded, desperate to wrap this up. “She’s cute.”
“Cute,” he repeated.
“Yeah, she’s a cutie, I guess.” I glanced between their blank stares. “Just a real cute…cutie pie. She’s a cutie pie.”
“She’s a cutie pie,” Hale said, bobbing his head like the caffeine had just hit his bloodstream. “And you’re not interested in her at all?”
“Why would I be?”
Hale pressed a fist to his mouth, holding in a laugh. “I don’t know, man, but I’ve known you a long time and never have I ever heard the wordscutie piecome out of your mouth. That’s gotta count for something.”
Mel pressed both hands to her temples and groaned. “Seriously, Beck.”
“Can we get back on topic? Please?” I held up last week’s numbers. “Maybe we should cut Devon and be done with it. Schedule the Eliana-Evette-Emma troop for all the nights they’ll take.”
“You’re firing Devon because you don’t want to talk about the Sunny situation?” Mel glanced between me and Hale, apparently finished with today’s grudge. “Is that what we’re doing?”
“No, I’m responding to feedback about him.” I glanced at my phone. “But if you’d like to give it another week or two, I’ll defer to your judgment.”
Hale snapped his fingers and motioned to the windows facing Naked. “I need more coffee. Who’s coming with me?”
“Shut the hell up,” Mel said.
“I need some fuel before I get back out on the water.” He wagged his empty cup between us, entirely too amused with himself. “Does this mean y’all are skipping the Naked housewarming party?”
Mel seemed to choke on air. “Thewhat?”
“I wonder if they know what they’ve done with that name,” Hale mused. “Anyway, yeah, they’re hosting a little party for industry folks. Monday because most of us are closed Mondays.”
“We aren’t,” Mel grumbled.
“It’s fine.” Hale waved us off. “Since you don’t have any interest in anything happening at Naked or any of their people, there’s nothing for you to miss. Though I am surprised you hadn’t heard about it. Sunny said one of her partners invited you.”
Mel played with her barbell again. “The perky one with the lemon drops said something about a party the other day.”
Hale pressed his lips together as he studied her. “And what did you say to that?”
She ran a hand over her hair. “I didn’t say anything. I just…I don’t know, I think I walked away.”
“Wonderful.” Hale nodded slowly. “Maybe next time, try for a word or two. We’ll work our way up to full sentences.”
Impatient, I asked, “When the fuck is this thing supposed to be?”
“Monday night. After sunset,” he replied.
Five full days away. I’d see Sunny before then. It was only a matter of time until she stomped on over here to yell about some new problem for which I was tangentially responsible. If she wanted me anywhere near this little gathering—and I had my doubts about that, seeing asI wasn’t her type—she’d let me know. Sunny wasn’t afraid to tell me exactly what she was thinking.
Even more impatient, I asked, “And what the fuck is it all about?”
“Housewarming. You know what that means, Beck. It’s when you move to a new place and invite everyone over to have some drinks and show off what you’ve done. Like that but for food service people. Very low-key.” With a smile that said he was enjoying my annoyance, he added, “You can come too. Sunny said we’re all welcome.”
Even if that was the case, I knew better.
“We’ll see about that,” I said.
