Or would I break the rest of the staff eventually?
Ugh, why was being the boss so damn hard?
Holding Ezra’s glare this time, instead of mine, Ashlynn tore off her coat, held it up in the air with one finger and then dropped it on the ground. “Fuck you too,” she snarled before storming out of the building.
As soon as the door closed behind her, I let out an explosive breath, not caring if it made me look weak in front of the rest of the staff. Geez, that was intense.
Ezra’s strong hand came down on my shoulder, squeezing tightly. “I’m proud of you, Dillon.”
At his words of affirmation, hot tears sprung to my eyes. I was two seconds from losing it completely. Lifting my chin high and gathering whatever dignity I could muster, I addressed the room. “I’m sorry you had to witness that, but I hope we can move forward professionally, doing what’s best for Bianca. If any of you have questions or concerns about my leadership, please come talk to me. In private.” I pulled away from Ezra’s hand, stopping myself from sprinting to hide behind closed doors. “I will be back in a few minutes to discuss my menu changes for tonight. For now, why don’t you… start prep like usual?”
I didn’t wait for their replies or even for them to acknowledge my order. Instead, I walked briskly back to my office, Ezra hot on my heels.
When we were safely inside, I gently shut the door behind him and then threw myself into his arms, sobbing against his shoulder. “I’m sorry!” I sniffled, turning my head so I didn’t cover his crisp, white button-up in tears and makeup.
His hand landed on my back, safe and secure and so like the big brother I loved. “For what?” His voice was full of careful amusement.
I didn’t even know what I was apologizing for. Or if it was necessarily directed at Ezra. Maybe I’d meant it for Ashlynn, but he was the closest human.
Rather than admit I didn’t know what I meant, I said, “That was crazy. Sheis crazy.” I sucked in another shaky breath. “What an awful way to start a Monday.”
He chuckled at the truth in my words. “I have to be honest though, I was hoping you’d can her. She made life hell around here.”
I pulled back, resisting the urge to punch him. “What? You knew she was a nightmare and left it up to me to fire her?”
He shrugged, like he hadn’t really thought it all the way through yet. “I couldn’t have kept Bianca open without her,” he admitted. “That’s why it was so important you took this job.”
Glaring at my brother with all the fire and brimstone I was capable of, I said, “You thought you’d bring me in so I could do your dirty work?”
His eyes bugged innocently. “I thought I’d hire a real EC so I could finally get rid of her.”
A knock at the door saved his life. I had just decided to strangle him.
He opened it and let Blaze poke his head in. He addressed me. “There’s a delivery.”
I smiled at him and hoped it didn’t look totally deranged. “Thank you.”
After he’d walked away, I turned back to Ezra. “You deal with it. I need a few minutes by myself.”
“You did the right thing,” he assured me. “I’m proud of you.”
All I could do was roll my eyes and say, “Next time, warn me when you know something like this is going to happen.”
“I didn’t think I—”
“What if I would have quit instead?” I asked him, cutting him off before he could offer a lame excuse. “What if I would have just walked out?” My point hit home and he shut his mouth. I repeated myself, slower and with more conviction than I knew I was capable of. “Next time warn me.”
When I was finally alone in my office, I dropped my face into my hands and growled. I sat there for a few minutes, until all the blood had rushed to my face and I knew my fingers were going to leave marks.
I expected tears to fall, or gush, or just show up for a pathetic little pity party, but nothing came. My eyes remained dry and slowly, gradually, the adrenaline left my body and I began to find myself again in the midst of panic and anger and the feeling that I still didn’t know what I was doing.
I picked up my phone, ignoring my motives, and searched the internet for the Cycle Life phone number. I’d pushed the call button before I could even absorb the store hours and pressed it to my ear.
Nibbling on my thumbnail, I waited for someone to pick up.
Vann answered only a few seconds later. “Cycle Life.”
My throat dried out, at a loss of what to say after his crisp greeting on the other end. If anybody’s voice matched their personality and style so perfectly, it was Vann.
