“You want to use me to help you prove a false point to your cousin,” he corrected bluntly. “Sounds like any warm body would suffice.”
“I don’t just want to fool the others,” he said. “I want the experience, or, at least as close to it as I can get. So far, you’re the only bed partner I’ve had that I’ve thought of after the fact. The sex with you was phenomenal, but I’m starting to think it was a lot more than that. Something about you draws me in, Narek. I don’t like unanswered questions. I want to know what this thingis. Want to know why it felt so nice to have you try to comfort me at therapy the other day.”
What? He wasn’t seriously telling him that Nate was going through all of this now because he’d attempted to bekind, was he?!
“You—” The back door to the restaurant suddenly shot open, distracting them both and cutting off whatever Nate had been about to say. Not even he knew really. This whole thing had gone from nightmarish to baffling in under three seconds flat.
That seemed to be a relative theme whenever Kaz was involved.
Nothing ever made logical sense.
Sier popped her head out and shivered, frowning over at them. “What are you two doing?”
Kazimir discreetly lowered the blade and turned, hiding it at his side before he gave her a wide smile. “Just discussing a few things. We’ll be there in a minute, you should go back to the others.”
“I quit,” Nate announced, shifting out from between Kaz and the wall while he had the chance. He retreated a few steps, making sure to keep the Devil in his line of sight, even as he risked a glance at Sier to make sure she’d heard him. “I quit. No two weeks’ notice. It’s effective immediately.”
“Narek,” Kazimir dropped his voice and growled, but Nate was still backing away.
“Nate,” Sier shook her head. “Where is this coming from? You can’t just—”
“Yes,” he said. “I can, and I am. I quit.” He gave Kazimir one last look. “Enjoy owning Quartet Air, Mr. Ambrose.”
He, however, was not for sale.
Chapter 11:
“Just wipe down the tables at the end of your shift and that should be it,” Jones said as he removed the brown apron and hung it on one of the hooks by the end of the counter. “Thanks for doing this on such short notice, man. I really appreciate it.”
“Are you kidding,” Nate finished learning the ins and outs of the computer and shook his head, “You’re doing me a favor.”
He’d been without work for only a few days and it was almost enough to send him over the deep end. Despite his thoughts about relying on Silver, Nate hadn’t been able to get himself to actually give his brother-in-law a call.
He could handle being unemployed for a little while. There was enough in his savings he could get by on groceries for a couple of weeks since he’d just paid the electricity off, and since he could withstand cooler temperatures if the heat went out at his place, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Really, the issue would come at the end of the month when electricity was due again, but Nate would cross that bridge when he came to it.
Besides, this could work.
Jones was a friend from college that Nate had kept in touch with. The other day, he’d posted on Inspire, the social media app, asking if anyone was interested in becoming a barista at his coffee shop. He’d opened it just after graduation,and sales had been good; even Nate came often, but apparently, a couple of employees had quit on him at the last minute, and he’d been desperate to fill their spots.
Nate had needed a job and had barista training, so…it’d been kind of a no-brainer. The pay was less than he’d been making at Quartet Air, of course, but this gave him the chance to make something while he prepared his resume. Quitting on the spot would cost him the good recommendation he may have otherwise received from Sier, but that wasn’t enough to make him regret his choice.
Getting away from Kazimir Ambrose had to be the top priority, even if it meant giving up on the job he’d so desperately clung to all this time.
It was fine. Nate could start fresh.
And his siblings never had to know.
He hadn’t even given Annya a decent explanation when she’d called after the incident at the restaurant. If he’d complained about Kaz, there was a chance she’d get roped into his mess. He’d even warned her not to mention to anyone that the two of them were on friendly terms, citing the reason as not wanting Sier to take out her frustrations on her. The reality was, he didn’t trust Kazimir not to.
He was probably pissed. All that money he’d spent on buying Quartet Air in order to get to Nate, wasted.
“All of the red envelopes are set out randomly. We should be fully stocked for the rest of the evening shift, but if you run out, there’s more in the back storage closet,” Jones explained.
The month before New Year's, everyone began celebrating by giving out red envelopes. Each envelope contained an animal native to the planet. There were meanings behind each, and when you gifted one to someone, it was supposed to symbolize either something you experienced thisyear and needed to let go or something they wished for you for the new year.
It was bad luck to open any envelope before the clock struck midnight, so you never knew who gave what. Whichever animal you ended the night with the most was supposed to be the real New Year wish and what you had to look forward to in the coming months. It was really different from how they celebrated on Ignite, and when they’d first arrived, it’d taken both he and Neve days to fully grasp the concept and memorize the various meanings behind the animals, even though there were only five of them.
Businesses often took part as well, leaving out a basket or two filled with sealed envelopes. Customers were encouraged to take one with them once they’d paid.
