With a huff, Cordelia marched off. When she disappeared inside, Angelica turned her attention back to him.
“I’m so sorry. Cordelia, she’s just… Well, she’s a real bitch.”
That was unexpected. Then again, Angelica wasn’t like her husband and his family. From what Ryden recalled, Bertram had just finished signing the divorce papers for his second heiress wife when he met Angelica at one of his company’s holiday parties. They’d hit it off and soon after were married. She’d been a file clerk at the time. It had been quite the Rusticucci family scandal. From the looks of it, Angelica could hold her own.
Angelica’s smile was apologetic. “Come on, I’ll show you where you can clean up.” She motioned for him to follow.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Oh my God, please don’t call me ma’am. That’s what everyone calls Cordelia,” Angelica laughed, making Ryden smile. She was younger than Ryden, with bright green eyes and soft, red curls that fell over one shoulder in a ponytail. “It’s bad enough being called Mrs. Rusticucci. There’s nothing like sitting in a doctor’s office waiting room and having the nurse call it out. I used to get embarrassed. Now, I reply loudly, ‘It’s my name, not a condition.’” She laughed again, and Ryden joined her. He liked her. There was a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. She reminded him of—nope. “What?” she asked. “You made a face.”
Man, he was shit at schooling his expressions. “Sorry, you just remind me of someone I know.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she asked, amused as she led him to the mansion’s side entrance. “I can’t tell from your expression.”
“Uh, both?” He shook his head with a chuckle. “I’m not sure.”
She smiled slyly. “Pretty girl?”
Ryden pressed his lips together, and she gasped playfully.
“Oh, pretty guy.”
“Well, he is that,” Ryden admitted. “He’s also the one who got me assigned this job.”
Angelica barked out a laugh. “Oh no! I have to say, I don’t even know him, but I like him already.” She gave him a knowing smile. “What did you do to deserve such a fate?”
“I was an ass.”
She hummed. “And what are you going to do about it?”
How had he gone from cleaning glitter off his face to talking about Jay? He couldn’t escape the guy, even on the job. “It’s complicated.” They stopped by a door that looked like it led into a mudroom.
“The bathroom’s just inside to the left. Also, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Trust me. Your heart knows what it wants. It just takes your head a little longer to accept it.” She winked at him before walking off. “Think about it!”
Even if Ryden were to admit—which he wasn’t going to—that he felt something for Jay other than irritation, who said Jay felt the same? Okay, he was not going to think about this now. He had a kid’s birthday party to survive.
It took far longer than it should have to remove all the visible glitter, and he was sure it would be falling off him for days, along with sand from the pit. Jay was going to pay for this.
Not long after he resumed his post, the kids started to crash from their sugar highs while the few sober parents were no doubt reconsidering their life choices. Susan, the animatronic Stegosaurus, had been powered down before she could destroy any more dinosaur-shaped fruit.
Thank goodness this day was almost over. Ryden stood by a cardboard cutout of a Raptor, arms folded over his chest. A heartbeat later, Red appeared beside him, carrying a soda and a plate with a piece of cake. Ryden couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle, remembering Jay’s words.
“From Angelica. She said she thought you could use this.” Red handed the soda and cake to Ryden.
“Thanks.” Ryden unscrewed the cap on his drink. “I’m still gonna murder Jay.”
Red nodded. “Could you maybe do it off the clock? Too much paperwork. You are aware that Jay has seen every second of today.”
“Oh, I know he has.” And if by some miracle he hadn’t, Ace or Joker would have shown him the surveillance video. “Have you ever considered early retirement?”
Red chuckled. Despite everything, standing there in companionable silence with Red was nice. That’s what Ryden loved about him. He had such a calming presence. The party was quieter now, the sun starting to set as a nice breeze came in from the ocean.
“You know, you two can’t keep this up forever,” Red said, his voice soft.
How did everyone know what, or who, he was thinking about? Was it that obvious? He needed to get some advice from King on how to be more stoic.
“I can try.”
