Zen freezes.
“This is Zen,” I supply. “They’re my personal assistant, and you should feel free to go to them if you have any concerns.”
“I’m a nepo-hire, so I don’t actually have to be good at my job,” Zen says.
If I were drinking, I would’ve just choked on my tea.
Zen being a sass-hole? Yes. All the time.
Zen being a sass-hole in front of a room of strangers?
Never.
Not out of respect for me and want for us to look like we have a respectful boss-assistant relationship.
More because they have an inherent distrust of the world in general. You don’t get therealZen, any part ofthisZen, until you’ve earned it.
Which means either this place is magic, or they’re just pissed enough at me to let down their guard in the name of shoving me under the bus.
No matter how much they’re excited about a kombucha bar, they’re not a fan of me trying on this new role as Super Vengeance Man.
Considering how well they know me, they probably have a point, but it’s not a point I’m willing to concede yet.
“Coffee and scone are ready, Iz,” Sabrina calls.
“Sogood to meet you,” Isabella says. She looks for a second like she wants to hug me again, but instead pats me on the shoulder. And then she pauses to shake Zen’s hand and thank them too.
While Isabella gathers her order, Zen slinks around the counter and down the row of tables to sit opposite me.
“Is that the twentieth person who’s treated you like a savior today, or did I lose track?” they ask.
I eye them.
They shrug. “Not judging what you’re doing here. Just wondering if you’re up for it.”
That sweet lemon smell is lingering, making my mouth water again. Sabrina strolls past the open kitchen door, which I don’t see so much as Ifeel. And Willa steps up next to our table. “We noticed you’re out of tea. Here. Sabrina made you another. This one’s hot. And I thought you might want to try one of Elsie’s scones.”
My eye twitches.
“Who’s Elsie?” Zen asks.
“Sabrina’s grandma. Our favorite Mrs. Sullivan, rest her soul.”
The guy on the laptop slides us a look, and I realize why he’s familiar.
He was in the video too.
One of the groomsmen.
That makes him one of Chandler Sullivan’s cousins as well. Also grandson to Mrs. Sullivan.
And the fact that Willa doesn’t pointthatout makes me suspicious all over again.
Is he spying on me?
Zen pulls their knees up to their chest in the chair and watches me without blinking while Willa strides back to the kitchen. “You’re in trouble, Uncle Grey. I don’t think you can do what we want to do and not make people upset. I didn’t count on that.”
They’re not wrong.
