Nash’s voice rings out, getting me out of my thoughts with his frustrated exclamation, “Focus on the fucking game!”
North’s eyes lock onto mine, and I can see the fury building in them. Without hesitation, he strides toward the breakroom, and I quickly follow, pulling Lio along with us.
As the crowd parts to make way for North, I spot some of the guys engrossed in a poker game at the table. A sudden jolt of surprise courses through me, and it feels like déjà vu.
Without much thought, I scan the chairs for Saylor, even though I know he won’t be there. Instead, my eyes lock onto an unexpected sight of blonde braids, and it leaves me just as dumbfounded. I watch North pull her chair back and abruptly yank on her arm to make her stand.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” North’s voice pierces through the room, filled with anger and disbelief, making everyone around fall silent.
“North, chill,” comes out of my and Nash’s mouth at the exact same time, and I look over some heads to find his amused gaze.
But North isn’t having any of it.
He grabs Sloan by the arm even tighter and forcefully drags her out of the room, heading toward the stairs leading to his office.
“Hey, hey!” Tim yells after North, trying to push himself through the crowd where he’s standing in the back, but he can’t get through further than the table, so instead he scoops up Sloan’s money just before Paul can reach out to grab it.
I know I have no choice but to follow North and Sloan, sensing that if I don’t, this situation is bound to end in disaster.
“Nash!” I yell, but he’s already at my side, bending down to Lio’s level.
“Hey, Li-Li, how’s my favorite nephew?” Nash asks with a playful nudge to Lio’s shoulder, eliciting giggles from the little one.
I know Nash has this under control, so I move as quickly as my less-than-athletic self can manage to catch up with Sloan and North. I can’t help but groan as I ascend the stairs.
Stairs, the bane of my existence.
By the time I reach the top, I’m completely out of breath. The sound of North’s booming voice reaches my ears even before I open the door. “… you’re fired!”
I step into the room, and North is standing by his desk, his face flushed with anger, while Sloan is just inside the room, standing there, wringing her hands. I move closer to her, taking a position at her side.
With a panting sigh, I argue, “She’s not.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you have to say in her defense this time, Hunt. She was just hosting an illegal game, disrupting everyone’s work inmydamn shipyard,” North yells.
“Ourdamn shipyard,” I correct him, feeling a pang of nostalgia as a memory of Saylor boasting about winning a few hundred dollars from North flashes through my mind.
There was a time when North was just as involved in the poker games as Saylor and me, and our dad used to give us an earful for hosting those games in that very breakroom with the employees.
“I’m pretty sure she didn’t even start it and was just there to play. Why would you barge in on her without a second thought while ignoring Adam or Paul, for that matter?” I argue, trying to reason with him.
“Because there hasn’t been a poker game since… since…” North’s voice trails off, frustration evident in his huff. He turns away from us, his hand resting heavily on the side of his desk.
Since Saylor.
Sloan winces beside me as North continues his tirade, “And now she’s here for not even a week, and chaos erupts!”
I can’t help but laugh at that.
He’s such a fucking drama queen.
“North—” I start again, attempting to soothe the situation, but Sloan interjects before I can say more.
“I started it, he’s right. It was my idea,” she admits, not lifting her gaze from the floor. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done it here. I needed to come up with some money quickly, and I overheard one of the guys talking about playing poker, so I thought, why not,” she explains.
This girl is way too honest for her own good.
North turns to look at her once more, his expression resembling someone in the throes of constipation. Sloan, however, meets his gaze with determination, her fists clenched at her sides. The room falls into a tense silence before North bursts out laughing. “A damn gold digger, just as I said.” His gaze remains piercing on her as tears well up in her eyes, a single tear running down her cheek. “Oh, my God, are you fucking kidding me?” North looks up at the ceiling. “You’re worse than my five-year-old with all your crying!”
