“What I meant is, it can be hard to trust someone like that, no matter what gender,” I said.
He nodded, watching me.
My neck burned, so I tugged down my cap. “Anyway, we can all live fulfilling lives with our respective relationship statuses. Luckily, you trust Janice. And my brother and Kat are a good fit. They obviously bring each other care and happiness.”
That was what mattered.
“Aw, yes,” Kat said, hugging my brother as I turned around.
When had they walked up behind us?
Ash inserted herself into our circle, her voice silky and slightly slurred. “Hey, how’s everyone doing tonight?”
Kat straightened her spine and fiddled with her necklace. “Good. Hi, by the way. I’m Kat. I work at Hot Contra, and this is my boyfriend, Victor, who manages Westbrook Cineplex.”
“She manages Hot Contra,” he said, brushing his fingertips along her arm.
She giggled and flushed. “Sorry, it’s still kind of new.”
“Congrats.” Sal fought a grin and nudged my arm.
Yes, a lot was new in their lives. Hopefully, everything would settle down soon.
“I’m Ash, manager at True Tech. I love your style.” She eyed Kat appreciatively, then offered up her card. “Maybe I should stop by. Call me if you need anything.”
Victor hugged his girlfriend closer and gave me another look.
Yes, this was weird. My boss hadn’t even acknowledged me. And I honestly couldn’t tell if she was pitching a sale or trying to slide into a hot punk girl’s DMs.
Kat laughed good-naturedly. “Oh, I think Zero’s got us covered on that front. She’s Victor’s sister.”
“Oh.” Ash dropped into a more casual mode and slung her thumbs through the belt loops on her slacks. “Cool.”
Was it? I couldn’t shake the weird impression she was disappointed by the connection.
“I’m Sal,” he announced, overly loud, and thrust his hand out to Kat with a ridiculous grin.
“Yes," Victor said, rubbing her arm.
“You work at the mall too, right?” Kat shook Sal's hand.
Thankfully, he didn’t cling to her. “Aw, did Zero talk about me?” he teased.
“She said you were Ash’s friend,” Victor deadpanned.
Sal’s face fell.
Guilt zapped my chest. I supposed I wouldn’t like being relegated to Victor’s sister either. “He works at the toy store nearby. Geppetto’s Workshop,” I clarified.
“I manage,” he bragged, popping his collar.
Oh, he was making fun of my brother’s earlier correction. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.
Kat spun the thick cord around her neck. “That’s great. How long have you been there?”
“Mm, about twenty years,”he said.
I recoiled, eyeing him. “How old are you?”
