She smiled quickly. “Just a plain avocado roll for me, thanks.”
The man arched his eyebrows. “Justan avocado roll? Your friend got the dragon roll. Are you sure I can’t persuade you to try something more adventurous?”
“I don’t know.” She saw Annica’s shoulders stiffen at theword ‘friend.’
“We make all of our sauces in house,” he wheedled.
Annica was scrolling on her phone while the guy behind the counter made her rolls. Jay had the sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t be happy about waiting, but when she tried to catch Annica’s eye, she refused to look up.
“I’m vegan,” she said hesitantly. “That’s going to be difficult.”
“We’ve got vegan mayo and sriracha in the back. I can make you a customized red dragon for the same price, as long as you like it hot.”
“As long as it won’t be too much trouble . . .”
“It won’t be,” he assured her eagerly.
“Okay.” Jay dropped her change in the tip jar after he rang her up, embarrassed by his enthusiasm. “Thank you.”
“That was nice.” Annica’s voice was flat as Jay joined her by the fish tank. “Is he a friend of yours?”
“No.” Jay tugged at her skirt. “I really didn’t expect him to go through all that trouble.”
“I don’t think he sees it as trouble.”
They locked eyes briefly before Annica turned away to study a fake Chinese scroll mounted on the wall. The hostility of her unspoken accusation crackled like electricity against her skin.
Jay glanced back at the counter, her discomfort ballooning when she caught the cashier looking at the two of them. “I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this place.”
“Mhm.”
“The décor is certainly a choice, though.”
“I think it’s fine. They’re a sushi restaurant.”
Wow. Okay, then.
“Orders thirty-eight and thirty-nine!”
They walked up together to get their boxes.Oh no, she thought, looking down at her receipt.He put his phone number on it.She crumpled it up discreetly as they walked out, hoping Annica hadn’t seen, but then she remembered she needed it to get her refund back.
“Where do you want to eat?” She flattened the receipt out again, folding it into a square. “Outside? Inside? If we sit near the window, we can people-watch.”
“Actually, I’d rather just eat at my desk.”
“Oh,” said Jay. “Okay. No problem.”
“Thanks.”
She hates you.
Arthur looked up as the two of them came in. Jay thought he seemed a little surprised to see them back so early. Annica immediately slid her headphones back on and Jay gloomily noticed the pictures tacked up around her monitor—she was into sports.
Nicholas came out of his meeting while she was picking at the fillings of her last roll. She ate the last tasteless bite and dropped her empty package into the wastebasket beneath her desk.
His eyes slid in her direction like he’d sensed her attention and Jay shifted uncomfortably in the too-hard seat, crossing her legs as she recalled his earlier threat. That was a mistake; his smile sharpened. If a wolf could smile, Jay thought, it would look a lot like Nicholas.
Then someone called his name and he turned away and she could breathe again.
