“Oh, that would be Moni.” Rez points to me.
Josette frowns and suddenly my stomach drops. I already know where this is going and this is not a good sign.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t see anyone here by that name.”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” I mumble under my breath as I take a break from my delicious coffee.
The bitch strikes again.
“Try. Monikaloy Pastel,” I growl out between clenched teeth as Josette happily types in my given name.
“Ahh. Yes. I see you now. Go ahead and have a seat, and I’ll let her know you’re here.” Josette innocently smiles up from her desk and I can’t bring myself to return it. Sipping on my coffee, I join Rez sitting on the hard-ass bench across from the reception desk.
You would think for a high end decorating business, they would actually have comfortable seats, but noooo. Instead I have to sit on a log.
“I think I have a splinter in my ass,” Rez whispers, and my precious coffee dribbles from my lips as I try to hold in a laugh.
She shifts onto one butt cheek and swipes her other with her hand right as a male Fae comes around the corner, giving me an unimpressed look and a horrified one to Rez.
“Monikaloy Pastel.” His tinkerbell voice squeaks out, and I find it annoying, like nails on a chalkboard—not at all cute like Chester’s. With another squeeze from Rez’s hand in solidarity, we follow the egg donor's lackey down to her office as I sip my drink. The walls and doors are all decked out in dark browns except for the white door at the end of the hallway.
It’s so hard to hold in my emotions today while being in this building, knowing that the lady who tried to kill me is right behind that door. Thankfully, the deal was that Ms. Teal wanted a quick chat, but there’s nothing saying I have to actuallychat back,and that’s my plan. Just to sit there and listen to her ramble. Rez agreed to play the lead while I sit back and act like she doesn’t affect me, but I am beginning to think this is going to be harder than we thought.
The oversized tinkerbell knocks twice before opening the door, turning, and leaving us to stare at the open entryway.
Is it too late to leave and decide to go home?
Before following Rez into the room, I take one last deep breath to psych myself up to do this. The first thing I notice is the all white decor once again. I swear it’s like a page out of the book on where in the fuck is Waldo or Hernando, whatever the Pigmi guy was. Wall-to-wall white in every direction, overpowering your senses like some weird ethereal dream. I just think it’s the color someone uses when they know kids will never be an issue. I wish I had thought ahead and wore body paint on my barky ass, just so I could leave a little gift behind when thismeetingis done. The only color that pops in this room is the devil sitting behind the white desk. The one pleasure I get from seeing her is knowing she’s probably sitting on a booster seat or pillows to be tall enough to look over at us as we walk in.
“Ah! Welcome. Please have a seat and get comfortable. Hopefully, you didn’t have to wait long.” If she smiles any bigger, it will split her face in two.
Then again, it might be an improvement.
I feel like a bug under a glass as we sit down in a moderate upgrade from the log outside. This one at least looks sanded and has a backrest that I can lean against.
“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Beignet?” she inquires, first looking at me and then Rez on the last words as if she would know what those are. I sure as gooseberries don’t. What is a beignet? They sound like little baggies Rez would use for noise makers.
In response, I raise my Sparks cup a little higher before taking a long, satisfying sip, and Rez promises she’s good since we won’t be staying long. I suppress a smile behind my drink when Ms. Teal's smile sours slightly at her comment.
“Look. We’re here because you’re blackmailing us, so can we skip the fucking pleasantries and get on with it? Moni and I have plans after this,” Rez says in an exasperated breath, getting right to the point.
God, I love this woman, too bad she’s not gay. Wait, is she bi? Hell, am I?
“Oh. I wasn’t under the impression there was a time limit to this meeting that I had originally set up,” Mrs. Teal replies, lacing her hands together on top of the desk and giving Rez a quick smile that turns salacious in the blink of an eye and back again so quickly that I think I must have been wrong.
Of course, my bestie leans back in the chair looking all comfortable—which is a feat within itself—and crosses her legs as she returns a lascivious smile right back.I knew I didn’t imagine that look!Shrugging, she extends her arms as if saying, “The floor is yours.”
“Monikaloy, it’s so good to see you again,” she addresses me, pretending to ignore Rez’s dramatics. But before I can correct her on what I actually want to be called, she looks at Rez with interest. “And you are?”
“Oh. I’m pretty sure you know who I am since you used the term beignet. They do come from New Orleans, where I’m from.”
She hums with an unamused expression. “Ah, yes. You’re the human who has been stirring things up around here. I’ve heard some interesting things about you,” she says nonchalantly and turns her chair to completely face me. “So Monikaloy, what has been new with you?”
“Since when?” I let the disdain ring out and she gives me a questioning look.
“What do you mean, sweetie?” I try my best not to react, but both Rez and I raise our eyebrow at her endearment. I don’t know why, but I find it so hard to stand up to this lady. This is the woman who was supposed to love me unconditionally.
If she expects me to play nice, she has another surprise coming. That’s why I opted to bring Rez instead of JP. He would have at least tried to keep the peace during this meeting, and to be honest, I don’t think I want it after all this time. After I told Rez about the basics of my childhood, she was ready to kill the lady currently trying to act like nothing has happened between us.
