Chapter 32
Harmony wrapped her arm around Legend's as they strolled down Michigan Avenue. The weather was perfect, the sidewalks were crowded, and after spending most of the afternoon shopping, she was enjoying herself.
Life was good. The only problem was that her feet hurt. Between the stores, the walking, and the bags hanging from both arms, Harmony was officially over it.
"What you got a taste for?" Legend asked.
"Honestly, I'd rather just grab something quick. I'm getting a headache and don’t feel like sitting down and waiting."
"Cool. So what you want?"
"Portillo's cool."
"Portillo's it is then."
Together they headed toward the parking garage, and a few minutes later, they were in his car.
The nearest Portillo's wasn't far, so it wasn’t long before they were pulling towards the drive-thru.
"No, park. I’m going in, I gotta pee."
A few minutes later, they were inside the restaurant waiting in line.
The lunch rush had slowed down, so there were only a handful of people ahead of them.
When it was finally their turn, they stepped up to the counter, placed their order, and grabbed their ticket before moving over to the waiting area to wait for their food.
"I'll be back," Harmony shared.
Not long after, she finished up in the stall, washed her hands, and headed back toward the dining room. As she walked through the short hallway connecting the restrooms to the main area, a voice stopped her.
"Excuse me, ma'am. You got tissue hanging from your shoe."
"Damn. Thank you.” Harmony looked down and frowned.
She tried shaking it loose with her other foot, but only managed to make it worse.
"Here, I got you."
Before Harmony could stop him, he bent down and pulled it free.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, beautiful."
The compliment had barely left his mouth when another voice cut through the hallway.
"What the fuck going on here?"
"What…. Bae, nothing. He was just helping me."
"What the fuck you need help with that you couldn't ask me?" Legend barked.
"Oh wow. I had tissue on my shoe. Calm down." Harmony frowned.
"Man, don't tell me to calm down. Let's go."
Without waiting for a response, Legend turned and headed toward the exit. Harmony scrunched up her face before following behind him.
By the time they got back into the car, she had an attitude.
Rather than argue, she stared straight ahead and kept her thoughts to herself.
She had never seen Legend act like that before, and the whole thing left her feeling embarrassed.
The man had literally helped her remove tissue from her shoe, yet Legend had reacted as if he had caught her sucking his dick.
Not wanting to talk, she pulled out her phone and spent most of the ride scrolling through social media. She barely paid attention to where they were going until she happened to glance out the window.
Immediately, her stomach tightened the second she realized where she was. Harmony’s heart started pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears.
"Come on." Legend’s voice snapped her back.
"Huh?.. I'm just gon’ sit here and eat my food."
"You can eat in my office. Come on."
"Nah, I'd rather just…"
"Man, come the fuck on!"
Normally, Harmony would've checked him the second he raised his voice at her, but she was too distracted to argue. Of all places for him to stop, it had to be Nick's job.
Harmony wanted to protest again, but Legend was already opening her door. Slowly climbing out with her drink in hand, she glanced around the employee parking lot. Even though she didn't see Nick's car, she knew he was scheduled to work that day.
Taking a deep breath, she followed beside Legend and tried to keep her composure.
The walk through the warehouse wasn't nearly as bad as she expected. Luckily, they never went near the production floor. Instead, Legend led her through a series of hallways before unlocking his office.
The second the door closed behind them, Harmony felt herself relax.
She took a seat, opened her food, and focused on eating while Legend handled a few calls and shuffled through paperwork.
Eventually, he left altogether, leaving her alone in the office while he handled whatever business had brought him there.
For the next forty minutes, she watched videos on her phone, finished her food, and tried not to think about how close she was to disaster.
"Ready?" Legend returned and grabbed his keys.
Harmony nodded and stood. Together, they left the office and started back through the warehouse. Everything felt normal until they reached the exit.
As they approached, the front door opened, and Nick walked inside carrying a Wendy’s bag. The second their eyes locked, her entire body froze.
"Baby, what you doing here?" Nick questioned.
"I'm... I'm..." she stuttered.
"Baby?" Legend repeated, looking between them before going on.
"Why this nigga calling you baby?"
Harmony felt every ounce of blood drain from her face. Out of all the ways she imagined their situation ending, getting caught up like that had never crossed her mind.