Chapter 1 #2
I close my eyes for a few seconds. Wish he’d stop prying, because I don't need him to remind me. “Yeah, sorry about that. It's not easy to pinpoint. Like I said, we're still looking into it.”
“Are you sure it's not affecting other parts of the building?” Enzo is suddenly interested in the conversation.
I grit down on my teeth. “Like what?”
He shrugs. “I don't know. The lights going out or something. Maybe the electricity getting affected.”
I tilt my head. “Has it happened so far?”
He seems to be thinking about it. “Not that I recall.”
“Then I guess we’re okay.” I wish we could hurry up and eat.
“Guess?” Jett picks up on everything, like the alert Doberman he is. “You guess we’re okay? We can’t be guessing about any of this. It’s serious stuff and you need to get to the bottom of this.”
Why does this guy always feel the need to state the obvious?
“Like I said, I’m on it.” I’m trying hard to keep my voice level. “Dinner ready yet?” I grumble. “I'm hungry.”
“You're always hungry.” Enzo slips his phone into his pocket and stands up.
“I’m surprised the old man hasn’t busted your balls about it yet.” Rio sets down a platter of meat on the long dining table. I let out a long exhale. The old man has for sure been twisting my balls about this.
“He is, but I’m on it. Give me a break, guys. It’s not easy to figure out. We have some weird anomalies that we’re sifting through.”
Rio’s eyes widen. “Meaning you've got no idea what's causing it.”
I swear to God, I wish these people would just let me eat and quit interrogating me. “Didn’t you hear me? I've been looking at it. I'm not sitting in the tech lab doing nothing.”
Rio puts his hands up and shrugs. “I’m just saying, the old man’s been poking his nose in and complaining. It’s your domain, dude. You need to fix it fast.”
“These things aren’t easy,” Maya pipes up. “We had some weird stuff going on with our IT when I first started at Stella. It took months to fix.”
I nod at her in acknowledgement, grateful that she spoke up.
“Food’s ready,” Dex announces.
“You’d think he cooked it,” Rio mutters, as everyone moves to the table, exclaiming on how great everything smells, and heaping praise on Dex and Rio.
“This looks delicious. Thank you guys. This is lovely.” She looks at us all with appreciation.
The steak has been sliced into strips and there's another large platter of fries, as well as a few small bowls of garlic butter.
I’m about to make a move when I feel a tug on my leather bracelets. It’s Brooke. She’s running her tiny fingers all over them. I bend down and ask about her rabbit.
“How’s Mr. Whiskers?”
“He's doing good!” she cries. “He pooped all over his cage today. He poops a lot. Daddy says rabbits are poop machines.” She twists her hands together, testing to see my reaction to her pooping story. I wrinkle my nose in disgust.
“That’s a lot of poop. Smelly,” I exclaim, waving my hand across my nose.
“Not me!” Brooke cries. “I don’t smell. Mr. Whiskers does.” She giggles, then stops as her eyes take in my bare arms. “Why do you have drawings on your arms?” Her fingers trace my tattoos. “They’re pretty.”
I nod. “Thank you.” I don’t answer her question.
“Daddy says it hurts to get that done.”
I open my mouth to answer, but Jett beats me to it. “It’s so painful, sport. Don't you be thinking about anything like that.”
She pouts. “But they look so pretty!”
“You think they look pretty?” Jett makes a face like my tattoos repulse him. “I don't want you getting these things all over your skin, princess. Understood?”
Brooke nods, reluctantly.
He’s acting like a dictator. “Not even when she's older?” I'm pretty sure Jett was able to do whatever he wanted, no matter how hard the old man would have tried to rein him in.
“Brother.” Dex puts some wine bottles on the table. “Surely you’re going to let your daughter do whatever she wants when she's older?”
“Define ‘whatever’.” A muscle in Jett's jaw twitches. He points a finger at Dex. “Do not go putting ideas in her head. She's only five.”
Brooke stares up at me sadly. I wink at her. “He might change his mind when you're older,” I whisper.
“The old man's been asking about the tech issues,” Dex informs me.
I stiffen. “Not this again. Can you guys let me eat in peace? Like I said, I'm on it.”
“I know, brother. Thought I’d let you know.” He sits down. “Tuck in everyone.”
“You’d think this dude was the only one who cooked,” Rio complains, waiting for the ladies to finish plating their food.
“You helped. I can’t say you didn’t.” Dex looks around the table, a mischievous grin on his face.
“You’re going to be like that, huh? What about the second platter of meat?” he glares at Dex, before getting up to fetch it. He comes back with another platter of sliced steak. I’m practically salivating now. The buttery, garlic smell, and the sliced meat are enough to make me weep tears of joy.
Murmurs of approval go around the table.
“For a moment there I didn’t think we’d have enough,” I remark, heaping food onto my plate.
“Sure you got enough there?” Dex asks.
I grab a few more slices. “I have now.” Been waiting long enough.