Page 8 of Her Devils

“Oh, I—” I wheeze, coughing and sputtering, the upper half of my body still shoved deep in the open fridge.

“Here. Breathe, Len.” Darrius pats my back, murmuring encouraging words until my coughing subsides. “I see that some things never change.” He smiles, grabbing a glass from one of the nearby cabinets and filling it with water at the dispenser in the fridge.

“What never changes?” I feign ignorance, hyperaware of his gaze on me and the heat that’s rapidly rising to my face.

“You’re always too distracted to eat at dinner, and then you end up eating all the leftovers. You’ve always done that.”

Darrius is smiling, but there’s no derision in his tone, so I just shrug. “I take after mypapà. Mom always used to yell at him for doing this and teaching me bad habits.”

He nods, the corners of his lips tilting up. “I remember that as if it were yesterday, even though I can’t really blame you for being unable to eat today after the shocker your mother and Kenneth Cox just dropped on all of us.”

As I take the glass he offers me and our fingers brush, Darrius keeps hold of the glass for a long moment. Situations like this one, these fleeting but deliberate touches, were what gave me hope that the lifelong friendship between us could morph into something else.

“Thank you, my throat feels much better now,” I say, opening the running dishwasher to add the empty glass.

“Don’t mention it. I’m already on Gina’s shit list, so what would she say tomorrow if I let her only daughter and my best friend choke on an hors d’oeuvre?”

Ah, yeah, I guess Darrius is right that some things never change. As always, the moment between us is over with the reminder that I’m a perpetual resident of the friend zone as far as he is concerned.

“Yeah, I guess letting me choke wouldn’t help your case, but let’s face it, D, that would only be the tip of the iceberg.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, narrowing his dark brown eyes.

I shrug nonchalantly, because I can’t believe he is as oblivious as he pretends to be, and two can definitely play this game. “I was at the hangar earlier and present when they made the announcement, and I heard the way you spoke to Mom,” I bite out, giving him a pointed look.

There’s an annoyed tic in the muscles of his jaw. “Oh, come on, Len! Can you fucking blame me?” he scoffs. “Lately, everywhere I turn, the Cove Devils are right up in our business. They received VIP invites to the museum opening and were allowed to use our state-of-the-art training center, which is what helps put the Angels ahead of the competition. Next thing you know, Gina will fucking let them use our brand-new wingsuits! Up until a couple of hours ago, I couldn’t figure out why your mom was being so generous with our rivals. Now we all have a clearer picture of the reasons behind her behavior.”

His tone rubs me the wrong way. “Letting them use our wind tunnel isn’t the end of the world, Darrius. Mom is a professional and an excellent businesswoman. The Cove Angels brand has become a Fortune 500 company under her management despite the team not bringing home a world championship in the last ten years! Maybe next timebeforeyou open your mouth to question her motives, you should remember that although we’re family, Mom is still your boss.”

He rolls his eyes, unfazed by the hardness in my tone. “Goddamn, Len! Do you even hear yourself? How fucking naïve can you be? A year in Europe might have taught you a lot about fashion, but you’re as childish as if you were born yesterday! Gina kept justifying her friendliness with the Devils with the mayor’s requests to present a united front, but in reality, the reason why she’s been so amenable to making nice with our rivals is because she’s been fucking Kenneth Cox for months!”

Darrius’s tone pisses me off. “Shit like what you just said is why you’re on Mom’s shit list, D. I’m glad you didn’t say this in front of her. Mom hasn’t done anything wrong, and she’s running the company with your dad, so she isn’t the sole decision maker. And next time you say anything about her and Ken, remember that they aren’t just fucking. He’s her husband now, and whether you like it or not, antagonizing her over her personal choices isn’t going to make her listen to your opinions on how our company should be run.”

3.

Forgiveness And Daddy Issues

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