Page 114 of It Starts With A No

“Yeah. You should hear the stories Grandma Moretti has to tell.”

“I love soap operas,” Andrea said.

Clary chuckled. “You should meet Grandma Moretti. She’d love you.”

“If I’m on my best behavior, will she tell me some stories?”

“You can be on your worst behavior and she’ll still tell you.”

“Awesome. Let me know the date and place. I’ll be there.”

Clary dug in. “This is so good.”

“I know, right? My parents hate it, say it’s full of MSG.”

“There’s a racist backstory to that.”

“I know, but would my parents listen?” Andrea rolled her eyes.

“Even the Asians bought into it. When I was in London, a Vietnamese friend invited me over for dinner. Her mom proudly assured me she didn’t use any MSG in her food.”

“Maybe her mom was worried you wouldn’t dare eat her food otherwise.”

“I told her I’m fine with MSG, and she gave me a lecture that it was bad for my health.” Clary shrugged. “My friend and I tried to convince her otherwise, but she just brushed us off as youngsters and their wild ideas.”

“I love MSG.”

“Me, too. MSG is delicious.”

Andrea pointed her wooden chopsticks at Clary. “We’ll be great friends. Boss-friends.” She lifted a box and shook out several chicken cubes into her noodles. “Now, can I be honest?”

“I don’t want to talk about Seth.”

“It’s about the police outside.”

The officers who had escorted Clary home assured her that two officers would be stationed outside the house at all times. She hadn’t checked, but she assumed they were still out there. “What about them?”

“It’s a stupid idea. Murphy just gave me his frustrated you’re-thinking-too-much sigh when I brought it up, but I still think I’m right.”

“Why is it stupid? You insisted on officers following me back to Seth’s place.”

“Because people romanticize abuse. Controlling and possessiveness don’t equate to romance. A guy isn’t being controlling and possessive because he’s so in love with you. He’s trying to isolate you so you’ll have no one to turn to when he starts abusing you.”

Clary held her hands up in peace. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Andrea waved it off. “I thought Seth Anderson was one of those guys, so I had the officers there in case you decided to make a run for it.”

“Okay.” Clary dragged out the second syllable. “So why is it stupid now?”

“Because the police officers might as well put up a sign that says ‘Clary Fiore’s right here’ for Gavin Ressler.”

“He doesn’t even know which area I’d be in.”

“You’re the CEO of EB Co. If I were Gavin Ressler, I’ll just drive around the richest neighborhoods to scout things out. And bam.” Andrea jerked her chin forward. “Neon sign outside.”

“Huh.” Clary hadn’t thought about that. “I didn’t want the officers outside, but I have a feeling they won’t listen to what I want.”

“Yeah. They would’ve stayed no matter what.”

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