Page 101 of Fierce-Zander

“You don’t need to get my girlfriend drunk to loosen her tongue. She’ll tell you what she wants to tell you.”

“I don’t get drunk,” she said, frowning.

He bumped into her shoulder. “Nope. You don’t. You get loose and I like it. But I find you aren’t anything like the woman I met months ago.”

“How is that, if you don’t mind me asking?” Marjorie asked.

“I guess some would say I’m reserved.”

“Professional,” he corrected.

“At least you didn’t say snooty or stuck up,” she said.

“I’d never do that,” he said.

Others had, but there was no reason to say that here. It wasn’t anyone’s business and she and Zander had this conversation in the past.

“No,” she said. “You wouldn’t.”

“Zander filled us in on how the Fierces wanted to set you two up,” Marley said. “I’m not sure I’d like that.”

“I’m finding it’s not that big of a deal,” she said. “At least after talking to Chloe. Thankfully we’d already gone on a date prior to finding that out.”

“Are you sure?” Dave asked. “The way Betsy’s been talking it’s been since before that first date.”

“Dad,” he said. “Don’t start. You know the timeline. Betsy is trying to get information out of you.”

Dave laughed. “I know she is. I told her to leave me out of it.”

“Yet you just tried to cause problems now,” Marjorie said. “And what is in that bag you brought in?”

“I was going to give it to Dad for helping me out, but maybe I’ll give it to you instead.”

Zander picked the bag up he’d put on the counter and brought it over to his father anyway.

Dave opened it and pulled out all the gift cards. “What’s this?”

“You won’t let me pay you,” he said. “You’ll use these and if you don’t, Mom will. That is your choice.”

“What’s in it?” Marjorie asked. “Oh, I’ll use this one. I could use some things around the house.”

His mother snatched the home goods one out of his father’s hand. He’d made that the biggest on purpose, Zander had told her.

“Hey. I did the work,” Dave said.

“And you’ve got other cards there for tools and coffee and breakfast or lunch,” Marjorie said.

“Listen, Dad. I want to pay you.” He put his hand up when his father went to argue. “I wasn’t going to talk to you about this now, but maybe a licensed psychologist could help get to the root of your problem with accepting payment.”

“That’s low, Zander,” Marley said.

Regan thought the same thing, but when Marjorie laughed she decided to go with it. “I could do that if need be.”

“Don’t be an ass, Zander. I don’t need your money. You’re giving me something to do. Now your mother gets to go shopping.”

“I can keep doing it that way, but if I pay you it’s a business write off.”

“See, Dad,” Marley said. “Zander is keeping it legal too.”

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