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“Good.” Max picks up his phone, signaling he’s done talking business. But not before he adds one more detail. “Because I’m going to need you to come in every night this week and close with Natalie.”

“You’re kidding?” I scoff.

He shakes his head. “Nope. We have several meetings with Gavin starting in two weeks and I need you there. I need to trust her to close and I know you can teach her.”

“Okay.” I swallow. I’m not sure what it is but a part of me wonders how I’m going to figure out what’s going on between me and Lena when I’m stuck here every night training Natalie.

* * *

After my talk with Max,I texted Lena to let her know I was stopping by the store to grab a few ingredients for dinner before I was headed home.

She’d texted me back almost immediately, but I couldn’t help how her response only furthered my confusion. She’d only sent one word.Okay.

It was unlike Lena to text single words. If she did, she usually followed them up with some kind of emoji. The kissing face. The surprised face. Sometimes even an eggplant, which I always found hilarious.

Either way, Lena’s lack of communication had me slightly worried. The only part that put me at ease was how she had messaged me back almost immediately. That meant she was still safe.

I head to the grocery store, making sure to remove my chef jacket before going in, revealing the black T-shirt I’ve been wearing underneath. The thunderstorm that had passed this afternoon left a lingering heavy moisture in the air. My lungs inflate with the humid air as I jog into the store, splashing into a deep puddle on my way in. My shoe squeaks against the tile as I head straight for the produce aisle. I stop in front of the herbs, filtering through which one’s I’ll need to make dinner.

“Before I went to culinary school, I used to accidentally grab cilantro thinking it was parsley.” Natalie’s laugh stops me. I glance over my shoulder. She’s standing behind me, in front of the avocado display.

A small green basket dangles from her arm. She’s wearing a gray T-shirt and black leggings. A stark contrast to the chef jacket I’m used to seeing her wear when she’s at work.

She shrugs, slinking back in on herself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s fine.” I smirk, thinking back to my conversation with Max earlier. I feel slightly guilty for speaking about her the way I did. But the guilt passes, knowing that in the culinary world, business is business. You can’t make it personal.

“How was the rest of the lunch shift?” she asks.

She’s making small talk. Great.

“It was steady. About the usual.”

“Good.” She averts her gaze, glancing around the shelves behind me. She’s nervous but I’m not sure why. Her distraction reminds me of how she’s been the past few times I’ve worked with her. “I got an email from Max a few minutes ago.”

“You did?” I swallow, hoping he didn’t bring up the conversation I had with him about her being distracted during our training.

“He said there was a change to my schedule next week. You’re going to train me to close every night.”

I nod. “Yes. We’re preparing for the event with Gavin James. We want to make sure you’re comfortable closing before we begin planning on the event.”

“Well,” She raises her shoulders, releasing out a heavy sigh. “I’m ready.”

“I hope so.” I smirk, hoping to lighten the mood. “I’m going to need your full focus.”

“Always.”

I fight back the urge to stare her down. What does she mean by ‘always’? As far as I could tell, she wasn’t paying attention at all.

“Anyway, I—” Natalie awkwardly steps forward. For a moment, I’m confused by her movement toward me. She’s eerily close and in what’s considered my personal space. She flinches back slightly before she steps forward again, reaching her arm out. I step to the side as she reaches behind me, grabbing a bundle of parsley. She checks the label wrapped around their stems then shows it to me before dropping them into her nearly empty basket. Her cheeks flush with red. “I need some parsley for lasagna. Wouldn’t taste as good with cilantro.”

“True.” It’s the only word I seem to be able to say right now. The awkward moment with Natalie doesn’t end. It suspends in the air between us. I can tell Natalie wants to stay and talk but I can’t and even if I could, I’m not sure I would want to.

“I should get going.”

“Oh, okay.” Natalie blinks, somehow surprised by my not-so-subtle exit.

“I’ll see you at work.” I give Natalie a goodbye smile, heading straight for the self-checkout. The faster I get out of here, the better.

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