Page 85 of Something Cheeky

“It’s okay. Zoe said you were busy.” Her mom stepped back. “Let me look at you.”

“Má, you can do that later,” Zoe protested.

Derek winked at Zoe to signal that he didn’t mind. He stood still with his hands clasped behind his back for her mom’s scrutiny.

“You are too skinny,” her mom declared. “Come into the restaurant after we open and I’ll make sure you eat.”

“Yes, Cô H?ng,” he replied obediently.

“Now tell me everything,” she demanded of her brother.

“I don’t know much except Bác Lê arrived early to open his tofu shop and saw, well, all that.” Eddie waved helplessly at the damage and horrible, horrible words covering the walls.

“I’ll stay until everything has been cleaned,” offered Derek. He didn’t seem to care that today was his first day off in two weeks.

“Are you sure?” Zoe asked. “You barely know the people here.”

“How could I walk away when our community needs help?”

She hugged him, grateful to have him with her. She wasn’t sure if she’d have the strength to deal with the damage at Something Cheeky on her own.

“The elders should check on their shops and make sure nothing was taken,” Zoe instructed her brother. “They don’t need to be out here scrubbing paint and dealing with sharp glass.”

“Yeah, we can do all the heavy lifting,” TJ said from behind her.

Zoe spun around and gasped. Next to TJ was the entire cast ofT?m Cámandthe Boss Babes. They were dressed to scrub and clean. Zoe’s fears and anger melted into relief. Her eyes were wide as she turned to Derek.

“I might’ve called the calvary.” He answered the question she didn’t have to vocalize.

“It’s your day off,” she repeated, this time to the actors, stage managers, and the rest of the Prestige staff.

“Which means we’ll be here as long as you need us,” Heather said in a voice that discouraged any argument. Everyone agreed emphatically.

“Andre sends his apologies,” Trixie said.

“He’s really upset he can’t be here, but I told him that we couldn’t leave Hazel’s Kitchen even more shorthanded for Saturday brunch,” Keisha explained.

“I already checked on your boutique,” Josie said. “It’s mostly superficial damage, but it’ll take some elbow grease to clean.”

“This is bullshit.” Th?o shook her head at the hateful spray-painted words. “Time to rock the boat.”

“I’ll reach out to my social media connections and make surethis story is covered in the news,” Reina said. “I’m not letting anyone sweep this under the rug.”

Of all the Boss Babes, Reina had the most experience with publicity. She’d grown her network of influencers and journalists in order to make her burlesque club a success. Trixie, Josie, and Keisha murmured in agreement.

The rest of their friends followed up with “Hell, no!” and “We’re not staying quiet.”

Zoe blinked away the tears forming in her eyes. She knew her Boss Babes always stood by her no matter what, but the actors and people at Prestige barely knew her. They were all gathered here because of Derek. He’d reached out to their community and they’d dropped everything to help.

“I can’t believe you did all this without me knowing.”

Derek shrugged as if it were no big deal. But it was. She tossed her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a deep kiss.

After his initial shock, he relaxed into her very public display of affection. She didn’t get a chance to tell him this morning that she’d changed her mind about keeping their relationship a secret. Telling him this way was much more fun.

Their friends were cheering at their intimate embrace. She’d almost forgotten how loud theater people were. She laughed against his lips and pulled away from Derek.

“Are you sure about this?” he whispered.

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