Page 11 of Lethal Seduction

“Aww.” Devon feigns sadness. “Did it take you all night to think up that sad… pathetic comeback?” He puts his hand in my face. “Never mind, sweetheart, the bags under your eyes have told me all I need to know.”

Tina steps in between us and rests a finger on the edge of the tray. A worried look somehow manages to cross his overly Botoxed and filler-injected face.

“Don’t you dare, Tina,” Devon says in a pitched voice, nearing what only dogs can hear.

“I don’t appreciate how you spoke to my bestie. So, if you know what’s good for you… you’ll apologize.”

Tina must have applied even more pressure with her finger as the crystal flutes begin to rattle on the silver tray. Devon tries to steady the load using his other hand, but it isn’t helping stop the death rattle. The life in Devon’s eyes ebbs as he turns to look at me for help. “I’m sorry.”

I suppress a smirk and go to walk away, but as if compelled by some sassy, hateful demon, Devon adds, “I’m sorry… your mom carried you to full term.”

“That’s it,” Tina says, pushing even harder on the tray before completely pulling her hand away.

Devon’s attempts to keep the tray level backfire as he didn’t expect her to take her finger off the edge. His over-correction sends the tray and all the crystal soaring upward in what feels like a slow-motion montage of helpless people fucking up simple tasks on infomercials.

Devon screams and tries to catch what he can to prevent it from all being destroyed, but it’s not to be. The shattering sound is epic, bits of crystal spraying in all directions.

“All you had to do was be nice… even if it was only for a few seconds,” Tina says. “But you couldn’t even do that.”

I loop my arm around Tina’s waist and give her a side hug. “Thanks, bestie.”

As we walk away from the carnage, I look back and feel a twinge of guilt and regret. Devon is a complete shithead, shallow to a fault, and utterly annoying, but he is still family… of sorts. A bond in a way many don’t understand or care about, but evenif he doesn’t feel the same way about me, I would stand up for him against the haters. That being said, if Devon thinks for a second he’s going to get away with talking shit to me when Tina is around, he has another think coming.

“Come on, we’d better clock in before we’re late,” Tina says as she pulls me along with her. But before we leave, I see Devon look up from the mess on the floor. The front doors open. Bright sunshine lights up the entire entryway.

“Hold on a second,” I say as I’m being tugged hard down the hallway. “Who is that?”

Tina stops and looks in the direction I’m staring. The way the bright light reflects off the mirror in the hallway, it’s difficult to make out the man who entered. The doors close, and I realize it’s Jake. He’s dressed in his work uniform, but for some reason, it looks so much better on him than it ever does on me.

The white shorts hug his round ass. The black and white sweater vest begs to be torn off him with my teeth. He palms back his hair. Are there little forest creatures and birds singing in the background? Have Disney cartoons finally come to life? I swear I’ve found myself in the middle of an animated movie. Jake looks toward us and smiles. The air catches in my chest. Tina plays with her long brown hair, twirling it seductively, biting her bottom lip.

She’s purposely being slutty to draw the attention away from me, but I seductively arch my back a bit to make my ass pop a little more than usual.

Jake removes his sunglasses and says something to Devon, who leaps from the floor like a jungle cat in heat—straightening his clothes and hair before stepping so close to him, their crotch bulges are about to touch.

I struggle to make out what he’s saying, but it looks like whatever it is, Devon is hanging on every word and might mess his pants if he isn’t careful. It’s obvious to me that Devon wantsto have Jake’s babies, so we have even more competition than just the two of us.

“That guy could give me a good dicking if he played his cards right,” Tina says.

“Shit, I don’t know what card game you’re talking about, but I’ll just let him win.” I want to run back over there and step between Jake and Devon. Jealousy is not my favorite color, and I need to avoid going down that path.

Tina tugs at my elbow. “I know you’d like to Eiffel Tower him with me, but we have to clock in or get fired.”

I shrug, then let my shoulders sag. “Let’s go and get this day over with.”

“You okay?” Tina asks. “I would be willing to wait if you wanted to go and talk to him for a couple minutes.”

“You’re the best friend I could ever ask for. We’re in a competition, and you still try and help me out,” I sigh and turn, pushing my way through the double service doors to the back room where the staff are allowed to be themselves. Tina is right on my heels.

“Should we meet back here for lunch?” I ask.

“Sounds good to me.” Tina punches her employee number into the time clock. “Are you going to get Mrs. Thornbird’s drinks for her, or should I?”

“Here.” I hand her the dollar. “You do it, I’m not in the mood. Plus, she’s going to want you to give her a Brazilian.”

“Gross,” Tina says as she fills her pockets with vinyl gloves. “You know what happened last time I tried to get her on all fours with her ass in the air.”

“Oh man, don’t remind me.” I pretend to gag from the memory. “We don’t get paid enough for this shit.”

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