Page 56 of Always Salty

I didn’t bother to ask him why he thought I might need a ghost there.

I knew that CE was fucked up.

I’d been working in that CEO position for years, and I’d been ignoring all the signs because I hadn’t wanted to deal with it.

I was thankful that Copper was finally going to do something about the issues that had surfaced, though.

Maybe I should’ve been a better sister and dug the rot out for him, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t do it as concisely as Copper could.

But with Dima’s help, he might get it done a hell of a lot faster…

With our plans made, I started heading to my car, heading between two large trucks that’d parked on either side of me.

I’d just reached my door when a screech came from out of nowhere.

That screech was followed by Dorie jumping out from behind the truck to my left and throwing herself at Dima.

She threw her arms around him and banded herself around him like a barnacle, determined to prove the point that she can take any man, no matter what.

Or, maybe she’d figured out that Dima had been the reason that her boyfriend had gotten hurt a few nights ago.

I didn’t really know what went through her head in that moment, but if I’d seen a man like Dima, I would’ve run the other way rather than coming toward him. Let alone jumping on his back to prove a point.

Dima reacted before she could even get her legs all the way around him.

With one swift flick of his wrist, she was flying.

She hit the wall behind us with a solid thud, and Dima had to stop himself from going after her a second time.

Dorie stared up at him in stunned silence, her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

I stared at her long enough to realize that she was having a hard time breathing, and not finding it in me to care.

“That was dumb.” I attempted not to snicker as I got into my car. “I’ll see you at CE.”

Dima winked at me, and I knew I’d find him there way before me.

The smile on my face stayed the entire drive there.

It quickly fell off when I was met with the bullshit at the door, though.

Do beavers even know what they’re doing, or do they just see water flow and think, “absolutely not?”

—Text from Dima to Keely

DIMA

Getting down onto my haunches, I stared at the stupid woman.

“Do you need to die to finally understand that you’re not as strong as you think you are?” I asked her. “That was quite dumb, like she said.”

Dorie blinked.

“Don’t come around anymore,” I emphasized. “I don’t want you here.”

With that, I walked back to my bike and hopped on it.

I considered following behind her the entire way, but I wanted to get into the building before she got there to ensure that I could get a good feel for how she was treated there.

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