Page 30 of Divine

I really didn’t know if I was more angry that she had a date or the fact that she felt like she had to lie to me about it.

“You don’t have to tell them what happened,” she countered.

I scoffed. “That’s what you got out of everything I just said? How do you think I found you?” I shook my head and turned for the door again.

“They can’t fire you for something I did, Liam. I said I was sorry.”

“Good night, Divine.”

“Liam, wait.”

I knew if I looked at her again, I would fold. Deciding that I had said all I needed to say, I snatched the door open and slammed it behind me. If I still had a job tomorrow, I would know better than to let her manipulate me and play on my weakness again.

My phone buzzed in my hand, and I looked down and saw Divine’s name on the screen. Once I made it to the back yard, I lay back in one of the lounge chairs and looked up at the stars. Unable to fight the urge any longer, I opened the message to see what she had to say for herself.

Divine:

Give me a chance to fix it.

I wasn’t surprisedthat Syre was the first thing pushing through the door of Divine Smoothies once I made it there at eight. The shop opened at six during the week, but I had an amazing crew that made sure things ran smoothly whether I was there or not.

They opened for me each morning, so I didn’t have to drag myself in before the crack of dawn to get started. The breakfast rush was insane. By seven things were usually jumping. I came in at eight to give a much-needed reprieve to my best employees.

“What’s up, big head?” Syre asked, leaning on the counter in front of me.

“Hard at work,” I mumbled.

“What’s wrong?” He frowned as he waited for my answer.

I had no idea why he was beating around the bush. It wasn’t his style. Usually, he came right out and said what he had to say. I knew he was about to tell me that he was replacing Liam. I was heartbroken knowing that it was all my fault he had gotten fired.

There was no way in hell I would ever get anyone else as good as him on my team. Not only was he the best bodyguard I’d ever had, but like he said, he was my friend. I don’t know why I didn’t think I could tell him that I had a date. I guess I was so used to everyone working against me and trying to control my decisions that I felt like he would try to stop me or tell Syre. He did work for him. It wasn’t outrageous for me to think he would do what he was hired to do.

“I’m waiting for you to come out and say what you have to say.”

“You think I’m scared to tell you to bring out two cases of those protein shakes? I ain’t stalling. I’m trying to see why you looking like somebody stole your puppy.”

His response caught me off guard, but I recovered quickly.

“What flavors do you want, ugly?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“Chocolate covered strawberry and vanilla milkshake.”

“Come on,” I said, motioning with my head for him to follow me.

Syre followed me to the storage room in silence, standing back as I unlocked the door and pushed inside. There were cases and cases of protein shakes and smoothies that we shipped out and sold from this location. It was getting to the point where I needed someone just to handle the shipping orders. I wasn’t complaining at all. Syre had been the one to give me the idea of bottling them for shipping. He was annoying at times, but that was still my baby.

“Take what you want,” I told him, stepping aside to give him access to the boxes.

“Not until you tell me who I gotta kill to put that pretty smile back on your face.”

I sighed. “You don’t have to kill anyone, Syre.”

“Well, tell me what’s wrong, baby girl. This ain’t like you.” He pushed.

I didn’t know how much Liam had told him, so I didn’t really know how to answer the question. I knew that if I asked him not to fire Liam, he would get suspicious. Knowing that I actually liked him and wanted him to stay on my detail was likely a red flag to Syre. His mind didn’t work like regular people.

“Nothing is wrong. Everything is going just like you want it to go.” I rolled my eyes, hoping that I knew him as well as I thought I did.

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