Page 47 of The Cask

“That you have some secret crush on—and I hate to be the one to tell you, but that’s not going anywhere. If it hasn’t happened yet, it won’t.” I shrugged. “No matter how many times you listen outside of his office, it won’t ever be you in there.”

“I wasn’t listening!” Her hands balled into fists. “Does Omari know you’re a low-class wino with questionable taste?”

“There’s nothing questionable about the way I taste—ask Omari.”

Her tawny complexion turned red. She was fuming. “He’ll never actually be with someone who lets him fuck them in an office after a few days of knowing each other. You know that, right? Like Lexi, you’re easy come easy go. Even if he was curious about you, you made it easy for him to see that you’re nothing more than an oversized slut with an oversized ego and a struggling business.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Your jealousy is so loud that I barely heard your weak ass insults. But listen… I’m going to go inside and continue getting ready to make a profit tonight while you can get back to pining away for a man who clearly doesn’t want you.” I scrunched up my face. “Because that’s what it sounds like you’re really mad at. You’re mad that you’re with him all the time and he never did to you what he did to me on his desk. Probably never crossed his mind once in the years you’ve known each other.” I pouted. “That must suck for you.”

“You’re a classless whore,” Kim spat.

I smirked as I noticed who was in the crosswalk, headed our way. “You’re jealous and I get why you’re mad at me. If I’d been throwing myself at a man for years and the fine assoversizedwoman across the street walked into his life and had him in minutes, I’d be mad too.”

“You’re a fucking bitch!” Kim yelled.

“What the hell is going on here?” Omari asked, looking between us. He narrowed his eyes at Kim. “Why are you speaking to Ebony like that?”

She took a step back and shook her head. “Wow,” she gasped in disbelief. Tears sprang into her eyes. “You just automatically take her side?”

“I didn’t hear her calling you a bitch,” he said gruffly. He shook his head. “I don’t know what is going on here, but that’s not you, Kim.”

She blinked rapidly. “You’ve known her for less than a week and you’re taking her side.”

“What’s going on?” He looked at me and then back at her. “I came out to get lunch and I found you screaming at her. What are you even doing here?”

“Are you going to tell him why you came over here, Kim?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

Shaking her head, she glared at me. “Omari, we need to talk privately.”

I broke eye contact with her and turned my attention to him. “Yeah, I also need to talk to you—privately.”

He looked between us like his head was going to spin. “What the hell is going on?” He scrubbed his face with his hands. “I’ll talk to you now if you’re free,” he told me before he looked at Kim. “And I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

Kim looked like she’d gotten punched in the gut. “Wow, really? You’re going to hear her out first?”

“Yes. That makes the most logical sense based on my schedule,” he explained curtly. “But before any of that, I need to know why you’re yelling at Ebony in the middle of the goddamn sidewalk!”

“Because she’s bad news,” Kim growled, pointing at me angrily. “She’s going to ruin Luxe before it even has a chance to get started.”

“Kim, stop! I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately or why you keep saying that, but this isn’t you. This isn’t…” He shook his head. “You should go back to Luxe.”

“But Omar—”

“Kim, that’s enough!” he barked, looking at her with utter disappointment. “Just stop, okay? Just stop.”

I kept a straight face as I stared at her. When she looked at me, I saw the hate that lived there. Without another word, she turned on her heel and marched to the corner. The crosswalk hadn’t given her the signal to walk, but she took off across the street anyway.

“I’m so sorry about that,” Omari apologized, cupping my face with his hands. He searched my eyes. “I don’t know what that’s about, but I’m going to talk to her.”

I covered his hands with mine. Looking up, I took in how warm his eyes were and how the sun made him look like he was dipped in gold. I covered his hands with mine. “I’m sure you don’t have a lot of time. You were headed to lunch before all this. Would you like some company?”

He leaned down and pressed his lips against mine softly. “Thank you.”

“For what?” I asked, feeling the warmth of his kiss radiate down my body.

“For being you.”

Not knowing what to say in response, I pushed up on my toes and kissed him again. When I eased out of his grasp, I pulled the keys out of my pocket and locked the door.

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