Page 44 of Divine II

“How long before he wants more than a pretend relationship and a little financial kick back?”

“I don’t know. For now, Bishop promised him a year.”

“A whole fucking year!”

“Yeah. He’s coming to the shop for a lunch date on Tuesday. He wants people in my world to see us together too.”

“What time?” Liam snapped.

“I’m supposed to let him know.”

“When you know, let me know. I’m coming.”

“I will.” I nodded.

I was relieved that Liam was going to be there. At the same time, I was nervous about their interaction. I had a hard enough time getting along with Zane without Liam’s presence. It was going to be hard to act like I liked him when the man I really wanted to be with was right there. Something told me it was going to be interesting if nothing else.

I tapped my foot nervously as I used various markers to create the outside sign for the day. Since it was warm out, my specialty lemonades were a hit. Each week, I planned on highlighting a particular flavor. This week’s lemonade was pineapple, mostly because it was Liam’s favorite.

My favorite taste tester had texted me thirty minutes earlier to let me know that he was on his way. He was determined to get to me before Zane showed up. Zane was actually scheduled to arrive in an hour. I didn’t know what made me more nervous—the two of them being in the same space or trying, yet again, to get along with Zane for more than five minutes.

I’d only spoken to him briefly since the pool party which, although rocky, ended on a fairly good note. I had been so concerned about his nasty attitude that I hadn’t really considered my own. Zane wanted me to temper myself and play this perfect princess role that I’m sure he’d associated with meover the years. I hated when a man assumed I needed fixing out of the gate.

The main reason he was even trying to be seen with me was because of his own fucked up image. Zane Whitmore should have been the last person to give somebody advice on how to act. Over the past couple of days, I’d gone through article after article and even watched videos of him acting out and even attacking a delivery driver over late packages. His family’s wealth had bought his way out of all kinds of hairy situations.

One thing they couldn’t do was erase history. Well, they could have had the disturbing footage scrubbed from the internet, but obviously, they weren’t interested in that. If it were someone in my family, Psalm would have never let the article get the first view.

I needed to mention having Psalm wipe some of those unsightly images and depictions of Zane from the internet. That was if he learned how to act in the near future. Otherwise, I didn’t give a damn what the blogs made him look like. If he didn’t plan on changing his behavior, erasing history would only be a band aid to the problems. Sooner or later, there would be new blog post showing what a psychopath he was.

“Hey, Leslie. Do you guys have enough oat milk to get through the shift? I’m putting in an order for the week,” I said as I walked to the back where the supply room was located.

“I think so. Make sure you get plenty of agave, though.”

“Got it. I ordered more honey too. I also saw that the tapioca pearls were low. A shipment is coming through in a couple of hours. Anthony will be here to help unpack everything.”

“OK cool.” Leslie nodded as she sipped her daily tea.

I’d given her a challenge to switch from coffee to tea for thirty days. So far, she was loving and hating it. We had fun creating various flavors of tea, but she missed the heavier dose of caffeine for her early morning shifts.

The bell rang, indicating that someone had come in. I tried not to take off running to the front counter, but I moved with purpose. I hoped that it was Liam, but it could have been a customer. Either instance called for me to put some pep in my step.

A smile lit up my face when I saw my handsome Lee Lee. I’d talked to Syre about making sure Liam was with me on all of my dates with Zane because I didn’t trust him. I needed someone who I could trust around whenever I was with Zane. Thankfully, Syre thought it was a good idea and didn’t question my motives in making that decision.

“What’s up?” he asked, greeting me with a crooked smile.

“Nervous about this freaking date. I don’t even know why.” I rolled my eyes.

“Me either. The shit is fake, Cookie. Just have lunch with the man and try not to roll your eyes too much. It gives away the fact that you don’t want to do it.”

“He already knows I don’t want to date his ass. There’s no need for me to hide it.”

“Yeah, but Bishop asked you to be on your best behavior. You don’t want to give that asshole any reason to try to expose us.”

“You’re right. I really need to try to be friendly. Our last encounter didn’t end all that bad, so I’m hopeful.”

“Right. Just be your normal bubbly, sweet self. Don’t act like you’re doing time, even if you feel like it’s a prison sentence.” He chuckled.

“I think that’s why I’m nervous. I have a hard time hiding my emotions. I’m going to try to act like I’m just spending time with a new friend.”

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