Page 79 of Positively Pricked
"That's right," Zane said.
"For what?" Marco demanded. "To be an asshole? Is that it?"
Zane replied, "Pretty much."
Marco's jaw dropped. "What, why?"
Zane looked almost bored now. "Why not?"
Marco stared in apparent disbelief. "You've got to be joking. I flew in from the coast." His voice rose. "Onfourhours' notice."
"Yeah?" Zane said. "Sucks to be you." He flicked his head toward the entrance. "Now get the fuck out."
The guy looked ready to lunge across the table. "Or what?"
In a surprisingly calm voice, Zane said, "Or I'll toss you out."
I didn't know what to say. Did he mean personally? Or that he'd call security? Zane was tall and well built. No doubt, hecouldtoss the guy out, if that's what he really wanted to do.
But why would he?
None of this was making any sense.
I felt myself swallow. If I was supposed to be playing the good cop, I was failing miserably, because I had absolutely no idea what to do.
Across from us, Marco demanded, "But what about our contract?"
"What about it?" Zane said.
"You said you wanted to discuss it."
"Oh, yeah. That's right," Zane said, as if remembering something long-forgotten. "I tore it up."
Marco gave a confused shake of his head. "What are you saying? You can't just tear it up. It's not like it's a piece of paper you can—"
"It is. And I did," Zane said. "So fuck off."
It was at this moment that I heard a quiet male voice just over my right shoulder. "Miss?"
I turned to look and saw the waiter, holding two plastic to-go cups, each with a lid and a straw. He whispered, "I've got your drinks."
Drinks? As in more than one?I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "I’m sorry, what?"
"The drinks," he repeated. "The ones you ordered."
"Oh." In truth, I hadn't meant to order anything for me. I'd been ordering them as a social thing, something to break the tension. By now, the thought of drinking anything whatsoever made me almost want to throw up.
Still, what could I do? With a whispered thanks, I reached out and took the drinks from his outstretched hands.
As he handed the cups over, he leaned close and said in a whisper so low, I could barely hear it, "Officially, they're both orange juice, but…" He hesitated. "Just don't get me in trouble, okay?"
With who? Zane? Or the law?Either way, the guy looked scared to death. My heart went out to him. Obviously, neither one of us wanted to be here, in the middle of whatever this was.
Before I could formulate any sort of response, the waiter turned and rushed away, as if beyond eager to get the hell out of Dodge.
I couldsorelate.
The meeting ended less than a minute later when Marco stormed off, promising Zane that he'd see him in court.
And then, there was just the two of us – me and my new boss, the biggest prick in the universe.
Heaven help me.
