Page 14 of Bargain With the Boss
“What?”
She hooked her thumb around the thick handles of her bag. “Nothing. Just admiring the view.”
I waggled my eyebrows at her and she sighed. “Oh, you mean the lake. Got it.”
“Do you actually believe your own hype?”
I snorted. “Just having a little fun. Pretty sure you need more of it in your life.”
“You don’t know anything about me, Mr. Hastings.”
“How do you do that?”
One slim eyebrow rose. “Do what?”
“Everything about you is warm on the outside. That red hair, those gold eyes, and yet you make the arctic come out of that mouth.”
“Don’t worry about my mouth. We are working together. I don’t need to be your friend.”
“See, there you go again.” I pounded my chest as if there were ice crystals inside. “Harsh. What’s wrong with us becoming friends?”
“I won’t be around long enough to be your friend.”
I frowned. “I thought you were helping out Jude for the duration?”
She pressed her lips together and I had the strange feeling she was holding something back.
“Syd?”
“I’m hungry.”
I nodded toward the trucks. “Okay, then let’s get some food.”
Captain Taco was a cross between superhero comic book aesthetic and a colorful Spanish vibe. We filled a tray with soft and hard tacos to start, but both of us were hungry enough to make add-ons. Chips and fresh salsa with a container ofguacamole completed our transaction and still we spent less than twenty-five bucks, which was unheard of these days. I made a mental note to keep that in mind for our marketing push.
Syd followed behind me with two bottles of the Mexican version of Coke.
We found a table along the half wall with an umbrella to protect her fair skin. She seemed a little overwhelmed before picking up one of the soft shells, carefully adding some guacamole then tucking the end in and folding it up.
“You know tacos are supposed to be messy, right?”
She narrowed her eyes at me through the honey color of her shades, then took a bite.
I laughed and went for a crunchy one for myself. I doused it in hot sauce then handed the bottle to Syd. She glanced down at the ridiculous line of tacos as if unsure.
“C’mon. There’re no calories in tacos.”
She took the hot sauce. “I’m not worried about that.”
“Then dig in.”
She did her little ritual, this time adding a generous amount of Comic Taco’s mole. When she bit into it, her eyes flashed up to me and she quickly went in for another bite.
“Good right?”
She daintily dabbed at the corner of her mouth with her pinkie and nodded. When the juices dripped down her hand I laughed and handed her a napkin.
She looked so helpless I pushed the chips toward her.
