Page 11 of Operation Sunshine
Possibly both.
Willow burst through the door carrying a stack of clipboards she’d scavenged from God knows where. “Look alive, people. Chloe and Ollie just arrived, so that’s all of us.”
Raj peered at her. “Can Ollie walk in a straight line?”
Willow snorted. “Almost, but don’t sit too close to him. The alcohol fumes might knock you out. Now, before Ben comes out of the toilet, we need to agree on something.”
“Is hestillin there?” Franco asked. He snickered. “Maybe we need to decide if we’re all going to hide from him.”
Willow raised her gaze heavenward. “Yeah, great idea. How old are you, six? What Imeanis, he’s Mr. Corporate. Do we think he has any experience in the hospitality industry? No, we do not. SoIthink it’s important we don’t sugarcoat anything. Drop him in at the deep end.”
Raj snorted. “Meeting all of us is going to be a defining moment, you know that, right? If he can cope with us, he can cope with anything.”
“Hold that thought.” Willow ducked out of the kitchen for a minute, then returned. “Okay. I just heard the toilet flush, so—”
Mina gaped. “You were hovering outside the toilet, listening to himpee?”
Willow rolled her eyes. “I wanted to give you a heads-up. So let’s go out there and pretend we aren’t barn animals for once.”
Lexie groaned. “Ilikebeing a barn animal. Less paperwork.”
“I mean, show him what he has to work with. Move it, troop.”
Ollie and Chloe came into the kitchen, and Franco winced at Ollie’s bloodshot eyes.Why does he do this to himself?He reached into his pocket, removed his pack of mints, and tossed them to Ollie. “You might want these.”
Ollie mumbled his thanks.
Chloe tied her hair back with a scrunchie. “So? What’s he like?”
Franco grinned. “You’re about to find out.” He resisted the urge to check his reflection.
Ben’s gonna be too focused on his precious agenda to notice me anyway.
Except Franco kind ofwantedBen to notice, to look at him and forget his bullet points, if only for a second.
To reallyseehim.
Ben grasped the door handle, doing his best to force air into his lungs. Voices rose and fell: laughter, a shriek of protest, a loud metallicclang.
He counted down from five.
Five: You’re in control.
Four: They’re just people.
Three: You’re not in a skyscraper.
Two: You chose this.
One: Oh God.
He opened the door and stepped into the dining room.
The empty dining room.
Ben groaned internally.Yeah, right, let’s put the boss off balance.As if his nerves weren’t shredded already.
He pulled out a chair at the nearest table and sat, placing his notebook in front of him. His fingers tapped an uneven beat against the polished surface. He tried to regulate his breathing. The air felt heavy, saturated with coffee, croissant crumbs, and the wild energy of too many personalities hiding out in the kitchen.
