Page 63 of Operation Sunshine
Raj folded his arms, glowering. “Unbelievable. Absolutely fucking unbelievable. You owe me a deep cleananda bottle of whisky.”
Ben’s ears burned crimson. “It won’t happen again.”
“Damn right it won’t,” Raj muttered. He scowled at the staff. “Back to work, people. Nothing to see here.”
They scattered like leaves in the path of a leaf blower.
Franco aimed a tender glance at Ben and stilled when he caught that same tenderness directed at himself.
“Mm-hmm.” Raj’s voice was deceptively mild. “You keep on pretending it’s a secret. But I’ll give it a week before the whole staff knows.”
“Knows what?” Ollie piped up immediately from the bar.
“Nothing,” Ben barked.
“Everything,” Franco added, smirking.
Raj snorted. “Never mind a week. You’ll be lucky if you make it past today.”
From the gleam in Raj’s eyes, Franco knew they weresobusted.
It had been a long day, and it wasn’t over yet, Ben was certain of that.
The last plates had been washed, the blinds drawn, the dining room lights dimmed, and the staff gathered around a table for theirusual wind-down. Normally, it was laughter, leftover tiramisu, and maybe a bottle of wine smuggled from Willow’s “secret stash.”
Tonight, though? Ben knew exactly what to expect. There’d been a vibe running through the place all day, and coupled with the frequent glances, the whispered conversations, and the way everyone clammed up whenever Ben was in earshot, he knew they weren’t about to stay quiet, not when they had a big, fat, juicy story that had just landed on their plates.
Lexie perched on a stool, her arms crossed, watching Franco and Ben like a cat with a cornered mouse. Mina fidgeted with her necklace, biting her lip as though she wanted to say something but didn’t dare. Ollie and Willow exchanged looks that all but screameddo you see this shit? Raj, meanwhile, sat at the head of the table, sipping water like a man resigned to watching the circus unfold.
Hell, all he needed was a bucket of popcorn.
Beside Ben, Franco sprawled dramatically in his chair as though nothing was amiss. “Why the long faces? Was it the guy who asked for ketchup to put on his risotto? Or the group of twelve people who all wanted separate bills?”
Ben had to admire the way Franco had dodged bullets all day, whereashe’dbeen walking on eggshells, expecting the bomb to drop at any moment.
“We’re waiting for one of you two to explain why Raj found icing on the goddamn spice rack.” Lexie’s voice was as sharp as one of Raj’s knives.
Ben stiffened. “It was—”
“—a tragic baking accident,” Franco cut in, his eyes wide with mock innocence. “It was a catastrophe. We’re talking batter everywhere, icing in places you wouldn’t believe. Devastating.”
Willow snorted. “Oh, I believe it. Question is… what kind of baking were you doing, exactly?”
“I never knew horizontal baking was a thing until now,” Ollie muttered before letting out a cackle. “You learn something new every day.” Mina’s face went bright pink.
Ben scrubbed a hand over his face. “This is ridiculous. We don’t need to—”
“Yes, we do,” Lexie interrupted. “Because it’s obvious. Do you think we’re blind? Ben, you’re actually smiling these days. Franco, you’re not flirting with everything that has a pulse. And today? You were looking at each other like…” She threw her hands in the air. “Like you’re in one of those cheesy French films Mina’s always crying over.”
Mina made a choking sound. “I wasn’t gonna say a word,” she whispered. “But she’s not wrong.”
Franco’s gaze met Ben’s, and Ben had to admire his steady, calm expression. Silence fell, heavy and charged.
Finally, Raj sighed. “Look, they’re both adults. If they’re… involved, that’s their business.” He shot Franco a cool glance. “As long as they keep it off my prep table.”
That broke the tension. Half the room dissolved into laughter again. One look at Lexie, however, told Ben she wasn’t letting go so easily. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing.
“Look, if you two are a thing, just say it. We’re your family. We deserve to know if our boss and our chaos gremlin are… whatever it is you’re doing.”
