Is it me or this convo took a nosedive?
Sarina
Yes chef…it did
Lorena
LMAO how long have you been waiting to say that?
Sarina:
TOO LONG
CHAPTER 13
TOMÁS
“Do you have Wi-Fi?”
“That convenient and necessary evil? Hell no. I have dial up like any good millennial.”
I feel my brows scrunch as I stare at Dante trying to figure out if he’s joking or not. “Seriously?”
He points over his shoulder to the sign on the wall I somehow missed, clearly labeledWi-Fi password. “No,” he says with a laugh before he goes back to busying himself with what I assume is the usual prep work routine he has before the bar opens for lunch.
I open my laptop and connect to the internet so I can begin working. The closing I had before coming to Hummingbird’s went smoothly. Albeit it went that way because of the very necessary edits Sarina made to the closing documents. Edits that shouldn’t have been needed in the first place, had I gotten my head out of my ass when drafting the documents. Not that me being distracted this time of year is anything out of the ordinary. It doesn’t seem to matter how many years have gone by, the weeks leading up to my dad’s birthday make the gaping hole losing him created in my life feel bigger. Grief is tricky like that.
It’s not until Dante snaps his fingers for my attention that I realize I’m sitting with my laptop open to the main screen, staring off into space, not getting any of the work I have piling up done.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love having you here, butwhyare you here?” He points to his watch. “We don’t open for another hour, and it’s, whatever day it is.” Letting out a long-winded sigh, he slouches on the bar top. “I’ve lost count, ever since I started helping Gabriella with taking Luci to school a couple times a week.”
My brows perk up. To an outsider looking in, it wouldn’t be much cause for curiosity hearing Dante helping his sister-in-law Gabriella out with his and Tino’s niece. But I’m not an outsider. Gabriella grew up with us in Co-op city and despite her marrying Dante’s twin brother, Emilio, and giving birth to their daughter before he passed away, there has always been something between them that has been teetering the line between friendship and something more.
“That’s new,” I observe.
“Yeah, well, if her loser of a boyfriend Todd would step up. Actually. Fuck that, it’s better he doesn’t. I don’t like him being around my niece any more than he has to be. But that’s beside the point. Back to why you’re here.”
I slide my phone across the bar top, leaning over just enough that the face recognition can unlock it. “This.” I point to the open group chat.
Dante studies the screen for a beat. “I’m not following.”
I point to the only number in the chat that’s not saved with a contact name.
“That’s Sarina’s number. She’s your new Paralegal, right?”
Dropping my hands to the bar, I simply nod, feeling my jaw grow tighter by the second. “Temporary,” I correct him. As if that distinction makes a lick of difference.
Dante studies me for a moment. There must be a visible knot in my jaw at this point from how hard I’m clenching. “Okay, temporary Paralegal. Still, what am I missing?”
I don’t answer. I don’t know how to, which feels ridiculous because Dante is my friend, if I told him about how Sarina and I actually met, he wouldn’t judge. If anything, the only person judging me… isme.
“What am I missing?” he repeats.
Finally, words sift through my brain and make the trek to my mouth. “I didn’t know she is Lorena’s friend.”
“Okay.” He motions for me to continue.
“When I met her.”
