Cece could feel her magic humming in her veins, and she quickly shoved her hands into the big pocket in her apron, willing herself to calm down as the plants that lined Leonard’s bookshelf shivered as if a wind had washed over them.
“Actually, I’ve asked Lori to join us,” Leonard said.
“Why?” Cece asked.
“We’ll get to that in a minute. What I need from you first is your assurance that you will ask your friend to leave the greenhouse,” Leonard said. “He’s making my customers nervous.”
“He’s a shifter,” Lori said. “Mrs. Angleson is a deer shifter, and she said she could smell that he’s a bear shifter.”
“So what?” Cece said.
Lori sniffed. “Shifters can be… problematic. Poor Mrs. Angleson was terrified of him.”
Cece couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Of course, Lori would be a fucking dick about shifters.
“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, you dumb cow,” Lori snapped.
“Excuse me?” Hot anger rolled through Cece, and her magic sparked bright in her veins. From the corner of her eye, she could see the bookshelf plants growing larger, and Cece immediately thought of Briggs, of his deep voice telling her to ‘take a breath, little witch’. She sucked in some oxygen, looking away from Lori’s smarmy face and reminding herself that she didn’t give one fuck what Lori thought or said about her.
Deciding to ignore Lori completely, Cece said, “Leonard, Briggs is… well, he’s a bodyguard of sorts.”
“What do you need a bodyguard for?” Lori asked.
Still ignoring her, Cece said, “I promise I’ll talk to him about being less intense, but he has to stay close to me. I’m having a bit of trouble with a witch, and I-”
“A witch!” Lori’s voice turned shrill. “What kind of danger have you put me in?”
Cece sighed. “You’re not in danger, Lori. No one here is, especially if Briggs is here. I know this is a bit unconventional, but I’m asking you to let him stay, Leonard. I’ve worked for you for years, and I’ve never caused any problems, right? I’ve worked late, I’ve taken on extra shifts, and I’ve covered for you during vacations. I’m asking you to do me a small favour for the next few weeks while I get this sorted out.”
“A few weeks,” Lori said. “Are you insane? You can’t keep working. You’re a danger to all of us.”
“Can you do me a favour and shut the fuck up for a minute, Lori? This is none of your business,” Cece said. “You’re my coworker and nothing more.”
Lori turned to Leonard. “Tell her, Lenny.”
“Tell me what?” Cece said.
Leonard cleared his throat, suddenly finding something very interesting to look at on his desk. “Well, I, um, the thing is, Lori is…”
“I’m the new greenhouse manager,” Lori said.
Cece’s ears did a weird ringing thing, and her cheeks went hot. Her voice sounding muffled and distant, she said, “What did you say?”
“I’m the new manager of the greenhouse,” Lori said. “Isn’t that right, Lenny?”
“Lenny?” Cece repeated.
Leonard’s face went even more sweaty as Lori joined him at the desk. Her hand reached out and caressed his shoulder, and a truly goofy smile crossed his face.
“Jesus Christ, you’re fucking her,” Cece said.
Leonard blinked at her as Lori’s drawn-on eyebrows shot up to the middle of her forehead. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Cece said. “You got the job because you’re fucking him.”
“There’s no need to be crude, Cece,” Leonard said. “I understand you’re upset you didn’t get the position, but Lori has extensive experience and she-”
“Is fucking you,” Cece said.
