Page 19 of Apparently, I’m A B!tch

Chapter10

Tristan

I watchedNikki leave my shop with a mixture of something that was difficult to put my finger on. It was like opening a gift on my birthday, and then being told that the sweater would fit me over the next year. Warm anticipation merged with disappointment.

It was the first real conversation we’d had in months, the first time in a long time that I was the one to make her smile. Last time it was Uncle Henry, and the time before that it was Lilly… and before that it was–

“You were right, Lil,” Shawn crooned. “Look at the big dork.”

I jerked at the sound of Shawn’s voice, turning to see him lounging against the door frame to the backroom. Lilly was at his side, glowering at the ground. The smirk on his face had me rolling my eyes.

“She was upset, we talked. That was it.” I folded my arms, trying to put out some air of discipline. Sometimes I felt I gave my two younger employees too much leeway, but try as I might, I’d likely never be able to mimic Uncle Henry’s stern streak of authority with them.

“Yeah, sure.” He rolled his eyes but kept a teasing smile on his face. “What did she say about your painting anyway?”

I softened, lowering my arms. “She… I think she liked it.”

His smile widened and he let out a light whoop of laughter. “Yeah she did.”

Before I could react, Lilly grumbled, “Why are they always so mean to her?” She looked at me as if I knew the answer.

“I don’t know, Lil. Nikki does have a way of… offending people.”

“Yeah,” Shawn snorted. “She’s brutal, isn’t she? Once she told me that my coffee tasted a step above dog crap.” He let out a laugh and looked at Lilly. “Remember the training I was put through after that?”

She barely flicked him a glance. “It still tastes pretty crappy, Shawn.”

He gasped and gripped his chest. “You too, Lil?”

She shook her head. “She’s honest, sure, but that doesn’t mean they need to be so rude to her all the time. They call her that stupid nickname and every time they come in here, they complain about her.” She shot me a look. “I wish she didn’t have to deal with that.”

I wished that too. It burned my insides to have to try and ignore Jake and Kelly when they whined about Nikki. Kelly wasn’t so bad. But Jake? I had to resist the urge to knock his face in whenever he said Nikki’s name. But I was a boss now and had to set an example.

I tried to give her a smile. “I like that you care so much about her, Lil.”

Some of her playfulness reared itself as she said, “Well clearly, I’m not the only one who cares about her. Rochelle who, right?”

Oh. I straightened and looked around for Rochelle’s bright orange card. Where did that go?

Shawn laughed and flicked his wrist, showing me the piece of cardboard between his fingers. “Looking for this?” He stretched his arm out, offering it to me. “I don’t think you should bother with this one, Tristy.”

I frowned as I took it, looking over the card as if reading it. “What do you mean? She’s a curator. It could be a big help to have someone like her in my corner.”

I didn’t have to be looking at them to know my two baristas were swapping glances.

“I don’t like her,” Lilly said, as blunt as Nikki would’ve been. “She didn’t seem like she was interested in your work.”

I shook my head and tucked the card into my jean pocket. “Lil, that’s what she was here for. What else would she be interested in?”

Shawn let out a huff of incredulous breath and followed it with a laugh. “He’s so dense.”

“Leave him alone, Shawn. It’s nice that he isn’t as sleazy as you are.” Lilly turned and pushed past him, going into the backroom and reappearing with the mop. “But I’m too tired to explain things to a thirty-year-old man, so let’s close up.”

I smiled and let out a laugh. “Maybe you can explain things to me tomorrow, Lil.”

She snorted, not as teasing as I anticipated she might be. “Maybe. If you’re lucky.”