Page 4 of Worth the Trip

Nyla waited until it closed behind him.

“You’re not going.”

“I’ll be back before lunch.”

“We have employees.”

“We also have a birthday party tomorrow.”

“And you have a co-owner standing directly in front of you.”

I reached beneath the register for my keys.

Her hand covered them first.

The employees closest to us immediately discovered urgent work at the opposite end of the counter.

“Nyla.”

“Noli.”

“You can’t block my keys.”

“I can if I’m faster.”

“We are the same speed.”

“You’re tired. I have the advantage.”

I tugged once.

She didn’t move.

“This is unnecessary.”

Her expression changed.

“That’s what you say about everything you do for everybody else.”

My hand fell away.

A blender started behind us, filling the pause. Kareem called an order number, and a boy hurried toward the counter with both arms raised as though he’d won a prize.

Nyla took my keys and slipped them into her apron.

“I’ll send one of the afternoon employees to meet the truck.”

“I can handle it.”

“I know.”

The answer stopped me.

She wasn’t questioning whether I could.

That somehow irritated me more.

Nyla nodded toward the hallway. “Office.”