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“How did you not know this?” she asked. “I mean, what do you guys talk about?”

“I don’t know, lots of stuff…”

“Clearly not enough,” she mumbled.

I chewed on my lip. Mike was a little elusive sometimes. I’d ask him questions and he’d just make a joke or change the subject. And honestly, by the time I got off work and did all my side jobs and got over there, I was too tired to try to drag things out of him when he clearly didn’t want to talk about something. It never occurred to me that he wasn’t telling me anything important though.

The back door opened and Donna and Janessa came in with groceries.

“Hey,” Lexi and I said at the same time.

“Hello,” Donna said tightly. She set the bags down on the stainless-steel counter we were working on. “Can you two put this away? And then I need someone to clean the ice maker before you go home.”

“I can stay,” I said.

“Good. Thanks,” she said, not making eye contact with me.

I took a deep breath and pulled up the courage I’d been trying to gather all week. “Also, I was wondering if I could ask a favor.”

Donna looked at her watch. “What?”

I licked my lips. “I’ve been making these graze boxes. Like the one I brought to Tony’s birthday last month? And I’ve been getting a lot of orders and I don’t really have the counter space at home and I was wondering if I could use the kitchen—after we’re closed, of course. I’d clean up everything. You wouldn’t even know I was here.”

She looked at me, bored. “And I suppose you’ll need the fridge as well?”

“Just for one night. I’d deliver them all the next day. Or if you’re okay with it, they can come in and get them. They’d probably buy things while they’re here. Pastries or they might sit and eat. I’ve got a business page. It has a lot of followers. It could be good for the café too.”

I tried not to fidget.

Please.

There was no way I could keep making the graze boxes from home—mine or Mike’s. We didn’t have the room. And I was actually making money on them. It was sort of taking off and it was the only side job I didn’t hate.

Donna looked at me down her nose like she knew what this meant to me and she might say no just because of that. I couldn’t figure out why she didn’t like me.

“Fine,” she said, like she was saying it against her will. “I’ll get you an alarm code.”

I let out a relieved breath. “Thank you!”

She mumbled something that sounded like a You’re welcome and they left. Janessa never even said hello.

Lexi rolled her eyes at the door. “They’re such bitches.”

I gasped. “Shhhh! Don’t say that in here,” I whispered.

“Why? If they fire me, they might actually have to work, and we know how much those two hate that.”

No, they didn’t work a lot. Janessa was a manager, but she spent most of her time in the office doing I didn’t really know what. Donna hardly ever came in. I mean, it was her business, she could run it however she wanted, but still.

“I don’t think Donna likes me,” I said quietly.

“Uh, she doesn’t. She has that weird parasitic relationship with her son where she feels the need to compete with you for his attention.”

I made a face. “You think so?”

“Nobody is good enough for her baby,” she said sarcastically. “If you marry him, that shit’s gonna be a fucking nightmare. She’ll wear a white dress on your wedding day, I’d bet a thousand bucks on it.” She wiped ketchup off a sugar jar. “So the meat board thing’s going good, huh?”

I shrugged over my side work. “I didn’t really think it would take off, but people like them. It’s not seasonal like the snackle boxes. They make good gifts.”