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Ralph cracks a smile, revealing a chipped front tooth. “Don’t let anyone in on our secret. I couldn’t handle the fall out.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t dare.” She lets out a soft laugh that reverberates through my chest like someone smashed a damn gong with a sledgehammer in there. Warmth spreads through my body, scaring the shit out of me.
Her white teeth stand out in the dark as she shoots Ralph a beaming smile. There’s something about the look on her face that has my heart racing faster in my chest.Beautiful. Carefree. Innocent.
Like she’s actually happy with her life rather than faking it like the rest of us.
My teeth smash together as I let out an agitated breath. “Are you done? Some of us are trying to pay attention.”
The whites of Ralph’s eyes grow larger before he turns around in his chair, leaving Zahraall by herself.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers under her breath.
I ignore her apology and refocus my attention on Joyce.
“Some big changes are happening at Corporate that we will be reviewing over the next week. They’re going to be keeping a close eye on us this quarter.”
“Great. Just what we need,” Zahra mumbles under her breath as she scribbles in her notebook.
“Do you have a problem with Corporate?” I’m not sure what I expect to hear or why I even care.
She laughs to herself, and I’m hit with another weird feeling in my rib cage. “The real question is who doesn’t have a problem with Corporate.”
“Why?”
“Because The Kane Company Board is filled with a bunch of old men who sit around talking about how much money they’ve made, without actually discussing the important matters at hand.”
“And you’re an expert on board meetings all of a sudden?”
“It doesn’t take a genius to draw conclusions based on how they treat us here.”
“And how’s that?”
“Like we don’t matter as long as we make them billions of dollars a year.”
If she notices my glare, she seems unbothered by it. “Aren’t employees paid not to complain?”
She directs her smile at me. “Sorry, that’ll cost the company extra, and seeing as most of us make minimum wage, silence isn’t part of the deal.” Her voice is light and airy, which only annoys me more.
“It should be if only to prevent you from spewing more ignorant statements.”
She sucks in a breath and returns her focus to her notebook, finally giving me the quiet I wanted.
“This next quarter is going to be different from the last one.” Joyce’s eyes brighten.
A few crew members grumble under their breath.
“Oh, come on. It’s the truth.”
Zahra makes a noise in the back of her throat. She scribbles some notes across her notebook, but I can’t make out the words in the dark.
“You don’t believe her?”What the hell are you doing, man? She finally shut up and now you’re asking her questions?
Her head snaps in my direction, but I can’t make out her expression. “Because nothing good can happen now that Brady’s really gone.” Her voice cracks.
My molars smash together. Who does she think she is to call my grandfatherBrady? It’s insulting. “The park has performed better in the last year alone than ever before, so I find your statement baseless.”
Her knee bounces in an annoying fashion. “Not everything is about a bottom line. Sure, the park performed better, but at what expense? Small wages? Cheaper health insurance benefits for employees and unpaid vacation days?”
