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Chapter Six
“Are you sleeping, Buzz?”Maby said and forced Buzz to sit up on the couch so that she could sit down. Plopping down with her bag of chips, she took the remote and changed it away from the movie that was ending. Buzz had immediately fallen asleep when the movie had started, only to dream of Jonas Raiden.
Her mind had played back the evening before, and it was as hot in the replay as it had been the first time. Now all she wanted to do was to go back to sleep and be with him again.
“No, because you woke me up,” Buzz grumbled and snatched the chip bag from her. Grabbing a few, she tried to make up for not being with Jonas with salt. She had basically wasted the day thinking about him, dreaming about him, and all-around missing him.
Grabbing it back, Maby said, “You have to be at work in an hour, and I am not covering for you today.”
“I didn’t ask you to, Mabel!” Buzz yelled at her sister. Maybe it was undeserving, but it felt right. Her sister shouldn’t even be at the house—she didn’t live there anymore. Why wasn’t she with her husband?
“Harper is going to be pissed at you if you’re late, especially after you ditched her yesterday.” Her words had Buzz flying off the couch to get into the shower. No way was she not showering before working.
Harper would be pissed … again. Over the past few months, while Buzz had been getting her reporting career off the ground, she had not been able to help her sisters as much as usual. On Monday, it would be her only job, so she had better make sure her boss liked her.
Once showered, she put on black slacks and a ironed, white button-up shirt from Harper’s room. After pulling her hair back into a loose bun, she shrugged at herself in the mirror: she was a catering waitress now. How many times had she worn that exact outfit over the years? Too many to count.
Back in the living room, she asked Maby if anyone else was going, who told her that Harper and Lucy were already there, and Agatha was on her way also. That surprised Buzz. Lucy hadn’t helped all that much in weeks.
Maby also reminded her that she was late.
In her Jeep, she hurried across town to the address Harper had texted her hours before. She only broke a few traffic laws to get there only five minutes late, which was completely on-time for Buzz. Not so much for Harper, who gave her a look. Buzz wasn’t going to let it bother her, though. No way was she getting fired tonight. Harper couldn’t keep staff as it was, so losing her now would leave her shorthanded.
“You and Ag will be handing out apps. It’s not a big gathering, but I’ll be doing it too. We’re short today.” Lucy wasn’t smiling as she handed the sisters trays piled with little, neatly organized food.
Grabbing the tray that held her favorite, she took one off and ate it quickly. The pure heaven of the perfect combination of spices and cheese made her moan. She said, “I love these.”
“Quit eating them!” Harper yelled from across the kitchen.
“I have to make sure I can explain them perfectly.” Buzz took another off the plate and ate it as she looked right at her sister. “And that they’re not poisoned. I’m a life-saver.” She ate another one.
Harper gave her a look and flipped her off. These were the same apps that were always served. They all know what they tasted like and could explain them for hours if needed. Buzz grabbed one from Lucy’s tray and ate that one also. She loved making her sister mad, though tonight, it seemed she was already mad without Buzz even trying.
“Okay, ladies, be professional out there. No nicknames and no name-calling. No talking to people unless they ask you a direct question. And no accidentally dropping things on anyone. Ever,” Harper said, mostly looking at Agatha, who was the reason for all the rules. Her reputation was built on her amazing ability to drop food on people who bothered her, and a lot of people bothered her.
“Is it just apps?” Agatha asked.
“Yes, dinner was in the boardroom, and Lucy and I did that. But now it’s mingling hour, and we need more hands. Two hours,” Harper said, holding up two fingers.
Groaning, Buzz was pissed. Two hours? Was it even worth her time for two hours? She should have skipped it and taken the wrath of Harper instead of wasting her time here.
Taking her tray, she turned to head out to the event with a fake smile. The room was virtually empty; most attendees were still in the board room. The ones who were there weren’t interested in more food.
What Buzz had learned over the last few years was that there was one thing worse than being the lady who hands out apps: being the starving lady handing out apps. After her cinnamon roll for breakfast, she hadn’t eaten at all, just lounged around the house, dwelling on the past and how she’d had sex with Harrison’s biggest client and friend. By noon, she had put that thought out of her head and just called him Jonas.
More and more people came in, and Agatha gave her a look of annoyance that she returned to her sister. They had worked together so much that they had started to play games with each other years before. Each would pick out a person, any person, and they would pay extra attention and walk past them a lot. The other had to figure out who it was by the end of the night. It was stupid and silly, but it made the evening more interesting.
Her sights landed on an old guy who could’ve been her grandpa if she had any of those. He was her man for the night. She leaned her tray towards him as she walked past, and he took a piece with a smile—a smile that was a little too creepy for a grandpa to have made. Not looking at Agatha, she went in a large circle around the outside of the room, then a smaller one on the inside.
Other than the old guy, she paid no attention to anyone except Agatha and who she might have picked. After each round, she would slip into the kitchen and fill her tray. At the door, she would eat an appetizer and chew slowly as she completed her circles. She hated these events. They were so boring.
Agatha had picked a blonde lady in a navy-blue business suit; Buzz was almost certain of it. Her old man was constantly on the move and was not interested in her offerings, though he gave her a look at every pass. After another round, they were back in the kitchen comparing notes. Harper was off cleaning, and Lucy was loading trays with the remaining apps. The two weren’t talking to each other, as was their new dynamic.
Neither had guessed right yet, so they headed back out, though they traded apps because it was fun to keep the guests guessing what each person had. It was petty, but it was all they had.
After another round, she realized her man was gone. She had lost. If your person left, you lost. It was a rule made early in the history of the game. Catching Agatha’s eyes, she shrugged. The game was over unless he came back. Now that the fun was over, she slipped back into the kitchen, and Lucy took her tray so that she could go to the restroom.
Across the room, she slipped out the door and walked slowly down the hallway to where she had seen where the ladies’ room was earlier. She needed a moment to herself, away from people, her sisters, and the memories of the night before, which were ever-present.
