Page 85 of Mistaken Prejudice

“I’m so happy to see the two of you getting along,” Miles said before he took a sip from his iced tea.

The next thing I knew, Shay-Lee’s arm was wrapped around me, crushing me against his solid body.

“We had a small chat, just like you asked.” His voice was sweet and laced with venom. “A real heart-to-heart. And now we’re practically besties. Aren’t we, Andrei?”

A bottle of soda was slammed right in front of us and startled him away from me. Diesel’s timing was impeccable today.

“Your drinks,” he muttered while locking eyes with Shay-Lee, forcing the asshole to lose his smile. It was clear that Diesel was on to Shay-Lee’s bullshit and had none of it. I took comfort in the sour look on the jerk’s face.

“It’s hot,” Shay-Lee spat out as soon as Diesel turned his back to walk away.

“What?” He slowly shifted our way.

“I said the soda is fucking hot.” Shay-Lee grabbed the bottle and slid it toward Diesel, who stopped it right before it slid off the table. “I told you to bring me a cold drink. Is English too hard for you to understand? Should I say it in Spanish?”

“Shay-Lee,” Miles hurried to say, but Diesel shut him up by grabbing the bottle.

“I’ll be back with a new drink for you right away.” He said those last words through gritted teeth and left the table.

“What the hell? You can’t talk to people like that.”

Thank you, Miles. But I doubted the asshole cared.

“People? He’s nothing but a rabid dog.”

“What did you say?” I couldn’t take it anymore. “What did you call him?” I asked again, this time more forcefully.

“Fine. I’m sorry, okay?” Shay-Lee raised his hands in the air, pleased that he got a reaction from me.

“Here you go.” Diesel returned with a new bottle and placed it in front of Shay-Lee, who wasted no time before reaching to grab the bottle.

“It’s not bubbly enough,” he sneered after taking a sip and spitting it into an empty glass. This time, I could see the vein pop in Diesel’s neck.

“Is everything okay here?” Jason, a.k.a. the shittiest manager on earth, came to stand beside Diesel.

For fuck’s sake. The guy hated us from day one and only looked for reasons to get rid of us, especially Diesel.

“Everything is fine,” Diesel muttered under his breath.

“No, everything is not fine.”

“Shay-Lee,” Miles said his name with a plea.

“No, Miles. With the amount of money I pay for this place, I expect my beverage to be served cold and sparkly. I don’t pay for dog’s piss.”

I bet it’s your dad’s money anyway.

Jason’s face twisted in displeasure before he pressed his palms together. Sweat dripped down his greasy face.

“I apologize, sir. We’ll bring you a new drink right away. A cold one this time and with enough bubbles,” he spoke, making it clear that the mistake was on Diesel and not Shay-Lee before he singled Diesel to take the drink and bring a new one.

Pleased with the situation, Shay-Lee leaned one arm over the armchair while waiting for Diesel to return with his soda. A wide smile spread on his face when Diesel came back with a new drink.

“So?” Shay-Lee asked after a minute passed with Diesel just standing there, the drink in his hand.

“The first one was too warm, the second not bubbly enough. How’s this one?” he asked as he turned the bottle upside down and poured the soda over Shay-Lee’s head.

Shocked, Shay-Lee stayed in his place as Jason grabbed some napkins and started to dry the guy hopelessly while apologizing over and over again.