Page 5 of Lemon Drop

“Thank you. And Reign?”

“Yes?”

“Please check on Lori before you go back to your office. If she needs a few minutes, give them to her.”

“I will.”

Reign left quietly, and the door clicked shut behind her. Topaz turned those green eyes back on me. I hated when she looked at me like that, like she was displeased about something I did.

“What?” I asked.

“You know what.”

“I handled my business.”

“You handled your clients just fine, Saadiq, but you mishandled the people who work for you. Loyalty is important. This is not how to get it.”

I looked away from her, back toward the windows, but that didn’t help. The glass reflected her standing there with her hands on her hips, five-and-a-half feet of curves and attitude and disappointment. I could take a lot from a lot of people, but disappointment from Topaz Waters wasn’t one of them.

“They were unprepared,” I said, my voice softer this time.

“No, they were understaffed. There’s a difference. And since I’m apparently the only person in this building allowed to say it to your face, you mad because you were embarrassed. That’s what this is. The Hayashis came in, things weren’t perfect, and because trying to be perfect is your favorite thing, you snapped.”

I turned to face her fully, fighting a smile. “You think you know me that well?”

“I know you better than most people.”

She said it like it was nothing. It wasn’t nothing. The room went quiet for a second, too quiet. Her face changed, just a little, like she realized what had slipped out, the weight of what she had admitted. As usual, she looked like she regretted saying it, so I stepped back from it.

“Fine. I’ll talk to Shenay,” I said.

She kissed her teeth. “No. You’ll apologize to Shenay.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You gon’ apologize to Shenay, and then you gon’ apologize to Lori.”

I slid my hands in my pockets, my head tilting. “You getting real comfortable giving orders.”

“And you getting real comfortable messing up my day off. Listen, Sanaa⁠—”

Her phone rang before she could finish. She glanced at the screen, and her mouth tightened. I noticed that, too. Topaz prided herself on being controlled, but six and a half years together meant I knew her tells. Her mouth got tight when something annoyed her. Her left eyebrow rose when she thought somebody was saying something stupid; she rubbed her forehead when she was tired and the back of her neck when she was frustrated. Right now, she looked tired. That bothered me more than all the other shit that had happened today. I watched as she declined the call.

“Who was that?” I asked, like I had the right.

“Nobody,” she said, reminding me that I didn’t.

I stared at her. She stared back.

“Topaz.”

She looked at me through narrowed eyes. “Don’t use that voice on me. You already on thin ice.”

“Who was it?”

She sighed. “Zoë.”

My mood shifted immediately. I had told Zoë more than once about the way she tried to handle my Apple. Hell, she could go before Topaz would. I’d be happy having my son live with me. “What did she want?”