There’s a reason those damn things were banned from the park decades ago. I kick the contraband item away from me and right into the ankles of the same man who reprimanded her earlier.
“Come on, Zahra.” The man turns his head and shoots her a withering look.
Zahra. Her name fits the wildness I’ve only had a tiny taste of.
“Sorry, Ralph,” she mutters.
“Stop being sorry and start being early for once.”
I fight the urge to smile. There’s nothing I enjoy more than people being called out on their bullshit.
She leans over and places a delicate hand on the man’s shoulder. “Can I make it up to you with fresh bread that Claire and I made last night?”
Bread? Is she seriously offering this man food after he got annoyed with her?
Ralph shrugs. “Throw in some cookies and I won’t complain to Joyce about you being late again.”
I blink at the graying grump in front of me.
“I knew you had a soft spot for me. People say you’re mean but I don’t believe a word of it.” She shoves his shoulder in a familiar way.
I see what she’s doing here. Somehow, she wrapped old Ralph around her finger with nothing but a smile and a promise of baked goods.
This woman is dangerous—like a landmine someone doesn’t see until it’s too late. Zahra grabs a package from her backpack and drops it into Ralph’s waiting hands.
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 Zahra all 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.”