Roman smirks. "There may have been a piece of equipment named after me… maybe more than one."
"Oh god, really? Like what?" Angel quirks a brow. "I was joking, but I shouldn't have said anything. Once you get Roman started on a topic like this…"
"…one where he's the center of attention, which is his favorite place to be…" I add, glad for the distraction away from me.
"That's a story for another day," says Roman, enigmatically.
"And the rest of you?" I push, my mouth on some struggle bus between a scowl and a neutral expression.
"Well, Florian is a musician," says Josef. "He's got quite a following, in fact."
"Seriously?" There is something about Florian, I have to admit. A certain kind of charisma. Although I wouldn't say he's a flashy guy… he's one of those people who just seems to have something up their sleeves at all time, even when they're not wearing any. Grr, I hate that type. So self-assured, so put-together.
"Yeah! I knew he looked familiar!" Angel tugs on my sleeve, her eyes growing large with excitement. "Remember me saying?"
Devon looks up his band on Instagram. "Oh my god. You have…millionsof followers!"
He shrugs, the picture of humility. Gross. "Some of them are the same person with a bunch of accounts. But yes, I guess you could say we've been pretty successful over the past few years."
"Wow! And you, Josef?" Angel quirks a brow in his direction.
He shrugs and almost imperceptibly shrinks into himself. "I tend to stick to myself a bit more. Spend time in the garden. You know, that type of thing."
"He's very modest," Ariasays as she strolls by with drinks in hand. "Josef is actually a really talented writer. And he also dabbles in photography on the side. That's actually how the two of us met."
I hadn't realized what an introvert he is, having not spent a lot of time with him. But it all comes together as I take a closer look at the guy. The edgy glasses, his long, elegant fingers. Giving off the 'quirky intellectual' hipster vibes that belong in an open mic night at a community-owned produce market. He's quiet, constantly thinking. A bit like me but without the perpetual scowl.
"Yeah, Dimitri called me in for an…. interesting project. And things went from there, I guess you could say," he says, smiling at Aria.
"He totally took all the pictures for my club's website," says Dimitri. "That was his first taste of being my partner in crime, and he's never left my side since."
Josef smirks. "It is what it is, I guess."
"So do you perform regularly?" Angel asks Florian, before turning to Josef. "And what type of books do you write? Where can I get them? I need to check these out!"
"Me too!" exclaims Devon, taking a moment away from her phone.
"Yes, fairly regularly," says Florian. "Occasionally I'll head to the mainland, but we're establishing a bit of a fan base here which has been nice. And so much is virtual these days, even with music."
"And my books are available all over the place," adds Josef. "You can find me on the main online stores. I'm trying to get them on bookshelves here locally, but haven't had a chance to drive around door-to-door like some weirdo book salesman. My latest is a spicy thriller called "The Goodreads Murders."
Devon gasps. "Oh my god, Ilovethat title. Adding to the top of my TBR." She grabs Josef by the shoulder and shakes him slightly in her excitement. "This is the most exciting news I've heard all day!" She pauses and glances apologetically at Florian. "No offense… music is cool and all, but… I need a link! I need this book immediately!"
Florian smirks. "It's okay, truly. It's actually nice not being the center of attention foronce."
Angel laughs. "And we have Amazon and TikTok accounts, Dev. I'm sure we can figure it out. And, if not, the online book groups will point us in the right direction."
"Okay, well I wasn't counting on you two being a couple of fame whores," I grumble. "Just what we needed when we're trying to stay undercover. Might as well just get a bunch of flashing lights and have people follow us around with sparklers."
"Who's a fame whore?" asks Roman. "These guys are just sitting here chilling while the girls pepper them with questions."
"Oh that's right. The fame whore is you." I roll my eyes, and Roman wiggles his shoulders, only serving to infuriate me more.
"Okay, grumpy," Roman smirks. "If that's what you want to believe."
This whole conversation is annoying.
I'm so glad we have a mission to focus on.