“Well, there are two female Lawrences at this table tonight.” Justin lifts Janine’s hand and presses a kiss to her knuckles. “Please be specific.”
“Just take the damn M&M’s!” Jen explodes. “Jesus, Mayet. I thought we were a team!? I thought we were a family.”
“I have literally never said that.” Minka picks up her un-doctored wine and takes a small, smiling sip. “You might have me confused with someone else.”
“You will literallynotdie. In fact, you’ll thank me for it once it’s done, because you’ll get a cute little skip in your step. It’ll be like an extra shot of coffee in the morning, but without the calories, and you won’t have to worry about infusing anymore.”
“Wait—” Lawrence swings his eyes our way.“You’rethe trial recipient giving my daughter a hard time?”
Minka barks out a laugh. “A hard time? I’m being harassed!I made it through all of my teen yearsandmy early twenties with less peer pressure to take drugs than I’m getting this week. Jesus. The answer is no, Jennifer. I will not be your lab rat. In fact, I won’t be the lab rat for that other trial stuff on the market either, andtheyhave actual marketing materials and FDA approval.”
“I feel conflicted.” Less smiley now, Justin watches the daughter he created biologically, and the non-biological daughter he kinda wishes would love him in return, punt words back and forth like a ball on a tennis court. “My baby’s life’s work, and…” He looks to Minka. “Doctor Mayet’s right to autonomy and medical privacy.”
“You make it sound like her request is reasonable,” Minka growls. “I’ve seen this woman jump off buildings, cry about stitches, and marry a…” She points at Corey. “Him!”
“Hey.” He lays his hand on his chest. “What did I do? Your shots are hitting innocent bystanders right now, Chief.”
“You’re complicit!” She sets her wine down with a snap and folds one leg over the other. “Talk about someone else. In fact, Mayor Lawrence.” She meets his eyes and fakes a grin. “Let’s discuss theft.”
“Theft?” He glances from person to person. “Who stole?”
“You.” She points an accusing finger straight across the table to a stunned, side-by-side Fletch and Fifi. “Ms. Lewis wasmine.She was grudgingly happy about her place in this world, underpaid, overworked, ridiculously stressed, and secretly amused by my general messiness. But then you came along and started throwing words like ‘better working conditions’and‘higher pay’around. You stole from me, and now my building runs at a deficit because of it.”
Fifi firms her lips. “You have Callen, Chief. I left you in good hands.”
“I wouldn’t know! I almost never talk to her.” Minka releases a piggish grunt. “Come back, and I’ll double whatever he’s paying you.”
Lawrence’s smirks. “You can’t afford her.”
“Come back, and I’ll pay you one dollar an hour more than I was paying you before.”
Fifi snickers. “Pass. I prefer my current working conditions.”
“You’re being impossible!”
“It might blow your mind to hear this, Chief, but my bossnevershouts at me. And since we’re comparing, he also honors standard working hours, and neversayshe’ll take the call waiting for him, but actually forgets.”
“It was one time! Kirk’s DB had an actual live bird stuck in his throat, beak side pointing out. I was distracted!”
“Wait.” Lawrence’s brows pinch tight. “Seriously? How is that possible?”
“Exactly! That’s a distracting thing to hear about, so it makes sense I forgot to take the call. It’s not the end of the world.”
“It felt like the end of the world! It was Mayor Lawrence calling to discussme. We both wanted to do the right thing by you before I made the move, but you let a tiny little bird get in the way.”
“The bird was that time?” Lawrence questions. “Geez. I thought she was just being her normal charming self.”
“This is why I don’t come to these things!” Minka slumps against her chair. “Everyone’s always piling on, like my attention to the bird thing was shameful.”
“Don’t lie,” Fifi counters. “You don’t come to these things because you’re antisocial and rude. Then you pick a fight with the easiest target, wait for them to bite back,thenyou claim their retaliation is the reason for your antisocial tendencies. It’s a bit like the snake eating itself metaphor, except we’re all standing on the outside and laughing at you.”
“Sera!” Fletch guffaws. “Damn, woman. Are you trying to start some shit?”
“I would never.” She stares straight across at us, swirling her wine and grinning the way evil warlords do. “My respect and adoration for the esteemed Chief Mayet remain as it always has. But this was fun. I needed this.”
“I want another seventy thousand dollars in my annual budget.” Minka shoots a filthy glare toward Lawrence. “I just got us an entire six-figure tech upgrade.For free. I suggest you keep that in mind as you approve my current request.”
“Anextraseventy thousand?” His eyes dance with mirth. “That’s not a small amount, Chief. You looking to beef up your salary all because you’re in a bad mood?”