“Where are you going?” asked Maddie. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I said brusquely. “Long story.”

I beckoned Maddie and Doug to the clipboard, explaining again how I was pretty sure the store would be fine without my labor, so long as they could cover the tasks I did as manager. We sketched out a brief list of my responsibilities, like payroll and inventory, and began divvying them up.

Doug tapped the list. “I’ve done all these before, at one time or another. They’re no problem. I’ll take the first half.” He elbowed his sister. “What about you? You gonna take the rest and pull your share here?”

Maddie pursed her lips. She was immensely talented but suffered from bouts of insecurity, which I’d repeatedly told her was ridiculous. She’d improved a lot over the months—again, thanks to me—but still faltered. “I didn’t realize you did so much. I hope I can learn it all.”

“Stop playing coy. I’ll teach you,” said Doug. “You’ll be as good as Kincaid in no time.”

“Yeah,” I said dryly. “We’re practically interchangeable anyway.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seth shift uncomfortably.

“The whole thing seems kind of sketchy, though,” remarked Doug, tilting his head so that his black hair fell away from his face. “You’re going to be gone, but you’re not sure when or how long? I thought you were the reliable one around here.”

“It’s . . . family stuff,” I told them. “Just gotta be dealt with. Besides, now you can have a chance to be responsible. You should be thanking me, Doug.” He stuck his tongue out at me.

“Is Warren going to be okay with it?” asked Maddie, still fretting on my behalf.

“Let me deal with Warren,” I assured her.

Doug scoffed at that, but Maddie didn’t catch on. Warren, the store’s marginally moral owner, had been a longtime sex buddy of mine. He gave me about as much energy as Dante, but he was convenient and suited my mood lately. I’d stopped our tryst while dating Seth but had since returned to old habits. Doug had known about my affair with Warren then and now but was tactful enough to leave me to my own choices, aside from the occasional bit of eye rolling. I suspected Seth knew what was going on too, but I didn’t care. Warren wasn’t going to give me any grief about taking time off. I was too good at what I did, both at work and in the bedroom.

We shuffled one shift where I was supposed to have closed, and then I tossed the clipboard back on its pile, suddenly needing to get out of there as soon as possible. “Alright. Thanks, team. I’ll leave you to your work.”

“Off to hit the town?” asked Doug, still amused. “I can join you in about a half-hour. I know a killer party.”

I shook my head. “Already hit the town. I’m heading home.”

“Loser,” he called after me.