Page 36 of Basil

THINGS ARE…A CHANGING

SUMMER

The bell above the door jingled, and I looked up from the counter where I was working updating our website, expecting to see a customer, instead I saw Drew andKaren.

My, my!

I texted Basil from my laptop:Your best ex-buds D&K are here at Sage & Sunflower. Please come and collect your trash.

Harsh? Well, I didn’t care any longer. Basil had dumped his old friends, except Felix, and in the past few weeks since we begandatingagain—he’d given me the lowdown on everything that happened at work and with his friends, so I wasn’t feeling insecure at all, which was a marvel.

Basil responded within seconds:On my way. Don’t commit acts of violence. Just in case, will bring bail money.

I chuckled reading his message.

“Can I help you?” I demanded insolently.

Drew’s lips curled into a smirk as her gaze flicked around my store—my carefully curated world of handmade goods and warmth. The place that smelled like patchouli and sage, with soft fairy lights strung along the exposed brick walls and shelves lined with candles, crystals, and small-batch essential oils. It was cozy, inviting—everythingtheyweren’t.

Karen wrinkled her nose. “Wow, this is…rustic.”

Drew snorted. “More like a flea market exploded.”

“Now, now, ladies.” I tilted my head, a smirk on my face. “Let’s play nice. Are you here to buy something or just to be your usual bitchy selves?”

Drew’s smirk widened. “We’re just here to check out what Basil’s ex-girlfriend is up to.”

Karen pouted, all fake sympathy. “Must be so hard to get back to living likethiswhen you’d had all that with Basil.”

“No, it’s not hard at all.” I let out a soft laugh. “Especially now that Basil and I are back together.”

Drew took a step closer, lowering her voice. “It’s not going to last.”

Karen scoffed. “It’ll fall apart just like it did the last time.”

I sighed, giving a dramatic tilt of my head. “Look, I have a job unlikeyou,Drew, so say what you have to or buy something and get the fuck out.”

Drew huffed out a sharp breath. “You know you cost me my job?”

I arched an eyebrow. “How on Earth did you come to that conclusion?”

“Because you poisoned Basil against me,” Drew cried out, looking like someone who was just about ready to lose her shit.

Karen grabbed her arm. “Drew, calm down.”

“No. She stole Basil and…ruined everything.” Her chest was heaving now. “Thanks to him I can’t get a new job. He blackballed me.”

“No, I didn’t.” Basil came in from the back of the store. He leaned, and dropped a quick kiss on my lips.

“Basil,” Drew gasped.

Karen froze.

Basil casually slipped an arm around my waist, as if utterly unbothered by the mess unfolding in my store. “I didn’t blackball you, Drew,” he stated, amused. “You did that all on your own.”

Drew’s face flushed an impressive shade of red. “You fired me! You ruined my career!”

Basil exhaled, as if he was explaining something simple to a complicated person. “I fired you because you were unprofessional, incompetent, and toxic to the company culture. If no one wants to hire you now, that’s not on me—that’s onyou. I told you time and again, be careful about who you kick on your way up because you meet them all on your way down.”

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