Page 81 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

He’d just been so…wonderful. And generous. He’d taken every single one of my concerns seriously and tried to work through them with me. And every time he called meArum, my knees turned to jelly. Adragonthought I was on par withgold.

Jen wasn’t on the schedule today, and my shoulders dropped a notch. Deja, our manager, was on hostess duty. She gave me a tepid smile. She hadn’t said anything about my new relationship, but she’d always played her cards close to the vest.

Maya was the only other person scheduled for the lunch shift. She gave me her best stink-eye. She was very practiced at it.

Whatever. I had work to do.

“Hi, welcome to Norma’s Kitchen. My name’s Elle, and I’ll be taking care of you today.” I greeted the two middle-aged women at my first table.

They exchanged a look, then the darker-haired one gave me a confused smile. “Oh, um. The other server—I think her name started with an M? She already took our order.”

I glanced over and caught Maya’s eye. She smirked.

“Oh, there must have been a mix-up. I’ll get that straightened out, and we’ll get your food out to you soon.” I didn’t know what the fuck Maya was playing at, but I wasn’t about to let on in front of a customer.

Following a hunch, I checked with the second table in my section. They said the same thing.

Teeth grinding, I tracked Maya down in the back of the restaurant, near some empty tables. “What the hell? Should I go grab tables out of your section?”

Maya crossed her arms. “I’m just making sure our customers get taken care of without drama.”

“Drama?” I’d never once caused a scene at work.

“Oh, that wasn’t you I heard complaining about how everyone stares at you? Not you I saw all over social media having dinner with a city council member?”

Fuck. I’d complained to Jen about a couple who’d snapped a picture of me at work last week without asking me first, and, yeah, I’d gone to a work dinner with Az on Tuesday.

“I can still do my job just fine, thanks. If Deja has a problem with it, she can tell me.”

“Deja’s not going to say shit. She’s more interested in how you working here increases business ’cause everyone thinks you’re the most interesting thing to happen since sliced bread.”

Instinctively, I glanced over at Deja, who was ignoring us. My blood heated. Shewasn’tgoing to say shit.

“She doesn’t care that you’ve gotten lazy now that some lizard is paying all your bills.”

I flinched back. “I’veneverslacked off on the job.” If anything, I’d been extra diligent about my work. Having Cal and Maya’s constant disapproval aimed at me put me on edge.

“Sureyou haven’t. I don’t even know why you bother showing up anymore.”

I gaped at her. “You know what? You’re right, I don’t need this shit.” I’d never needed Maya’s approval before, so why should I care about it now? “Fuck this job, and fuck you.”

I pulled off my apron and slapped it on the nearest table.

Halfway to the door, Deja called out, “Where are you going? You can’t quit in the middle of a shift!”

I snorted to myself. “Take it up with Maya.”

When I closed myself into my car, I slumped over the steering wheel.

What the fuck had I just done?

A small voice in the back of my head reminded me I’d planned to quit anyway if dinner with Az’s parents went well. It seemed pretty stupid to work if I married a dragon, and despite the short timeline, I was closer and closer to agreeing to mate him.

Hysterical laughter bubbled up in the back of my throat.

I started my car and pointed it toward home, though with the ringing in my ears and the knot in my stomach, I could barely concentrate on driving.

I’d made such a big deal out of keeping my job. How was I supposed to tell Az I’d up and quit because my coworker pissed me off? That was a sign to find a new job, not walk out in the middle of a shift.

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