Page 59 of Kentrell

BONG.

The glass door shuddered on its hinges as it swung open, as though declaring the arrival of an unwelcome guest.

I didn’t have to look up.

“Kendra,” I muttered under my breath.

“Zoe,” she sang, stepping inside with her usual passive-aggressive pep, all pearls and smug energy. “I was just headingout for lunch and thought, why not ask my favorite mystery woman to tag along?”

I blinked at her. “Mystery?”

She strutted in like she owned the place. “You’ve been real quiet lately. Hard to catch. And now I hear you’re Malcolm’s chosen one—handpicked for that... Caldwell guy?”

I kept my expression blank. “I’mjusthis legal representative.”

Her eyes glittered like glass—shiny and fake. “Of course. Though Ihaveto say, Malcolm doesn’t usually toss clients around. Especially not ones with reputations like his.”

My eyebrow ticked. “What reputation would that be?”

She tilted her head. “You tell me. You’ve got the front-row seat.”

I was already over it. “What do you want, Kendra?”

That Stepford smile of hers got tight. “I just want to understand what makesyouso special.”

I stood up. “Probably the fact that I mind my business.”

Before she could clap back?—

“Am I interrupting?”

Ayesha glided in like she’d been summoned by prayer. High-waisted cream trousers, boho braids pulled into a semi-messy bun on top of her head, and the kind of poise Kendra could never buy.

"No, Kendra was just leaving, so we can get ready to leave for lunch." I lied right through the skins of my teeth and my cousin didn't let on. Though her eyes flickered before narrowing back to size.

Kendra blinked after realizing she was being dismissed with no room for refusal. "Wait—you two had lunch plans?"

“You know my office building just around the block,” Ayesha said with a bright, innocent smile.

Kendra blinked like we’d slapped her. “Well... maybe next time then.”

I nodded. “Maybe.”

She left, hips stiff, and the second the door clicked shut, I dropped back into my chair with a long, hard exhale.

“She came in hot,” Ayesha said, crossing her arms.

“She’s poking around,” I muttered. “Trying to figure out why Malcolm put Mr. Caldwell on my desk. Acting like she’s curious when she’s just nosy.”

"Who?" Ayesha asked, feigning confusion, while I exhaled, trying to quell the agitation rising within me—thanks to Mr. Caldwell’s call and Kendra’s sudden appearance in my room.

"Kentrell," I said flatly. Her eyes sparked, giving me every reason to narrow mine at her.

“Does she know him?” She swept right past the furrow growing between my brows as I answered with a careless shrug.

“She probably thinks something’s going on.”

Ayesha tilted her head. “Is there?”

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