Page 99 of The Marriage Narrative
FIONA:OH MY GOD I CAN’T BREATHEEEEEEEEEE
FIONA:I can’t believe *you* asked him I’m so proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GRACE:Maybe you two should start a separate chat. I didn’t need to know any of that.
FIONA:YOU ARE NO FUN
Chapter 24
Jordan
At any givenmoment, he was thinking about having sex with Zinnia.
Being patient while she worked her way up to asking had been like living through an earthquake. No signs or warning, only wild heart-stopping chaos. He’d been at the dentist, in the chair getting his exam, when he started laughing about the way she wasted no time going straight for his dick. He stopped trying to slow her down when he realized it wasn’t going to be a one-time fling.
His wife had plans for him.
“This one is an experimental blend we’ve been tinkering with,” Paul said. “What do you think?”
Unfortunately for Jordan, he was currently in the middle of a meeting with a local roaster, who was a friend of a friend, to hopefully strike up a new exclusive partnership for T3. Instead of having sex with his wife.
“No.” Sometimes being blunt was best. “Everything you’ve shown me thus far isn’t going to cut it for my stores.” Jordan’s phone rang—the ringtone he’d set for Tantivy2 and its employees. “I have to take this, excuse me.”
He exited the office and began walking to the end of the short hallway while quickly checking the messages he had from Zinnia.
ZINNIA:Beta Carotene has been secured and is in my car! See you at the townhouse!
There was also a picture of her and their cat in typical travel mid-yowl. She’d wanted to try getting him into his carrier on her own. They were staying the night at her place, which included taking Grace and Fiona to dinner.
“This is Jordan,” he answered, still smiling.
“Hey, are you in the area? Could you drop by the store?” Coco’s voice shook with uncertainty.
He chose his store locations carefully. Different cities, but less than thirty minutes from his apartment in all directions in case there was a need for shift coverage or an emergency. “I don’t have a lot of time, but I can. What’s up?”
“I think I’m gonna have to call the police to have someone removed from the store.”
Shit. Tantivy had a standing rule: all were welcome. As long as patrons weren’t disturbing others or in active crisis, they could stay as long as they wanted. They offered one free cup of drip coffee and pastry per hour, water, Wi-Fi, and a small library of free used books, marked with yellow tape on the spine.
Policeand notambulancemeant Coco deemed the situation an active threat.
“What are they doing?”
“Taking pictures of us. At first I thought he was just vlogging, you know, filming himself or B-roll, but Norman caught him zooming in on Freddie while they were making an order.”
“How long has he been there?”
“Two hours. He doesn’t have anything with him like a bag or laptop. He just ordered a coffee and sat down.”
“Hold on.” A sinking feeling made itself at home in the pit of Jordan’s stomach as he returned to the office. But even more important than that was this being Coco’s first store emergency. She called him first. He needed to be there to have her back. “I’m sorry, but I need to cut this meeting short. I’ll be in touch.”
Jordan booked it to his car while still on the phone with Coco. He wanted to confront whoever this was himself. “Get everyone behind the counter. Tell the bookstore associates and anyone feeling unsafe to go in the stockroom, you included.”
“All hands, huddle up!” she called out—the store’s code for an emergency meeting.
“Give Freddie the landline and tell them to watch from the back window. If he does anything besides sit there, call the police immediately.”
Jordan drove as fast as midday traffic would allow. Instead of bursting through the front door like he wanted, he decided on a calmer approach and parked behind the store. He entered through the kitchen’s back door and found most of his team crowded around a small window.
