Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m nosy. Can’t help it. So, what’s next?”

I glanced at the clock. “The caterers should be here any minute. Go wait out front and let them in when they arrive.”

She nodded but hesitated to leave, eyeing me with what appeared to be curiosity. “Is she your girlfriend?”

I frowned. “Who?”

She rolled her eyes like I was being dim. “Annabelle, who else.”

My lips firmed, and I shifted from foot to foot under her scrutiny. “No. She’s just a friend.”

Afric started to smile. “But you’d like her to be your girlfriend?”

“That’s none of your business. Now, will you please go and wait for the caterers?”

She placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head. My attention wandered to the bottom half of her hair, which was still dyed bright blue. The top half had grown out a little, displaying her natural blonde roots. The blue ends matched her eyes, and they were … Okay, so I could admit her eyes were kind of spectacular. So bright they almost sparkled. I shook myself from the thought.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a bit rude?” Afric questioned.

“I’m rude?” I scoffed. She was one of the rudest people I’d ever met, and I worked as a PA for reality TV stars, so that was saying something.

“Yes, you are. I think you’re a bit of a snoot, too, to be honest,” she went on, a light behind her eyes like she enjoyed giving it to me straight.

I gaped at her. “I am not a snoot.”

Afric chuckled. “Oh, really? You’ve been looking down your nose at me since the day we met. If that’s not a snoot, then I don’t know what is.”

“I have not—” The loud noise of the buzzer for the front door went off, interrupting what I’d been about to say.

Afric smirked. “I better go answer that.” She turned and left the room, then reappeared a second later, her head peeking around the doorframe. “Did you know you’ve got this little blood vessel in your forehead that pops up when you talk to me? I wonder what that’s about.”

Then, with a chuckle, she disappeared again, not allowing me a chance to respond. I rubbed at my forehead and wished I’d never fallen for her trick and allowed her into the building in the first place.

Michaela seriously owed me big time for this.

Afric

Once the caterers were gone, I took my time checking out the food for the night’s event. Glancing over my shoulder, I stole a stuffed grape leaf and shoved it in my mouth. Mmm, free food was always so much more delicious. They’d splashed out for the good stuff, too.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” a familiar voice demanded.

Damn, caught in the act.

I plastered on a carefree expression and turned to face Neil. “I’m hungry. Are you a slave driver as well as a snoot? Do you expect me to work my fingers to the bone without a single crumb of sustenance?”

“You haven’t come close to working your fingers to the bone,” Neil replied derisively as he re-covered the plate. He was standing close, and I caught a faint whiff of soap. “What is it you do for work anyway?”

“I’m a gamer,” I answered proudly, and Neil looked at me like I was talking a foreign language. “You know, like computer games? I do live streaming, mostly, but I also take part in tournaments sometimes.”

“Ah, well, that explains a lot,” Neil said, and I raised an eyebrow.

“What explains a lot?”

“Gaming isn’t exactly a real job now, is it? You sit around playing computer games and get paid for it. Sounds like a holiday to me.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds, especially to be as good as I am. And you can quit giving me that look, Sir Snootsalot. I’ve worked plenty of ‘real’ jobs in my time, too.”

Neil scoffed. “Sure, you have.”

Something about his tone got my back up. Yes, I enjoyed arguing with him, and I could take a slagging as well as the next person, but this was different. He’d made it a little too personal. People thinking I had an easy life because of my job really bothered me, especially since it had been far from easy to get where I was.

“Yes, actually, I have. I’ve worked some of the toughest minimum wage jobs out there, from fast-food kitchens to cleaning toilets, so I know all about hard graft. A lot more than some pampered celebrity’s assistant, that’s for sure.” I reached out and grabbed both his hands, turning them palm up.

“What are you doing?” Neil questioned, bristling at my touch.

“Just as I expected. Soft as a baby’s bottom,” I declared. “You haven’t done a day of manual labour in your life.”

Neil yanked his hands from my hold, something hardening behind his eyes. “Do you know what? I think I can handle things from here. You should go.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You offended me, and clearly, I just offended you, so now we’re even. How about a truce?”

I held out my hand, and his lips formed that straight line again. I was learning this meant he was aggravated. Then, after a few more seconds of consideration, something in his expression softened, and he emitted a heavy sigh.

“Fine. Let’s just stay out of each other’s way.” He shook my hand, and I was briefly aware of his warm palm on mine before he let go and started to lay out the food. I quietly helped. For the next two hours, we worked mostly in silence. He only talked to me when he needed to tell me what to do, and before long, the place was all set up for the event.