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Kara threw it right back at me. “And the critics say you don’t have a sense of humor.”
Mallory was usually stuck in the middle, left to referee the two of us. “Let’s not go there today, you guys,” she said evenly.
I’d never admit this to Kara, but we bumped heads because our personalities were so similar. We weren’t wrong, ever, even when we were. “I’m not going anywhere. Trust me, there’s a million other places I’d rather be, and I showed up. On time.”
Mallory frowned at me, but didn’t call me on the fact that I wasn’t being very helpful. “It’s a beautiful day-”
“Ugh,” Kara scoffed, snatching her shades over her eyes. “It’s hot, we’re all busy people, and there are no cameras rolling here.” She directed her last sentence at me. “Let’s not pretend these little meetings are pleasant. They’re not.”
Since we weren’t beating around the bush, I sank to her level. “If you weren’t damn good at your job, I would have gotten rid of you several seasons ago.”
Kara’s bottom lip jutted out in faux sadness. “Is that supposed to make me sad? That we’re not besties? I don’t care that you’re hot, or that you’re the one that gets all the glory-”
“The glory?” I snorted, not sure I was going to make it five more seconds at this table, let alone long enough to sit through her list of grievances. “You want my job? You want to look people who actually deserve to win in the eye and-”
“Tell them how the sausage is made?”
I locked my jaw, deciding that we’d just go for it. We were here, and already making a scene. I decided to embrace the madness. “I guess the meeting has begun.”
The waiter shuffled over, holding Kara’s drink and an expression so tight with anger that I felt him trembling from several feet away.
Kara didn’t wait for him to lower it to the table, plucking it right out of his hand. “Now, we can begin.” Her choppy strands flew around her head like blue flames as she whipped her attention to the waiter. “Is there a reason you’re still breathing my air?”
The kid looked ready to quit, or worse. Mallory jumped in, flashing him a smile and drawing the fire in her direction. “My egg sandwich was delicious, could you recommend anything for...” She glanced down at the menu on the table. “Dessert?”
The waiter threw a final glare at Kara, then took my sister’s olive branch. I took the opportunity to get to the point.
“I assume you didn’t ask us here today so we could catch up, so let’s get on with it, Kara.”
Kara took a loud, obnoxious slurp of her drink before she burned holes through my skull. “Can’t sneak a thing past you.” Her voice darkened, practically blotting out the sun. “And just in case it needs to be said, you can’t sneak a thing past me.”
“The word ‘sneak’ implies some degree of fear,” I fired back. “Let me assure you, I don’t sneak—and I’m not afraid of you.”
I knew that fact drove her insane; she was used to the power that fear gives, to having people scramble when she entered a room. She wanted her words to hold the same weight as if God himself was speaking.
I wasn’t capitulating to her and the fact that she nearly crushed her glass was proof that she was pissed about it. “I’m not here to argue with you, Desmond. I’m here to stress that when you go rogue and do your own thing, the rest of us are left to clean up the mess.”
She had a flair for the dramatic. “Rogue? Me finally telling a talented cook that, to be frank, is leaps and bounds more skilled than any of the five that are left, the truth-”
“If you want the truth, reality TV isn’t the place for you. The truth is painful, unhelpful, and since we’re being frank, boring.”
I tuned out the rest of the conversation, present in body only. I didn’t want to give Kara the satisfaction of knowing that she was right.
I was the one that pulled out my cellphone, scrolling to the entry I’d created for Sin. All the reasons this thing could end horribly paled in comparison to my need to explore. To figure out what it was about this woman that had gotten under my skin, closer than anyone had been in years.
I crafted my text, letting her know that this time, I wouldn’t hold back.
This time, I’d make her scream.
Chapter Two: Sophia
“I should end this interview right here. You’ve clearly lost your damn mind.”
Haunting music drifted like smoke from the speakers overhead. The doors of the elevator were like a fun house mirror, turning our reflections into shapeless, faceless caricatures. The walls seemed to creep in with every passing moment, like some sort of tomb. None of it was nearly as frightening as the glares I was getting from Mary - and the realization that my first swing at this covert stuff had blown up in my face.
I had no idea how long until we reached our destination; the office, or the roof so she could hurl me from it...
I bit my lip and cast a cautious eye in her direction. She was a far cry from the grinning woman who greeted me with a smile as big as her curly locks. She’d even hugged me, clucking her tongue at my extended hand, surprising me with how strong she was when she nearly lifted me off the floor. She stared straight ahead now, like she was ready to get out of the elevator before she went off on me.
