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Rhys nodded vigorously in agreement. “Damn straight. You won’t catch me putting out fires out in the middle of nowhere.”
“And, what’s this thing they’re talking about now? Zombie fires?” Phyllis asked, her eyes shifting to me.
“Those are fires that never really go out. They smolder underground during colder months and pop back up later,” I explained.
The bell jingled on the door behind us, just as Hazel asked, “What can we get you two?”
Rhys glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, there’s Tish. I’ll cover hers.”
I might’ve guessed it was Tish based on the prickle of awareness that rose on the back of my neck.
I glanced over when she stopped behind us. Rhys stepped to the side, gesturing her forward between him and me.
He studied the bakery display case. “Are those lemon muffins?”
Phyllis nodded. “Lemon filled muffins,” she said with emphasis.
“They’re really a pastry disguised as a muffin,” Hazel added.
I chuckled. “Kinda like a doughnut with filling, but it’s a muffin?”
Tish let out a muffled laugh, and I glanced toward her. “You know you want one.”
Her cheeks went a little pink when she looked up at me. “Actually, I do.” She looked over at Rhys. “And, you don’t have to pay for mine.”
“I’m getting it for you,” he insisted. “Hazel won’t let you pay for it.” He narrowed his eyes at Hazel.
Hazel chuckled. “It’s a work expense for him, Tish. I am sure you go above and beyond for Rhys all day long at the office.”
Rhys’s wife, Haven, appeared through the back door. She used to work here and often stopped in to chat and occasionally fill in in a pinch. She heard the tail end of Hazel’s comment, interjecting, “I don’t know what I would do without Tish. She saves me every day.”
Rhys looked affronted as he glanced from his wife to Hazel to Phyllis and Tish. “I don’t make Tish work too much.”
I chuckled. “From what I hear, Tish makes it so you don’t have to ask for anything. You forget we all had to put up with your venting back before you had an assistant when you were in Seattle.” I glanced to Haven. “Have we ever told you how stressed out he was back then?”
Rhys let out an aggrieved sigh. “I worked too much, and I should’ve gotten an assistant much sooner.”
Tish stayed quiet through all of this. I glanced down at her, teasing, “You’re a smart woman. Stay out of this.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
Chapter Six
Tish
Smart woman, ha! My mind taunted me.
A smart woman wouldn’t have the hots for her very important boss’s brother and one of the family members who technically owned the corporation where I worked, even if he didn’t work there at the moment. This was, by far, the best job I’d ever had. I most definitely didn’t want to screw this up. My life was financially stable and peaceful, and I wanted to keep it that way.
I smiled up at Griffin, trying not to literally burst into flames under the heat of his gaze. A moment later, Rhys handed me the coffee and muffin that I had tried and failed to pay for.
“I should—” I began.
Rhys cut in, “I don’t mean to interrupt, but you don’t have to hurry into the office early. It makes me feel like I’m a slacker with you getting there before me every single day.”
Haven, who also worked for Fireweed Industries, smiled over at me. “Do whatever you need to do, Tish.” She glanced to Rhys. “If I were her, and you were my boss –”
Griffin interjected, “You are kind of his boss.” He winked at Rhys.
