Page 99 of You Chive Me Crazy

ChapterTwenty-Two

ZOE

I had just returned home from Moody’s Food Truck Commissary, a local hub where I store my truck when it wasn’t in use. Fortunately, they also offer a service to clean it from top to bottom, which I happily signed up for, especially since that was the least-favorite part of my job.

I poured myself a glass of wine and went straight to the backyard, my sanctuary. I sat down on the patio chair, taking in the garden's beauty, the fresh air, and the feeling of being home again. I glanced at a blue bird drinking from the fountain as a gentle breeze wafted through the trees.

I inhaled a deep breath, let it out slowly, then smiled.

It immediately reminded me of Lucas and the way he did his meditations and breathing techniques whenever he got a little overwhelmed.

I missed him.

Silly, I know, since I had just seen him last night.

Lucas’s ears must have been burning because my phone rang at that exact moment, his name popping up on the screen.

“I was starting to think you were avoiding me,” I joked after answering the call. “Either that or you were out feverishly shopping for towels all day.”

“Bingo—I’m actually wearing one of them right now,” he said.

“Can we hang up and do a video call?”

“No way. You just want to record it for your own guilty pleasure,” Lucas said. “I’m on to you, cheese fry.”

“Maybe,” I said, laughing. “How did things go today?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Yes. I do. That’s what couples do. They communicate.”

Silence.

“Hello?” I said. “Are you there?”

“You called us a couple,” Lucas said.

“Are we not a couple?”

“I’d like to think so.”

“Then it’s settled,” I said. “We’re one happy couple.”

More silence.

“Our coupledom appears to be comatose,” I said. “What’s going on over there?”

Lucas sighed. “Sorry, it’s been kind of a crazy day. I found out that what Damian paid Lazlo to do toyouwas a set-up to getmeto write a review aboutyou, which is considered a conflict of interest, sinceweare a couple, resulting inmegetting fired, losing my severance, and thenDamiantakingmyjob.”

I was speechless.

It wasn’t a surprise there was exasperation in Lucas’s voice as he shared what he had discovered. Nobody should have to go through that. How could his boss be so stupid as to think that was a smart idea in the first place?

“Hello? First comatose, now mute. Should I call for the defibrillators?” Lucas joked. “Now, who’s the one who doesn’t know how to communicate?”

“Sorry. That’s just about the craziest thing I’ve ever heard,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “I don’t like violence, but wouldn’t it be nice if some random person just kicked him in the nuts? I can’t believe Damian is working atDevour Americanow. In your place!”

“Well, that’s not exactly how things rolled out,” Lucas said. “When they tried to strip me of my two years severance, I threatened to go public with the video of Damian and Lazlo. That got my boss to reinstate my severance and fire Damian.”