Mae let out a breath she must have been holding. “I can’t believe you just said that to her,” she whispered.
I shrugged. “Someone needed to.”
“She’s going to tell Ansel,” Mae said quietly, glancing nervously toward the doorway. “She always does when someone talks back.”
“Then let her,” I said. “I didn’t come here to make friends with Rina. I came to work. And if she wants a fight, she’ll get one.”
Mae looked at me with something close to admiration. “You’re brave,” she said softly.
“Brave or stupid,” I said. “We’ll see which one.”
Mae laughed under her breath, and the tension in the kitchen loosened a little. I moved toward one of the counters, running my fingers over the marble surface. It was cool and smooth beneath my skin. Everything in this kitchen screamed perfection, and yet t
