𝐿𝐼𝑀𝐼𝑇𝐿𝐸𝑆𝑆 | 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐊𝐄𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐍

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄

—𝐴𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖—

𝐈

"𝐒𝐈𝐓."

Aditi watched in amusement as Bobby groaned. It had become a pastime of hers to watch Bobby fail at training the puppy, who was oblivious to the frustration as she grinned and wagged her tail.

He waved the small piece of chicken in front of her face, and Aditi smiled as she watched her eyes follow the meat.

"Sit, girl," he coaxed, but still, she wouldn't budge.

Aditi moved her gaze to Bobby. It had been a couple of weeks since she had told him about Riya, and, to be honest, she was still surprised with herself about the confession. As soon as she had gotten hired at Kings, she had sworn to herself that no one could find out why she was there—she couldn't trust anyone, even the ones whose loyalties didn't lie with Queenie. She had one job, and she was going to see it through. That meant laying low and keeping her mouth shut.

Bobby was unlike the other workers, that was for sure. Much quieter. A little more ambitious. Definitely weird. But this whole time, her mind had never strayed away from her original plan of saying nothing.

But then he had caught her red-handed with the menu, and though she had plenty of time to come up with an excuse, nothing had come to mind. She wasn't sure if he would rat her out—especially since she knew he had his own reason for working there—but she wasn't willing to take that chance. Or at least, she thought she wasn't.

Strangely enough, when she had told him the truth, there was no fear in her heart. She wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about him that made her trust him. When he had promised not to tell her secret, she whole-heartedly believed him. She was never one to be naive, and, honestly, she did feel a little nervous about it all, but her gut told her she had made the right decision.

And after that, hopefully he had realized he wasn't so alone in this hellish job.

"C'mon, girl," he murmured, using one hand to gently push down the puppy's back, though she resisted. "Just like that. Sit."

"You should give her a name," Aditi told him.

Bobby turned his head toward her, his eyebrows pinching together. "A name?"

She hummed, beckoning the puppy to come toward her. When the puppy only looked at her and tilted her head, Aditi picked out a piece of chicken from the bag that was beside Bobby and waved it at her. That convinced her to move toward her.

She tried to get her to sit, but just like the man beside her, she failed. Still, she gave the puppy the meat and petted her back.

"What should I name her?" Bobby asked as the puppy pawed at her knee for more chicken.

"I don't know." Aditi shrugged. "A common name, or something. Bella, Princess . . ."

"My friend had a dog named Bella when I was a kid," he said, glancing at her for a moment. "Much bigger dog, but she was sweet." A small smile appeared on his face as the puppy walked over to him, and he scratched the sides of her face. "Do you like that name?" he said softly to the puppy, who only grinned back at him. "Bella?"

Aditi checked her watch. Their break only lasted fifteen minutes, and as much as she would much rather spend the rest of the night with Bella, they were nearing the end. "It's almost eight. Alphonso'll be waiting."

Bobby sighed, dropping the rest of the chicken onto the newspaper he had already set out before wiping his palm on his apron.

After scratching Bella's back and murmuring a goodbye, Aditi headed back in. She changed from her kitchen uniform into her waitress attire, and then stopped in front of the mirror. Her lips turned downward as she took in her mess of hair—some of it had fallen out of her ponytail thanks to the constant running around in the kitchen plus the windy day.