Everyone stared at Lyman, momentarily stunned.


    "Why not?" someone finally asked.


    Lyman looked around at them, his expression full of disdain. "Because you all hog my wife''s attention and I barely get any time with her."


    The group gaped at him, then quickly protested. "Lyman, that sounds so wrong! Don''t say stuff like that!"


    "Exactly! Anyone listening in would think I''m stealing your wife or something," Randell added with a snort.


    Everyone knew the unspoken rule: you don''t mess with a friend''s wife. No one here was that desperate.


    Lyman just shrugged. "Doesn''t matter. You''re all banned from hanging out with her."


    "Alright, alright, we get it, you hopeless romantic," Randell said, rolling his eyes. "If you don''t want your wife overworked, just say so. Why drag us into it?"


    Suddenly, Vinson Elliott chimed in, "Well, Lyman, you and Effie never even had a honeymoon. Why not let Randell organize a trip? You two can take it as ate honeymoon."


    Lyman shot Vinson a withering look. "Why would I want a crowd of third wheels on my honeymoon? I''m not crazy."


    Vinson was left speechless. He had to admit, Lyman had a point-but did he really have to be so dismissive?


    Randell burst outughing. "Nice one, Vinson. Great idea you had there."


    Vinson red at Randell as if to say, "Fine, you do better."


    Randell was never one to back down from a challenge.


    "Alright, I will!" he dered. Then he turned to Lyman. "My new resort on Whisperhollow Isle is about to open. I''m inviting the design team for a little celebration. You''re okay with that, right?"


    "No problem," Lyman replied.


    Vinson just sighed there was no stopping them now.


    "So it''s settled, then," Randell said.


    News spread quickly that the project team was going on a trip, and everyone else was green with envy. Nelly was especially upset, her face twisted in frustration.


    "Ugh, why can''t I go?" she whined to Irving Butler, pouting.


    Irving was just as annoyed. He''d tried to take over the project himself, knowing Randell was always generous with his team. But this? A free resort vacation? He hadn''t seen thating. And now, he was left out in the cold.


    Not everyone could get a piece of the pie, it seemed.


    ...


    "Need a hand?"


    Shirley saw someone struggling to lift a water cooler jug. She rushed over, eager to help.


    But the woman barely nced at Effie and Shirley before snapping, "No, I''ve got it!"


    She mmed the jug onto the dispenser with extra force, making a loud bang that startled both Shirley and Effie.


    Shirley pulled a face at Effie, making herugh.


    Effie understood perfectly well what was going on, but she couldn''t be bothered to


    care.


    Randell had only invited their small group because they''d done the hard work and finished the project. The others hadn''t contributed-why should they get to tag along?


    As Leni walked past Shirley, she suddenly stopped and said sourly, "If you''ve got so much free time, maybe fix the coffee machine for once? It keeps acting like it''s about to take off."


    Shirley blinked in confusion. "What? I just used it-everything was fine! The espresso pulled, the steamer worked... When did it break?"


    Effie, on the other hand, caught Leni''s drift immediately.


    She tugged Shirley away. "Come on, just ignore her."


    A little farther down the hall, Shirley whispered, "What''s her problem?"


    "She''s just jealous, but she won''t admit it, so she''s got to take it out on us."