The moment the words left her mouth, Nita suddenly remembered Shirley was still standing right there.


    But to her surprise, Shirley just smiled and said, "Don''t worry, Nita. I know about Effie and Mr. Etheridge. But..." She made a zipping motion across her lips, promising she''d keep the secret.


    Since Shirley was already in on it, Nita felt no need to hold back. She nudged Effie and whispered, "Go on, stake your im."


    Effie shook her head. "There''s no point. He''d never go for it."


    And just as Effie predicted, Lyman didn''t even look at the woman offering him food. He simply said, "Take it away."


    The woman''s face fell, disappointment flickering in her eyes. With a forced smile, she walked off, kebab in hand.


    "Wow, you totally called it," Nita said, watching her leave. "He doesn''t even bother pretending to be nice to his own staff."


    Shirley nodded in agreement. She was grateful for her own good sense-she''d never bother with something so thankless.


    Just then, Vinson Elliott waved in Nita''s direction. "Nita, bring some kebabs over for the three of us."


    Nita scoffed. She''d barely grilled enough for herself, and now she was supposed to share?


    "Greedy bosses-always taking the best for themselves!" she grumbled under her breath.


    "Wait, Nita, you work for Mr. Elliott?" Shirley looked surprised.


    Nita sighed. "Yeah, lucky me. I ended up as an employee at The Elliott Group. Now I''m stuck picking up after the boss."


    Shirley didn''t quite know how to respond. "But... Mr. Elliott doesn''t seem that... type of person..."


    Nita rolled her eyes. “People aren''t always what they seem. You''re still young. Give it time you''ll understand."


    Grabbing a handful of slightly charred kebabs, Nita stalked toward Vinson and his friends. If they wanted her to serve them, she''d make sure to give them the worst- looking ones. Maybe after one bite, Vinson would think twice before bossing her around again.


    Watching her approach, Randell raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think she''ll serve first?"


    Vinson shot him a look. "Obviously me. I''m her boss. Who else would she pick?"


    Randell grinned. "Don''t be so sure. Maybe she prefers handsome guys-maybe I''ll get mine first."


    Vinson rolled his eyes. "Dream on."


    Nita arrived and handed the kebabs to Lyman first. "Mr. Etheridge, Effie asked me to bring these over for you."


    Lyman nodded. "Thank you."


    "My pleasure."


    Randell and Vinson exchanged a look. Apparently, Lyman outshone them both in the charm department. Rookie mistake.


    Nita turned to Vinson, her face suddenly stered with an exaggerated, sugary smile. "Mr. Elliott, here are your kebabs."


    Vinson nearly jumped. "Uh-yeah, please don''t ever smile at me like that again."


    "Why not?" Nita asked, still forcing the grin.


    "It''s creepy," he said tly.


    Nita huffed inwardly but kept up her act. "Of course."


    She turned away, muttering under her breath, "Tight-fisted tyrant... exploiting your staff... hope you get struck by lightning..."


    "Miss Nita, what are you muttering about?" Vinson had somehow sidled up behind her.


    She jumped, startled, and hurried off. "Nothing at all!"


    Vinson jogged after her. "Hey, don''t run off-you forgot to bring me a te!"