Chapter Text
Oh. It's Them Again
O H. I T’S T H E M A G A I N
C H A P T E R 1
Leonardo Valdez stood in front of the tall building, craning his neck to see the top. The music from his headphones blasted into his ears.
The 60 floor skyscraper parting the clouds belonged to a single company. The one and only Ambrosia & Nectar. One of the largest food companies in the world. Competitor to those such as Pepsi, Mondelez, Kraft Heinz, etc. The company was a supplier to establishments such as hotels and restaurants to the average Joe. From chocolates and candy to drinks and baby food, fast food essentials to TV dinners and plenty of other things. A large chunk of the ingredients were sustainably produced in the US and the finished products were distributed in over 150 countries around the world.
Founded by one poorly paid chef named Konstantinos Olympiados to spite his father and old boss back in Greece in the 1950s, Ambrosia & Nectar was now one of the biggest global players out there and worth one-hundred billion US dollars in the year 2020.
Chefs like Gordan Ramsay, Rachael Ray, Andre Chiang and Dominique Crenn swore on their products and used them in their restaurants and occasionally advertised them on sponsorship of course.
The commercials had enticed Leo as a kid. Dancing strawberries, apples, grapes and bananas for their delicious rainbow colored Iris Yoghurt. Singing chocolate fountains for the Ancient Rome themed Jupiter chocolate bars. Hot sauce in the cutest bottle imaginable, yelling at you to buy it. Leo was pretty sure he still had a hot sauce plushie somewhere in the basement back in Texas which he had won at a raffle. Oh, the good old days. His mother Esperanza had always secretly used the tortillas from Ambrosia & Nectar instead of making them from scratch, much to his grandfather Samuel’s dismay during their weekly Burrito Friday tradition. Leo smiled.
The fondness of the memory made his heart swell in pride because now the famous food company had its newest addition to the team: Leonardo Valdez, freshly out of college, started his first day as an IT engineer for the company after acing several interviews, tests and the final end boss also known as the assessment center. He had sat in a room with twenty other contestants in the span of two days, playing out different scenarios, creating presentations and networking to possible future bosses.
And Leo made it! He proved that he was one of the best. The salary was a dream and the benefits were the cherry on top. The fact that he had managed to snag this position made his family back in Texas party so loud and hard that the cops had almost been called.
His nervousness made his fingers tingle in a very unpleasant way, but he still managed to bop his head to DJ Khaled’s All I Do Is Win.
The ID card wrapped around his fingers had been sent to his new home in Spanish Harlem two weeks ago. A place with a lovely landlady named Maria who was happy when rent was on time, the heater was working, and the roof wasn’t leaking, had given him the sacred envelope. Leo was living together with his cousin Valentina Diaz, until he was set enough to find his own place, which would take forever since he was now a New Yorker.
Leonardo Valdez, Junior IT Engineer, Ambrosia & Nectar. The picture of him was actually not shitty and the flash highlighted his brown nose. In it, grinned like he had won the lottery. Which he sort of did. First day, here we go, he thought and walked into the building along with three other people. His future coworkers – no, his actual coworkers. He took the headphones off, placed them into his black backpack and smiled at them. They smiled back. The doorman Argus nodded at the three familiar faces in front of him as they pressed their cards on the board and passed the hub. “Ah, one of the newbies. Dakota Johnson? Leonardo Valdez? Ben–“
“Leonardo Valdez! Yeah, that’s me,” stated Leo and showed him his ID card.
“In that case: welcome to your new home,” smiled the old doorman and let him move forward. Leo nodded, said a quiet “Thank you!” and passed the hub.
Clerks sat at the reception area and were already buzzing around like excited bees and calling people or picking up calls. The tall walls were decorated with the company logo, and old pictures of the first office building and production hall in Greece. Pictures of Konstantinos and his first wife Rhea were shown cutting the ribbon for the New York building some twenty something years ago. Pictures of quotes attached to nearly invisible strings of the heads of department floated in the room like clouds.
Products, old and new, were displayed in the middle in showcases made from pristine glass. Among them Leo’s beloved hot sauce called La Lengua de Mamacita.
The new engineer moved forward to the area with the elevators. Five on the left and five on the right. “Oh, they really mean business,” Leo stuttered and shook his dark brown curls. Everything was clean and shining. He felt underdressed next to his nice shoes, the black jeans and the white dress shirt.
Leo checked his phone and re-read the old email. Take the elevator to the 28th floor. IT department on your first day at nine o’clock, wrote his new boss Charles Beckendorf, head of the IT department.
Leo called an elevator and pressed the right button. The doors closed and he felt the slight air pressure building up as he was shot into the floors above. “Floor twenty-eight,” announced the robotic, female voice and the doors opened with a ping.
People were already up and about, drinking coffees, running around, laughing, carrying various computer and laptop parts around and having meetings in four separate aisles in the middle of the hallway of the IT department. Leo left the elevator and a young girl pushed a cart with several new MacBooks into it.
“You must be Leonardo, right?” said a young man who was not much younger than Leo was. “I’m Harley, one of the ten interns. Beckendorf is already waiting for you.”
Harley shook Leo’s hand. “Come, you’ll have your round through the office and get introduced to everyone.”
“Wow. It’s really busy,” Leo commented as he caught glimpses on other’s screens and desktops. “This is only Monday morning. Trust me, it’s going to get a lot worse in a few hours,” laughed Harley. The two stood in front of a mighty wooden door. Charles J. Beckendorf, Chief Information Executive was written next to it in golden letters.
“Come in!” said the deep voice of the man inside. Harley opened the door and the two slid into the large office that belonged to their boss.
“Ah, you brought me our newest addition to the team, thank you Harley.”
Harley nodded and left. Leo shook hands again and had the feeling that Mr. Beckendorf could crush his bones easily at any given moment. He was tall and athletic, to say the least. Two things Leo definitely wasn’t.
“Leonardo Valdez. Newest IT engineer with the highest interview score in the entire IT department. I was definitely impressed to say the least. I think Piper and Nyssa made the correct choice by introducing you to me.”
“Just Leo, sir. And thank you, Mr. Beckendorf, sir.” Leo got nervous. The tingles came back.
“Just Beckendorf,” corrected Beckendorf. “No sir nonsense. Mr. Beckendorf is my old man and the only person that calls me Charlie is my wife,” he laughed with a booming voice.
Beckendorf’s openness visibly relaxed the newbie. Leo had a hunch that he was going to like it at Ambrosia & Nectar.
“Let me show you around and introduce you, Leo. We hope that you’ll like it here. We work flexible, you can work remotely from home if you talk with us first. We’ll arrange breakfast and give half an hour to an hour of lunch. Depends on you and what suits you best.”
Leo nodded as Beckendorf showed him the offices and introduced him to dozens of people all at once. He was overwhelmed but tried to shrug it off.
“And you’ve picked the perfect time for your start at the company. The first advanced training will kick off in a month and a half and we’ll do them by going from office to office.”
“Oh, perfect!” Leo stated. He was a fast learner and couldn’t say no to new opportunities.
Leo and Beckendorf stood in front of the elevators. “I know it is confusing. So many names. So many new faces. A huge building with hundreds of rooms. But you’ll manage. You’re smart, you’re driven. I’m pretty sure you’ll do well.”
Leo could only nod as Beckendorf’s compliments silenced his voice. “This is why I’m giving you a real challenge to prove your worth. Your new place will not be here. But rather a few floors above us.” Beckendorf called an elevator.
“In the marketing and sales department.”
“Oh?” That hadn’t been written in the application for the job.
“Computer science and engineering are so logical, simply mathematical. An equation. Strict boxes. Zeroes and ones. Googling if you don’t know the answers of course. With marketing… things run differently. You’ll see soon.” The elevator stopped and opened the door for them.
“Hey Beckendorf! And… oh hello new person?” greeted a blonde guy carrying a laptop and latte. He walked up to them.
“Lucas Castellan, this is Leonardo Valdez, new blood in IT,” introduced Beckendorf.
“Luke, head of accounting, nice to meet you,” Luke managed to shake Leo’s hand without dropping his latte. “Leo, likewise.”
Luke pressed the button to open the elevator doors and turned around. “Leo is going to stay here at marketing and join Nyssa’s team,” Beckendorf explained.
“Oh…” Luke’s cerulean eyes widened, and he frowned slightly as he looked at Leo. Leo noticed that a thin scar ran across his left eye. “My sincere condolences. Have fun in the lion’s den. Well, I have to go. See you at lunch, Beckendorf?”
Beckendorf nodded and Luke pressed the elevator button which closed the door.
The lion’s den?, asked Leo himself. “What did Luke mean with his comment?”
Leo saw how Beckendorf’s stance tensed. “Oh, it’s not that bad.”
Well shit, Leo thought. What have I gotten myself into?
“It will just take a while to adjust to the dynamics in here.” Beckendorf said and brought Leo into the hallway. The offices looked large and were shared by at least two people. Different names and positions hung next to the doors. People were also busy, but it was nothing like the IT department. While everyone on the 28th floor was already slowly starting to panic and descend into chaos, the marketing managers and assistants took their time. Some even ate breakfast on the way into the office. Others slowly waltzed into the place. And the dress code was different, no sneakers, no ripped jeans, but high heels and polished golf shoes. Leo was glad that his mother had forced him to buy a suit or three prior to his first internship back in college. He had been severely overdressed in the small agencies. But now? He was severely underdressed.
A small employee that was quick on her feet shifted into a familiar figure.
“Yes. I’ll have the files translated into French so that we can push forward. The subsidiaries in France, Haiti, Canada and the Ivory Coast have the basic ideas, but they need more of course. We won’t allow these Swiss slavers from Nestlé to gain any more market power,” hissed one agitated junior product manager named Hazel Levesque into the company smartphone as she was on her way back out of an office. She threw her braids over her shoulder.
“So what? We got all the monetary resources we need. Prepare for war, Nico. Commercial wise and especially on social media and oh my god!”
Her jaw dropped to the floor as she registered who stood proudly grinning next to Charles Beckendorf. “Nico, tell me later how it's going with the Italian social media sites and when you’ll be back from your trip to Venice. I’ve got to go!” She ended the call.
“Leonardo!”
Leo grinned as Hazel tackled him in front of Beckendorf who furrowed his forehead in confusion. “Now Miss Levesque, what is going on?”
“Leo is an old childhood friend that neither told me that he applied for a position in here, nor that he actually got it!” Hazel was ready to punch his arm but held back because of the work environment.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to spoil the surprise!” the engineer grinned.
“Spoil the surprise, my ass! He always pulls stunts like this!” complained Hazel to Beckendorf. “He’s the type of kid to go missing in the neighborhood only to be found at a friend’s house three hours later after everything had been frantically searched.” Beckendorf started to laugh.
Leo’s tip of the nose felt very hot. “Okay, we don’t need to spill all of my childhood secrets out to my boss, do we?”
Hazel looked at her old friend in annoyance for a second, but he had a point. “I see you’re in good hands already,” smiled Beckendorf.
“Does Reyna know?” asked Hazel.
“Who?” questioned Beckendorf.
“His cousin Reyna Ramírez de Arellano. From nutrition, above the HR floor.”
Leo scratched his head. That basically meant no. “You’re related to Reyna? Wow. The world is a small place.” Beckendorf shrugged.
“She’s going to kill you,” Hazel promised and Beckendorf for once nodded along. The head of the IT department had seen how Reyna made sure she won an argument in meetings. She didn’t care about your position and privilege. She cared about being right.
“Well, I’m on my way to my meeting. We’re going to talk during lunch!” Hazel threatened. Leo just raised his hands to express his surrender.
“That was interesting. Anyway. Let me show you your new workplace!”
Beckendorf brought Leo into an office in the middle of the marketing hallway. It was medium sized and home to two people. Another desk had been attached to theirs which gave an overall T shape. Leo’s new working station. “This is Nyssa Barrera. She’s the person in charge and directly responsible for everything that goes on here. Sick calls, vacation and other days off, yadda yadda. She’s it. You should know each other from the assessment center? She helped you with the presentation, correct?”
Leo nodded. Nyssa held her index finger up to say, “Give me one second.”
“Alright Thalia! Glad I could help you, bye!” Nyssa ended her Skype call, put her headset down and greeted Leo. The guy with the buzzcut and large rainbow tattoo on his forearm, who was also sitting in front of the window threw a “Hi!” into the room before he answered an incoming call.
“Hey Drew, here’s Butch, what can I do for you?” he said. A few seconds of silence followed. “Have you tried turning it off and on again? Yes, I hate Photoshop as well. Command and S are your best friends! Give me a minute and let me check your license.”
“Hey Leo! Nice seeing you again and welcome to our little team! Trust me, you’ll be busy and stay busy. Butch and I will show you around and explain your tasks and believe me... We’re the backbone of society. Give it a week, pfft, three days, and you know the ins and outs of every basic problem for the people around you.” Leo was glad that Butch and Nyssa wore casual stuff and weren’t as dressed up as the rest from the marketing team. Seeing Hazel in a blouse and nicely fitted pants instead of the usual oversized hoodie and the comfortable maxi skirt was an unusual sight.
“Here’s your work station.” A clean, height-adjustable desk with three monitors on it, a cushioned swivel chair, a brand-new headset and an iPhone X as a company smartphone next to a goodie bag filled with products, instructions and more awaited the young college graduate.
“Oh wow!” The place was everything one could wish for. For now. Leo placed his backpack next to his swivel chair. “This is awesome!”
Leo’s delight put a smile on the faces of Nyssa and Beckendorf. Beckendorf positioned him near the exit. “One final thing before I’ll go. Let me introduce you to the most important person on the floor. Hell, the building. The unofficial number one. Perseus Jackson himself.”
Leo’s eyes widened. He followed him out of the office. Why would Beckendorf introduce him to someone as important as Perseus Jackson? He was just a kid barely out of college who would spend his time behind a computer. Perseus Jackson was a legend.
“He’s basically the CEO. Whatever he wants, you’ll grant him every wish. No questions.”
“But I thought Zeus Olympiados was the CEO?”
“Jackson’s the grandson of the founder and nephew of the current CEO. His word matters. Trust me, you’ll never get to see Zeus under normal circumstances and neither do you want to. Should something go inherently wrong, you go to Jackson first, Olympiados second,” explained Beckendorf as they headed to Jackson’s office.
It was directly in the same position as Beckendorf’s only instead of a wooden door there was a glass front. Perseus T. Jackson, head of marketing. Leo saw how Perseus Jackson was typing at an impressive speed into his computer and spoke to a woman dressed in a pencil skirt and pink blouse at the same time. Instead of knocking like Leo would have, Beckendorf just entered.
The tensed demeanor from the people behind the desk shifted into a more carefree and optimistic one. The woman with perfectly styled black curls made her way to the man that stood next to Leo.
“Silena,” Beckendorf hugged her.
“Charlie,” Silena smiled and kissed his cheek. That must be the wife, Leo concluded. “And you’re the newbie?” Silena’s eyes shifted to him. She looked friendly and her soft voice oozed with curiosity. The warmth she radiated only added to her beauty.
Leo nodded. “Great. Have fun here! And if Charlie bothers you, just tell me! I’ll deal with it!” Beckendorf rolled his eyes but cracked a grin regardless. His wife turned to Mr. Jackson again. “I’ll speak to Thalia and get the files.”
“Thank you, Silena!” spoke the head of marketing. His voice was deep, rich and had a pleasant timbre. Leo knew with one look that this Jackson guy was rich. Rich rich. Filthy rich. The way his navy-blue three-piece suit was tailored meant that he didn’t spend a few hundred bucks on it. He spent thousands.
Leo had to admit that Perseus Jackson was a good-looking man. The picture in the foyer wasn’t airbrushed. He really looked that way. Healthy brown skin, prominent jawline, Colgate smile and two birthmarks which rounded up the picture. Half-Greek, half-Dominican. Definitely taller than the scrawny guy from IT. Leo wouldn’t have thought that it was possible for a human to possess that piercing turquoise eye color but the picture of Rhea Olympiados in the foyer proved the opposite. Her grandson had inherited her eye color and more than just good looks it seemed.
The fade on the sides of his head was the cleanest that Leo had ever seen in his life. It was that clean. The black curls and swirls that sat on his head were neatly styled as well.
Perseus Jackson got on his feet with a swift and elegant move and buttoned his jacket. His boyish grin made Leo already feel like he was at home and had nothing to fear, like he was cracking jokes with friends and not having his first day.
“New assistance for the mini marketing IT department? Wonderful! Call me Percy.”
Leo’s hand hurt from the amount of People that shook it. Percy’s cold golden wedding ring however branded itself into Leo’s skin. “Just Leo!” retorted the newbie.
“Alright just Leo,” interrupted Beckendorf. “Like I said. If this guy wants you to be his stool and warm his feet, you do so without any questions.”
“Oh hush, Beckendorf! You and your hierarchy talks.” Percy waved with his hand in a joking manner. “But yes, I am related to the founders and owners of this enormous company. And no, nepotism didn’t get me this far.” He put his hands on his chest as if he was about to swear an oath.
“Only this thingy right here!” He pointed to his head. Beckendorf laughed and Leo shyly grinned.
“I’m pretty sure your grandfather would prefer to see you in your uncle’s position,” chimed Beckendorf in.
“Oh yes, trust me. He said that repeatedly. We had that discussion countless times before his passing.” Annoyance briefly ran across Percy’s face. It was replaced by sadness. The Ambrosia and Nectar’s founder had died only two years ago as a result of cancer.
“My condolences, Percy,” spoke Leo. He knew how hard it was to deal with death. His own grandfather died because of a stroke ten years ago and death nearly took his mother in wildfires in Texas. Her leg was burned but she managed to get out at the right time. Her mechanic shop was gone, unfortunately, but Esperanza Valdez was a fighter and started anew and was successful in the end.
“Thank you, Leo. I have to say, I really hated this guy,” confessed Percy.
“Oh.” Leo said with wide eyes and unable to hide his shock which made Beckendorf snicker. What a great start by saying the exact wrong thing right into the most important person in the entire building. The engineer’s heart started racing as the feeling of embarrassment flooded his body.
“Can you imagine that this man forbade me from eating the Lightning Bolt cookies as a kid? And my parents just agreed to this madness?”
The embarrassment that Leo had just felt vanished with a quickness. Relief took its place.
Percy pouted which looked weird as he was at least in his forties. “The first time that I had them was when I was twelve! Twelve I tell you!” The way he waved with his hands made it clear that it really still bothered him.
“The first time I ate them was at my uncle’s house in Los Angeles after seeing that guy after a whole eternity. I had to sneak past his three rottweilers, but I bribed them with some treats when they woke up from the ruckus.” Percy shook his head.
“Sounds like an entire odyssey for some Lightning Bolt cookies,” joked Leo, which made Beckendorf smile and Percy nod.
“It was definitely worth it, trust me!” laughed Percy.
Leo had the feeling that he was severely underestimating Perseus T. Jackson. He amassed the behavior of a class clown with the ease of his smile, but his eyes were off. They sparked with an unseen kind of insight and intelligence that Leo knew that without a doubt he had spoken the truth earlier. Calculating. Strategizing. Waiting. He had earned his spot with his wits. Not because he was born into all of this money.
The chatting and joking were interrupted by the sound of angry heels on the floor. The door opened and shut behind them. Leo and Beckendorf flinched, Percy looked annoyed at the intruder. She was tall. She had elegant sharp features. The makeup was reduced to a minimum. She had a soft vacation tan that looked like it would fade away with a quickness with the New York weather. The woman had an attitude that wasn’t allowing fun and jokes within a ten miles radius around her. The red blazer cut Percy’s blue jacket.
“Jackson, a word!” she demanded. She sounded stern. Too stern. Almost as if she wanted to hide her Southern Belle accent with her boldness. The blonde locks were tied in the strictest bun that Leo had ever seen. She has a strong scalp, he noted.
She didn’t care that Percy was busy. She crossed her arms and her gray eyes sparked anger. Leo looked up to Beckendorf. What the fuck is going on? Beckendorf just looked back. Just sit back and watch.
“Annabeth,” Percy pouted. “I’m busy. I have guests.” He pointed to Beckendorf and the newbie.
Leo gulped. Annabeth’s large gray eyes pierced him. Calculating, way more than Percy was. Cold. She paid attention to him for a good second. Leo felt goosebumps coming and his hair standing up on his neck and arms. Then Annabeth merely harrumphed. Pretty sure she would have sneered if she hadn’t been interrupting Percy for something important. “Why is he here?” asked Annabeth and ignored Leo’s presence.
Leo let out a deep breath. For once he was glad that he was being ignored. But he would have to learn how to navigate this place just like the systems he was supposed to pay attention to.
“I’m Leo Valdez, the new junior IT engineer for marketing.” Leo jumped over his own shadow and blabbed.
“Leo, this is Annabeth Chase. One of our company lawyers. Her specialty lies within food law,” introduced Percy.
Annabeth turned around to the latest addition to the team one more time. “Oh?” she made and raised a sharp eyebrow. Then she did the unexpected: she laughed. It didn’t look like someone like Annabeth Chase was able to laugh. It sounded like wind chimes. A clear high sound. It was beautiful and melodious. Then Annabeth remembered that she was in Jackson’s office for business and not pleasure.
“You’re the new guy helping out? Good luck with that, you’ll need it. Beckendorf, you should have hired four new engineers. Five, maybe even. I’m sure you don’t want to burn out dear Leo on his first day.” Her smile was honest as well as the amusement in her eyes. Whether she meant her comment serious or not, that wasn’t something Leo could tell from the get-go.
The brunet swallowed. “Regardless, I need to speak to dear Perseus over here.” Annabeth said and turned around to the frozen smile of Percy. She waved in his direction as if he were a pageant boy and not one of the richest and most powerful people in the city.
“Oh… you need to speak with moi?” Percy asked, the sarcasm dripping through every single word.
“Well, personally I don’t really care about the lawsuit against the FDA but oh wait! You put them on my radar! And if we’re going to lose, guess what? Everyone’s going to blame me and therefore tarnish my reputation!”
The anger wasn’t there yet although it was being hinted at in Annabeth’s voice. Percy frowned and Annabeth’s stare became as cold as a winter breeze. Beckendorf saw between the unlikely pair. He coughed.
Annabeth and Percy then both laid their gaze upon him. “Nice seeing the both of you. And Leo got to see the both of you, which is incredibly important. I’ll bring him back to Nyssa, so that he can continue his training.”
Percy waved at Leo while Annabeth did nothing. Her focus remained on the brown-skinned man standing in front of her. The minute Leo and Beckendorf stepped out of the office, the two of them bickering started anew until the glass door fell shut and muzzled their voices.
“See, what did I tell you?” Beckendorf shook his head as he brought Leo back into his office space. “The drama revolving around Annabeth and Percy alone will keep you entertained. Who knows what’s cooking up elsewhere on these floors?”
Nyssa snickered and Butch just shook his head.
“Well I grew up watching telenovelas,” Leo joked as he finally put his backpack next to his new work station.
“Oh, perfect,” laughed Beckendorf.
“But seriously. How bad can it be?” Leo turned to his boss. Well one of his bosses. Said boss only raised an eyebrow.
“Trust me, you’ll see. Very soon. Very very soon.” With that, Beckendorf took his leave.
“Don’t worry, Leo. You’ll be severely entertained here. It’s no secret that the marketing and sales departments are the most loathed among the company. Next to arts and design. Then the nutritionists. And then HR,” promised Nyssa.
“Only then HR?” repeated Leo. Oh boy. He was in for a wild ride.
“Well, let’s make you familiar with everything you’ll be facing,” Butch said and made his way over to Leo. “Trust me. Some of the requests are going to make you rip your hair out. Hence my recent buzz cut.”
“I won’t back down from a good challenge,” Leo promised and rolled his sleeves up.
*****
The second Leo set everything up with his computer he had already been bombarded with calls and emails from coworkers that said, “Hi Leo! Welcome to our company. I recommend the bifteki in the cafeteria. Also, I need your help!”
Most things could have been resolved if people actually used their brains and pulled a few tricks out of their own sleeves before crying for help, but Leo understood the frustration if you weren’t as tech savvy as the younger generation, or if the easy solutions truly didn’t work out, or you were afraid of accidentally breaking something and therefore being responsible for it.
A knock disrupted his focus. Hazel leaned at the door frame. “Lunch?” she proposed.
“You two go, I’ll stay!” Butch said as he was about to answer another call.
“Great, see you in a bit!” Nyssa winked. Leo got up as well.
“Don’t forget your ID card. We need to recharge it,” Hazel reminded Leo.
“Oh sure.” Leo grabbed the neck strap and followed the two women.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you something,” Hazel stopped walking and confessed.
“And what?” Nyssa and Leo asked at the same time.
“LEONARDO!” Leo flinched and turned to the door where a very vicious looking cousin was awaiting him.
“I invited Reyna,” Hazel grinned and looked mischievously as Reyna tore into Leo in Spanish, much to Nyssa’s amusement who understood them perfectly.
“Is it really necessary to call your aunt and complain about this?” Nyssa giggled as they entered the large posh space that was the cafeteria after stepping out of the elevator.
“Absolutely! The disrespect!” Reyna punished Leo with a sour look. “I said I’m sorry,” whined her cousin.
“Of course, you are!” Reyna rolled her eyes. “Anyway. Get the enchiladas. That’s the best thing in here.”
“Yeah, if the people from logistics left some,” Hazel sighed. “That Grover Underwood guy just piles up on them.”