Sydney.
Sydney dug her fingers into her hair. âIt doesnât matter. Dadâs will was specific. Once he reaches twenty-one, Dean is eligible to exercise his ownership rights over Decadent. Add that to the fact that heâs finished school and unemployed. . . .â
âLetâs not jump to conclusions,â JJ said, finally taking a spoonful of yogurt. âHe just graduated a month ago. He hasnât even moved back to Toronto yet. Heâs probably not even thinking about the shop. And even if he was, he knows youâve been running it since daddy died. I donât think heâs going to interfere.â
âAnd wasnât he doing some music program anyway?â Lissandra asked, dishing some fruit onto her own plate.
âItâs a dual degree, audio production and business management,â Sydney said.
Zelia cleared her throat. âUh, yeah, itâs not so dual anymore.â
âWhat?â Sydney and JJ said.
âHe kinda dropped the business management part.â Zelia kept her eyes on the piece of toast she was meticulously cutting up. âThe music program was really intense. It was hard for him to keep up with both. . . .â
âIn other words, he was failing his business courses,â Sydney said dryly.
Lissandra shook her head as she spooned sugar into her glass of orange juice. âI warned yaâll. I told yaâll he was gonna waste that money. Daddy was wrong to pay for Deanâs tuition like that. He shoulda made his behind pay for it with loans and elbow grease like the rest of us. Bet he wouldnât be failing nothinâ if it was coming out of his own pocket.â
âWith all that good English you just used, it sounds like you failed something,â Zelia muttered.
âDonât start on me, Miss unfinished degree,â Lissandra growled, pointing her spoon at Zelia. âAt least Deanâs done. You been at school almost six years now and still ainât finished your four-year degree.â
âItâs only been five years and you know I switched majors. . . .â
âMaybe you need to switch brains. . . .â
âOK, ladies, break it up,â Sydney said. âAll of us are going to have to switch jobs if we donât figure out this thing with Dean and Decadent.â
âI still think youâre overreacting. Deanâs not going to change anything anytime soon.â JJ wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood. âBut Iâll leave that to you and Lissandra. Iâve got a dress shop to run.â
Sydney absently watched JJ leave the room to gather her things before she headed out to the dress shop she ran with their mother.
âDonât worry about it, Syd,â Zelia said drawing Sydneyâs attention back to the table. âIâll talk to Dean and see what heâs thinking.â
âNo, thatâs OK,â Sydney said. âIâm gonna arrange something with him myself. I think I should be the one to bring it up.â
âYou sure?â Zelia asked. Sydney could see the worried expression in her younger sisterâs eyes.
âYeah.â Sydney waved away her sisterâs concern. âItâs no big deal. JJâs probably right anyway.â
âZelia! You coming or what?â JJ asked as she walked back through the dining area toward the front door. âYou know mom doesnât like opening up the shop on her own.â
âYeah, Iâm coming,â Zelia called back. She threw Sydney another sympathetic look before dashing off behind JJ.
Moments later Sydney heard the front door close, followed by the sound of a car engine, which soon faded. She turned to look at Lissandra.
Lissandra took a sip of her juice. âYou know this Dean thing is gonna be a mess, right?â
âOh yeah,â Sydney said. âWithout a doubt.â
Â
The mess was waiting for Sydney by the time she got to work.
Though it was only after