Coffee Buds

11. Black Coffee

“why didn’t you tell me! Fuck, I just poisoned Short Black Girl! Oh my God!” Cube panicked.

Amanda couldn’t help herself and started laughing. Clark had told her that Cube was going to add honey in the coffee just to be sure she wasn’t allergic. Cube thought no one knew about his secret ingredient, but Clark did. They decided to play a little joke on him for cheating. It was supposed to go a little while longer but Amanda couldn’t hold in her laughter.

Cube stood shell shocked as he watched his best friend and Short Black Girl laughing. “Are you kidding me? You guys almost gave me a heart attack.”

“It’s what you get for cheating,” Clark said and Cube glared at him.

“You are all a bunch of assholes.”

Amanda’s laugh subsided as she buried her face in Clark’s chest. He smelled like coffee beans. She loved it.

The bell chimed signaling a new arrival and Amanda moved away from the sweet smell of Clark to look at the new arrival.

Her eyes widened when she saw who stood there in an immaculately tailored suit that was made for him.

Her father.

Though different individuals who wore similar attires walked in here, her father looked out of place.

He frowned when he saw her. “Daughter, what is the meaning of this?”

He obviously saw that moment when she was in his arms. This was not good. Her father was bound to read the whole situation all wrong. And not just him. But Clark too.

“Daughter?” Clark looked down at Amanda.

Like the first time she had walked into the shop and Clark had talked to her, she was lost for words. The words flying around in her head. She couldn’t figure out what she needed to say to diffuse the situation.

Come on, brain, please do something before she ruined this.

“I-I can explain,” she said but she didn’t know who she was talking to when she said that.

She looked to her father who was looking at the lack of distance between her and Clark. She could see his mind whirling.

“Is this how you decided to save your coffee shop? Seducing my daughter to get what you want,” Mr Smith took a menacing step towards Clark.

Amanda started to shake her head.

“What are you talking about?” Clark said. “Amanda?”

He was pleading with her. He obviously didn’t want it to be true. He didn’t want this man to be her father. But he was. She has never felt shame at calling him her father, but gosh did she feel it.

This man was taking the man she loved’s dreams away and she despised him for it.

“Amanda,” her father called her. He never called her by her name. Daughter was all the acknowledgement he could give. Amanda deduced it was because she shared the name with his own mother.

She tried to gather her thoughts together, she was being pulled in two different directions and she had no idea which way to go.

“Amy, what’s going on?” Clark asked.

She knew he didn’t want to believe any of this. He would feel betrayed and Amanda never wanted to betray Clark.

“what is going on here, is that you’ve been playing with my daughter, pulling strings and thinking that you could save this old forsaken building. I feel even stupid for deciding not to do it. But now that I have seen this, I want you out of my property by the end of the day,” Mr Smith said before turning to leave.

“Dad, wait!” Amanda finally found her voice.

He stopped. She couldn’t believe he actually stopped.

She walked up to him as he turned around.

“You have to listen to me,” Amanda said.

“More lies that he fed you?”

She shook her head. “No, dad. It wasn’t Clark’s idea to convince you to not demolish the building. It was mine. Clark didn’t even know I was planning on it or that I was your daughter. Everything I said that day is true. This place means a lot to a lot of people. You can’t do this.”

Her father gave a sardonic laugh. “You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you? What do you think anyone would think when they walked in and saw you in that position with a man whose building your father wants to destroy? Do not take me for a fool, daughter. He already did that for the both of you.”

Her father moved to walk away but Amanda got a hold of his arm. She had touched her father before, or felt his embrace. She’d neglected for too long.

“I know with the situation it seems hard to believe, but please, you have to believe me. Clark had nothing to do with this. He didn’t try to convince me to save the coffee shop because why would he? He had no idea who I was. This was all on me,” she explained.

“then I guess you are prepared to take the responsibility for your actions,” her father said.

Amanda dropped his hand and watched him walk out of the coffee shop.

She turned to look at Clark’s still shocked face. She could feel the tears streaming down her face. The flood quickened when she saw the look in his eyes.

“Clark,” her voice broke on the ‘k.’

“He’s your father,” he said quietly. “The one destroying my shop is your father.”

“Please,” she took a step towards him and he moved away.

“I think you should go,” Clark said.

“Clark-”

“Amanda, you really should go,” Cube said from behind Clark. He didn’t call her ‘Short Black Girl.’ She really had screwed her.

“Okay,” she nodded and took her purse before leaving. She was going to fix this. No matter what it took. She couldn’t lose something else she cared for. Not to him.

☕☕☕

CheekySally21