My Love?

Chapter 1

Laying there limply, I stare at the ceiling. What has my life come to; why am I so lonely? I have work in two hours and I haven't taken a shower yet. Slowly I sit up on my couch hugging myself as the cold hits my body. I forgot to turn the heat on last night. I get up and head my way into the bedroom putting on my work clothes that I laid out last night. My life has been depressing these past few months screwing guys every other night just to feel something hasn’t been the best antidepressant. I walk out the door grabbing my car keys and purse.
“I’ll be back wisp I’ll see you when I get home!” I yell out to my one true friend, my cat.
  As I pull out my driveway I see a uhaul truck in the driveway of the empty house next to mine. I shrug it off and continue driving whoever they are. I hope they don’t bother me. As I pull into the coffee shop parking lot I sigh.
“Another day back at this place” I say quietly as I park in my usual spot. I have 15 minutes before I have to be in there, so I reclined back into my seat and closed my eyes.
Not even 5 minutes into my relaxation I hear a tap on my car window. I tried to pretend to sleep and ignore them but they tapped again. I open my eyes to see a tall man with dreads hovering over my window.
I roll down my window and greet the man. “Hello, can I help you?” I say in an annoyed but sleepy voice.
“Hi I’m so sorry to bother you but i was wondering if you could help with directions? See I’m not from here and I’m a bit lost” He said in a kind low voice.
I suddenly felt a bit of guilt for being so rude to the man. “Yeah sorry let me just get out” I say getting my stuff together as there was no reason to stay in the car afterwards.
“Thank you so much, I really appreciate your help!” his face lighting up as he moves away from the door.
I get out of the car and lean against the car. “So what can I do for you”
“So i’m looking for this coffee shop named Jimmy’s and when I put it into my gps it led me here but when I walked in and asked for the name of this place they told me it was called Paradise.. Can you please help me find Jimmy's? I have a job interview there in about ten minutes!” He asked, looking like a desperate puppy.
This happens all the time people come here asking where Jimmy’s is when this place is called paradise. I own this coffee shop. I recently took it over last year and I’ve had the website changed but people still get confused. Smiling, I get up from against the car and signal him to come inside. Confused, he follows. We sat down at the closest table.
“You must be Miguel” I say, taking out my notepad and pen from my purse.
“Yes, how did you know that?” he says shifting in his chair nervously.
“ I’m the one who scheduled your interview.. You’re at the right place” He looked confused so I further explained to him the situation.
“I’m the new owner of this place. I rebranded the shop because Jimmy no longer owns it. I want this shop to be a paradise for people when they come in for lunch or just a break away from their stressful lives.” I say smiling “This place is the one true place that makes me happy”.
He smiled and clasped his hands “I hope I can be up to standard”.I smiled at him and started asking my normal questions for interviews.
After the interview i have a great feeling he will be perfect for this job. He’s kind,patient, and good looking. Our main demographic is men but bringing a pretty man face to the establishment would do us some good business.
“I think today went great. I hope I see you tomorrow” I shook his hand and looked into his hazel eyes.
“I’ll definitely be here, don't worry” He chuckled, giving back a firm handshake. His hands were rough but gentle.
With that he walked out the door back to his car. I walked behind the counter to meet my employees.
“Who was that!” my bane of existence shouted coming from the kitchen.
“That is our new employee. He starts tomorrow” I said without paying her any attention.
She growled in a playful way and went back to making macarons. I sigh as I go to my office to put his information into our system. As I sit there blankly typing at my computer I think of all the things I could be doing than this. Occasionally workers would pop in and ask me questions to which I swiftly dismissed them. As it neared the end of my shift I began to get anxious. What will I do when I get home? Will I lay there again or will I go out and find another man to lay with for tonight. Before I knew it it was time for me to clock out.
I stand up and walk towards the cash register to put in my numbers to leave. When a small voice spoke behind me.
“Um miss..?” It said weakly. I turned around to see a small little girl. She was tall but thin and frail. She looked like she hadn’t eaten in weeks.
“Yes, what can I help you with?” I say leaning down to her level.
“I was wondering if I could work here.. I need money for food and-” Before she could get another word out I stopped her.
“You are way too young to work, little lady” her face dropped, tears began to form and her breath became shaky. “ But that doesn’t mean you can’t work for me.”
Her face lit up as she clung onto my pants leg. “What do you want me to do? I'll do anything!” The sound of desperation in her voice made my heart drop.
“ Do you have anywhere to go?” There wasn’t much context behind that sentence but she understood what I meant completely.
She shook her head weakly. I gave her a warm smile and held my hand out towards her “come with me then. I can give you a place to stay and a nice warm meal.”
She began to cry as she hugged my leg. She took a deep breath and took my hand.I finished putting my numbers in and headed for the door.
“How’d you get behind the counter?” I asked confused as to how she got behind the counter without anyone noticing.
“ I asked to speak to the manager and they told me to go to your office. I’ve been standing there for a while” I was taken aback. Does that mean she was standing there my whole shift? I worked 12 hours today.
I gave a nervous chuckle and continued walking. As we approached the car I opened the  back door for her. Buckling her in, I shut the door and got in myself. “First I have to run by the grocery store and maybe buy you some new clothes!”
She smiled and hugged the seatbelt looking out the window. I pull out of the parking lot and head down the street to Walmart. I couldn’t be bothered to walk through the store so I did a pickup order. I picked out some jeans and three shirts that looked like they would be her size. I picked out some groceries as well. I would say I’m a good cook but I rarely cook nowadays unless it’s a family occasion.

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