Bittersweet Love

Chapter 2

But I couldn't control the amount of free time I had and nor did I want to. I would never risk my company's name for an easily replaceable woman because the only reason I kept her around was because she was marvelous in bed and she was the daughter of one my father's oldest friends, Maxwell Andrews. But eventually I would have to find a way to gently break up with her and crush her heart like the others so I could still keep my relationship with her father intact.

"Here are your espressos, gentlemen. Anything else I can get for you?" Victoria's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"No thank you. We were just leaving, but Samuel has something to ask you." I leave a twenty-dollar bill on the table while picking up my coffee and turn to see Samuel glaring at me.

I replied with a smirk and motion for him to speak. "Um... I only wanted to say that you look very beautiful and thank you for the coffee." Samuel face reddens, holding up his coffee.

"Thank you, Samuel. You look very handsome as well. I uh...have to get back to work so I'll see you later." She blushed and moved a strand of her hair behind her ear before retreating back to the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, Samuel punched me in the shoulder.

"Don't ever do that again and to the office?" Samuel questioned, walking to my car.

"Yes." I chuckled at his anger, taking a sip of my espresso as I got into the car.

The iced espresso was delicious. It still had that great sweetness and refreshing taste after all these years. I leaned back on to the passenger's seat feeling pleased with the satisfying taste.

"La Luna" cafe was one of the many places I visited as a child. I remember begging my mother to take me there on the weekends with my younger brother, Adrian. I would always order the same drink, a hot chocolate. I soon became close with the owner, Gabriel Gonzalez, and now helped manage his small cafe because of his sudden illness.

But today, Samuel and I had been driving past the cafe when I had a sudden urge for an iced espresso and Samuel had no problem with seeing his crush. I closed my eyes as I felt a strong headache come on.

"Are you okay, James?"

"Yes. It's just my damn hangover." I opened my eyes, taking a sip of my coffee. I noticed Samuel smirk from the corner of my eye and I rolled my eyes. I bet he enjoyed seeing me in pain since I tried to interfere in his love life.

Samuel was in his late twenties and the head of my marketing team. But he was more than just an employee. Samuel's family had known and gone to school with my family for years. We often hung out as kids when his parents would come visit my family, leading us to later become best friends. But we treated each other more like brothers than best friends.

Aside from my younger brother, Adrian, Samuel was someone who I trusted and confided in. He was one of the few people that knew the real me. I was his first friend and the first person to know that he was being bullied in the fourth grade. The other kids bullied him for liking reading instead of playing sports.

I would often see him crying under a tree after school or during recess. He was miserable and I would sometimes hear my mom talking to his mom about him not wanting to go to school. I even saw him throw away his favorite book once.

But one Monday morning, I had enough and stood up for Samuel. Marcus, the main bully, tried to attack Samuel but I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and punched him straight in the nose. The punch was so strong that he fell back and when Marcus tried to punch me back, I punched him in the stomach. His nose was bleeding and his face was bloody. I got detention but Marcus never bothered Sam ever since. Everyone grew scared of me except Samuel. They were all afraid of making me angry. But I never got in trouble for defending Samuel because he had explained to the principal, who loved him, that Marcus had been bullying him.