Finding Love in a Coffee Shop

Eiskaffee

"Then you can kiss this job goodbye."

My heart skipped a beat. Was he threatening to fire me? After his sexual advance? HR wouldn't take his side. Would they? What proof did I have? I fought to control my breathing. It wasn't worth it. I couldn't afford to lose this job. "I won't tell anyone." And I couldn't help adding an "asshole" to that.

He ignored my insult. "Good."

Nodding, I kept my head down and headed for the door.

"Wait a moment, my dear."

I'd never wanted to punch someone so much as I wanted to punch Zack right at the very moment. "What?" I gritted out, my heart pounding furiously in my chest. At my sides, my hands flexed in and out of fists.

"Your new hours. Don't you want to know them?"

"Yes," I responded tersely, already dreading his answer.

"Tuesday, six to nine, Thursday, six to nine, and Sunday two to five."

I whipped around to face him again, jaw slack. "What? That's cutting more than half my hours—"

"Maybe you should learn to watch your mouth then."

Anger surged over me again and I had to really fight the urge to punch him in the face. My hours had already been cut in half— if I punched him, he'd fire me for sure. And as much as I hated it, I couldn't take that risk. Chest heaving, I turned back toward the door, bursting out without turning back. My hands grasped at the hem of my pea coat, clutching tightly as I took deep breaths. Tears were biting at my eyes, but I blinked furiously, holding them back. Panic was lurking in the back of my mind, but I was holding that off as well. At least until I was out of the public eye.

But my mind was racing and I couldn't block out my thoughts. What the hell was I going to do now? With my new hours, that meant I'd be only making around ninety dollars a week at the theater, and that was before taxes. That plus the two hundred I made at the hospital totaled to only three hundred dollars a week. And Jesus, that wasn't enough to survive on. Not with groceries and taxes and gas and tuition bills and heating bills and electricity bills and car insurance—

I didn't realize I'd walked into someone until I was landing on the hard tar of the parking lot, hands scraping against the tiny layer of rock that covered it.

"Oh geez, I'm sorry," I heard a familiar voice apologize. "Are you... Katie? Are you okay?"

Through watery eyes, I saw Will looking down at me in concern. Perfect. Just who I wanted to see me in this state. Why was fate so cruel? Clearing my throat, I wiped my eyes on the back of my sleeve. "I'm fine," I tried to say, but my voice cracked. Swallowing, I nodded instead.

It was obvious Will didn't believe me for a second. He held out a hand and swiftly pulled me to my feet. "What's wrong?" he asked, putting a strong arm around my shoulder.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, taking in his warmth and solidness. It almost felt safe. And then I remembered safe was what I wasn't, currently, because I wasn't going to be able to pay my bills. "It's nothing," I lied because I couldn't tell him about my situation.

"Katie." His tone was disapproving.

Knowing I wouldn't be able to get away with just a nothing, I decided to tell him part of the truth. Not that part that was making me upset, but I had a feeling it would still get me a free pass. "My boss... he..." I swallowed, trying to steady my voice. "He tried to..." How could I phrase it? Zack hadn't tried anything, he'd just implied it.

"Tried to what?" Will urged, arm tightening around me, his voice hard. "Did he hit you?"

"No," I told Will, but I almost wished he had. That way I could've beaten the crap out of him in defense. "But he cut my hours, and then said he'd give them back to me if I... you know." I gestured vaguely with my hands, as Zack had done.