for, liar

Chapter 59

Jeff pushes through the door, positioning himself in front of it to block anyone else from coming through. I finish washing my hands and tying my apron before even acknowledging that he's there waiting for me.

I look up at him and give him the fakest smile. "Hey, Mr. Jeff."

He nods and narrows his eyes. He's much taller than me. It's a little intimidating.

"We need to talk." He says firmly.

It better be about Lana because I sure as hell didn't do anything.

"What's up?"

I try to sound casual and act like I have no idea what's been going on. Which, I technically don't but I do know more than he thinks that I know.

"It's about Lana. She's been let go from the company."

"Let go? As in fired? Or did she quit?" I ask.

He might be getting speculation that I do know more than he thinks.

"She was let go for unacceptable behavior problems with customers and management." He continues.

I press my lips together in a line and nod.

Customers and management? That's a nice way of saying that she didn't want to put up with your bullshit.

"Yeah, that's Lana for you."

"Yes, well she is now out of a job which is why we need to go over a few things."

"A few things like what?"

He walks to the back desk and takes a seat, gesturing for me to sit down. I sigh and sit in front of him, scooting my chair back to establish distance. I feel weird sitting close to him. I can feel the hairs sticking up on the back of my neck.

"I would like to talk about your advancement with the company."

Advancement? I thought he was taking me back here to fire me too.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." I mumble and shift in my chair uncomfortably.

"You're a hard worker, Miss Taylor. Hard work doesn't go uncredited, especially with companies I work with. I've said before that you could own and manage your own store. I meant it."

The money would be great but do I really want to make my entire career based on serving coffee? I initially began this job to start saving for my apartment and other adulting needs. I didn't even expect to become an assistant manager.

"That's really flattering and all but I don't think I'm the right person for that job."

I know I'm passing up a huge opportunity. I just have a gut feeling that it's not what I truly want. I still don't know what I want.

"I will give you time to think about it. Go through this packet and look at what we're offering here. If you have any questions, feel free to call and let me know. I'm rarely unavailable so I will get back to you quickly."

He pulls a small stack of papers from his binder and slides them over to me. I don't know if he wants me to read them now or wait until I get home. I should probably get to work and worry about reading all that shit later.

"Thanks, Jeff."

I shove the papers into my bag and get up from the chair to walk out to the front where my baristas are. I feel his eyes watch me walk away and the uneasiness remains in my body.

"Bree! How many pumps of syrup go into cappuccinos?" Tiffany yells from the espresso machine.

I giggle and walk over to her. She's been working here for a month now and she's a fast learner, but she doesn't seem to be doing all that great with numbers. Everything else she does is flawless.

"It gets one less than lattes. That's really good foam by the way."

"Thanks! I was doing that trick you showed me about tilting the pitcher away from me. It really helps get that smooth paint look with the milk."

I pat her on the back and walk down to the register to help a customer who just walked in.

"Can you get a cold brew...like, hot?"

Sometimes they just make it too easy to insult them.

"Dude, it's cold brew. If you want a hot brew, it's just coffee." 

"But isn't cold brew a different roast?" He asks.

"Yeah but we can't make it hot. Do you want a hot coffee or not?"

He shrugs and hands over a five for a medium coffee. He tosses the change into the tip jar and walks down to the condiment bar to flavor his drink with 12 packets of splenda. Monstrous.

I don't get my break until a little after eight. I'm exhausted and starving because business started picking up when everyone got off of work. I sit down in the back and prop my feet up on the desk, not really caring about anything but my quick fifteen minute nap.

I wasn't able to fall asleep and the break was over before I knew it. I dragged my even more exhausted ass back onto the floor just in time for my favorite person to stroll in at 8:30.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but do you guys have water bottles here?" Miles asks and smirks, quite amused with himself.

"Ha. Ha. You're so hilarious."

He chuckles and leans over the counter with puckered lips. I kissed him, not caring if Jeff was still around. I don't see why I would get in trouble. There's like two people in the lobby and no one is paying attention to what we're doing.

"You want a hazelnut cappuccino?" I ask.

"That sounds tempting but I think I'd rather try something new."

"New? Since when?"

He shrugs and grabs his wallet from his jacket pocket. "Just surprise me." He says with a wink.

I sent through one of our new cinnamon mocha lattes. He loves chocolate and cinnamon so he should like this. Though I probably should have Tiffany make it with half the pumps because it's way too much sweetener.

"Okay, I sent a drink through."

"Aw, sweet. How much do I owe ya?"

"Just your priceless time." I respond and start brewing a new batch of coffee.

"Hey, you got that already but seriously let me buy the drink."

I shake my head and smile with my back facing him.

"I'm leaving my money here!" He says and slaps a ten dollar bill on the counter.

He walks off down to the end of the bar. I knew he wouldn't let me just do a nice thing for him. I snatch the bill up, cash him out, and walk down to hand him his change.

As he's waiting patiently for his drink, the dumbass from earlier asking about hot cold brew grabs a few more sugar packets from the condiment bar. He looks over at Miles and raises his eyebrows.

"Yo! What's up man? How have you been?" He asks.

Miles looks taken aback. He waves at him awkwardly and shoves his other hand in his pocket.

"Where the hell did you disappear to? After the party you just dipped. We all thought you fuckin' died."

I look at the guy and back at Miles. He stays completely silent and keeps staring at the man.

"Here's your change." I interrupt and reach my hand out.

He reaches over too and grabs it. The guy still won't leave and Miles won't even acknowledge his question.

"Well it was nice seeing you, dude. Take care." He says again.

"I'm sorry, man. You must have the wrong guy." Miles finally says.

The guy looks puzzled. He glances at me and nods his head slightly, rubbing his temple with the tips of his fingers.

"My bad. Sorry about that."

He leaves the café and Miles shrugs his shoulders, brushing off everything that just happened like it wasn't the strangest thing.

Revised;