Maru was about to turn around when her body collided against something hard.
"Hey!" Caught off guard, a shrill cry came out of her mouth. The tray that she was holding in her hands swayed and rocked, spilling the contents of her ordered iced-blended espresso and moist dark chocolate.
She gasped when the cold coffee splashed on her chest, dampening her white see-through blouse. The cold liquid seeped through the fabric of her blouse and she jerked when she felt the stinging cold sensation on her skin, rocking the tray even more, pushing the moist cake crashing toward her chest, staining her already wet blouse.
Damn! What a disgrace!
And she gasped even harder when she realized that her bra became evident because the wet fabric of her blouse stuck to her skin, showing a good view of her full breasts as if she was naked.
Embarrassed, her face turned scarlet red. She just didn't look messy and dirty, but she also looked like a rain-showered pathetic chick.
Great! Just great!
The tray totally slipped from her hands and fell to the floor, creating a loud blagging noise that took everyone's attention.
"Oh, I'm really so sorry, Ma'am. It's not my intention to do this to you. It was an accident," the staff who collided against her was very apologetic, and he was almost in a panic, especially, when he saw the unpleasant look on her face.
She glared at him, castigating him with her hard eyes. She was quite angry, and his sorry wouldn't alleviate the anger that was brewing inside her.
She wasn't just plainly angry. She was actually seething in anger. She was humiliated in front of a lot of people, for crying out loud! The patrons that were inside Coffee Best threw her their curious stares. The men were looking at her chest with lewd interest.
And his sorry wouldn't do a thing. The damage had already been done. She was now soaking wet with a dirty clothes inside an upscale coffee shop.
"Shit!" her cuss was crisp and loud. She was really annoyed and upset.
The uniformed staff shrank in front of her, flushed and shaking as if very afraid.
That softened her anger a little bit. She pitied him. But then, again, it was his fault!
"Why weren't you looking your way, huh?" she said, still annoyed. She ran her hand over her chest to remove the remnants of the moist dark chocolate that clung to her blouse, cleaning her sorry self, but to no avail. Her blouse was already unsalvageable since the cake had already smeared on it.
"I'm really so sorry, Ma'am. It was really an accident..." the staff humbly bowed his head at her as he apologized. Then, he cleaned up the mess on the floor.
"Your sorry won't change the fact that I am now messed up and soaking wet," she said sarcastically.
Well, she really couldn't help not to act like a biatch when she was so frustrated and upset. This was really an unfortunate scenario. She still had an appointment later on that she had to attend to, and here she was, looking like a hot mess. Damn!
"This is because you're being careless by not looking your way. Now, look at what you did to me," she continued berating the staff. She was calmer now though and was speaking in a softer tone.
"I'm really so sorry, Ma'am..." the staff apologized again. He was already done cleaning the floor. His grip to the floor mop was firm.
She took a deep breath. The staff was sorry, alright, but what would she do now? She cannot go to her appointment looking like this. Then, an idea struck her mind.
"Where's your manager?" she snapped at him.
Colors departed the staff's flushed face. Paled, he just bowed his head lower.
"I wanna talk to your manager," she said calmly, but danger lurked beneath her voice. She was really pissed off. Someone had to take accountability here. Her experience in Coffee Best was really bad, and she wanna exercise her right as an upset customer. Sorry wouldn't be enough.
"Ummm..." the staff was clearly feeling edgy, struggling to form a decent word.
"I said, where is your manager? I wanna talk to your manager," she repeated, stressing the words talk and manager. She really meant it this time around.
"What's happening here?" A full manly voice reverberated inside the coffee shop, coming from behind her, getting her attention.
Maru spun around. Curious, she wanted to see the face of the person who butted in with her argument with the staff.
The voice sounded full and confident. There was a touch of authority in it as well. But anyone who would dare meddle with her bad mood would get her claws, too, she thought as she fumed in annoyance.
Her eyes landed at a very tall guy. He was more or less six feet in height. She had to look up just so she could see his face.
Eye candy – that was the first thing that popped in her mind when she got a good view of his face. Surprised to see a good looking guy, she found herself gaping at him.
Well, it was really surprising to see someone who looked every inch a K-Pop Superstar in a coffee shop outside of South Korea, as demonstrated by his shaggy long hair that draped around his handsome face to his brilliant, chinky eyes.
She was not in Seoul right now, where it was common. She'd been there some two years ago as a tourist. And during her 2-week stay in Seoul, she'd seen this kind of face in almost every corner of the city.
But she was in Manila right now, and seeing a K-Popper here, a very attractive one at that, was not something that one would see in a regular basis.
Maru, unknowingly, assessed him further. She couldn't help not to when he offered a good distraction from the horror of the incident that messed up her blouse just a few moments ago. This one of a kind descendant of Adam was worth studying under the microscope, and that thought brought excitement running down her spine.
He had an air of authority in him, but he had a friendly smile that was plastered on his unusual apple red lips. His skin wasn't really fair, but it looked smooth and rosy, a sign of affluence in life. He must be rich, she thought.
The healthy rosy color of his skin and the redness of his lips though did not lessen his attractive masculine appeal. It only provided softness and balance to the sharp contours of his chiseled jawlines. And unlike the Korean actors she saw in K-dramas, there was no trace of makeup on his face, not even a dent of foundation on his skin.
While most K-Poppers looked cute, he certainly wasn't. Cute were for boys, but this one was indeed a man. And what do you call a very attractive man? Gorgeous. Yep. That was spot on! He was, certainly, looking drop dead gorgeous.
And it seemed that he did not only have a handsome face to boot, but a sexy body, too. His tall and lean figure was draped in a signatured formal gray-colored long-sleeved polo, tucked in a black fashionable denim. The ends of his long-sleeved polo were rolled and folded up his elbow, emphasizing his muscled-packed biceps. His leather belt and shiny leather shoes made him look even more expensive, and, certainly, a knockout, too.
The man was too tall for a petite woman like her whose height barely made it to 5'1. And she was wearing a flat doll shoes that did nothing to add some inches to her height.
He towered over her, but his height never intimidated her. Okay, he was tall. So what?
He cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention. "What can I do for you, Miss?" he asked. His chinky eyes slanted even more when he smiled at her.
Damn. But he looked even cuter when he smiled. And that made butterflies in her stomach fly in all directions.
Overwhelmed, she dropped her gaze on the floor, drawing a deep breath.
She saw the pathetic stains in her blouse, and she shrank in embarrassment. She was in front of a very attractive man, all the while looking like a hot mess.
"I am the manager of this coffee shop," he spoke, introducing himself.
So he was the manager!
She darted her eyes back at him, and when their eyes connected, he held her gaze, and she felt the silly knotting of her insides.
Strange, she thought. This was the first time that a man was able to make her feel like this.
"I heard that you wanna talk to me. Did I hear it right?" he asked again. His eyes roamed around her face, then, dropped down to her wet and messy chest and lingered a little while there.
The look in his eyes made her heartbeat palpitate. She could feel her skin warming up, especially around the area where he was looking at.
She had the urge to cover her chest with her hands, but what for? He already saw her almost naked breasts.
She pursed her lips and grimaced at him. If he was the manager, well and good! He was the person she was looking for.
"Yes, I wanna talk to you," she said in a formal and firm voice, composing herself.
"Well, let's go, then. My office is over there." He pointed to a door in the far corner of the coffee shop.
She did not expect what he did next. He held her elbow, and when his fingers clasped around her skin, a strong bolt of electricity rushed through her nerves.
She jerked her hand at the onslaught of unwelcomed sensations. "Let me go," she demanded in a soft but determined voice.
He let her go. "We can't talk here in the open with you looking like that, Miss," he said softly. He quickly glanced at her chest again, and then, looked around. "There are a lot of eyes looking at you right now. At least, you're safe in my office."
She understood what he was trying to say. Men were looking at her breasts. She was well aware of that.
But he was also a man, and he was looking at her breasts, too. The thought that they would be alone in a room brought a different rhythm in the way her heart pounded in her chest. But, certainly, it wasn't due to fear. It was something else.
Excitement ran down her spine. She blinked her eyes, as she tried to compose her wit.
"But-" However, she had no more time to refuse because he held her arm again. And he pulled her with him, leaving her with no other choice but to follow the man who held her firmly in his hand, as he guided her toward the direction of his office.
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Thanks,
Sharon