by Dakota Hart
Contents
Title
Copyright
CHAPTER 1 - Aiden
CHAPTER 2 - Casey
CHAPTER 3 - Casey
CHAPTER 4 - Aiden
CHAPTER 5 - Casey
CHAPTER 6 - Aiden
CHAPTER 7 - Casey
CHAPTER 8 - Aiden
CHAPTER 9 - Casey
CHAPTER 10 - Aiden
CHAPTER 11 - Casey
CHAPTER 12 - Aiden
CHAPTER 13 - Casey
CHAPTER 14 - Aiden
CHAPTER 15 - Casey
CHAPTER 16 - Aiden
CHAPTER 17 - Casey
CHAPTER 18 - Aiden
CHAPTER 19 - Casey
CHAPTER 20 - Aiden
CHAPTER 21 - Casey
CHAPTER 22 - Aiden
CHAPTER 23 - Casey
EPILOGUE - Casey
Thank You
Men Of Portland Series
Book 1
The Billionaire Barista
by
Dakota Hart
dakotahartauthor.com
Copyright © 2019 Dakota Hart
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands and media are either created by the author or used fictitiously. The author acknowledes the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fction, which have been used without permission. The use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. It is for storytelling purposes only.
Cover by: Imagine Rose Graphics
Chapter 1: Aiden
When I met Casey I hadn't been happy in a long time. I probably should have been, by then. I had more money than I knew what to do with, a beautiful home, a successful business and a life I loved. But, what's the point if you don't have someone to share it all with? Someone besides Max, of course; my beautiful wolf-like Siberian husky.
It was a beautiful day in the mountains outside Portland, and I was sitting with Max on the large porch overlooking the woodlands. I had just finished my round of morning meetings with developers and I was already exhausted, and it wasn't even 10am. I sighed to myself, sipping my strong coffee, brewed by my own company, and started to drift down memory lane, of the times before I was miserable, before I went to sleep in a cold, empty bed every night.
I shook my head to snap out of it, this wasn't what I wanted to be doing. I was opening a new location in Seattle next month, my company's largest and most ambitious move yet. I didn't have time to sit around crying over what might have been. I needed to get out of this funk.
I grabbed the cold remains of my bagel and burst out of my chair - I knew just what to do. Max was ready too, and he hopped up excitedly, wagging his tail and looking at me with his big droopy eyes. I didn't have time for dog walks right now, so I gave him a treat from my pocket, ruffled his long, soft fur and headed into my house.
I blazed through the spacious living room and jogged up the stairs to my walk in closet. Breezing past my sports jackets and slacks, of which there were far too many for my liking, to the perfectly crisp teal apron with my company logo on it at the back. I grabbed the apron, throwing it on over my black v neck and skinny jeans, tied it at the back and looked at myself in the three way mirror.
I smiled. I looked like just another young barista at Outlaw Coffee, the trendiest coffee chain in Portland. Whenever I was feeling down, which was a lot these days, I would go and pick up a shift at one of my coffee shops. Generally, only the managers knew who I was and they would tell the employees I was a temp coming in for the day or a new employee training.
I loved working in the coffee shop, sometimes I thought about just giving up the company and working full time as a barista again. There was just something about it, the simple joy of a delighted customer when you handed them their morning pick me up, the intoxicating aroma of the beans wafting through your nostrils. It made me feel alive, and after the few years I'd had I needed all the alive I could get.
———
A few hours later I was in the zone, serving drinks, taking orders, spinning around the small workspace like a madman and loving every minute of it. I was working today in my favorite location of ours in the arts district. The building was a former wood factory warehouse and I had kept that in mind when working with my designers. It had exposed wood beams on the walls and holding up the ceiling and the countertops were made of huge slices from the middle of a single tree with the rest of the decor made mostly of iron and steel. It created a rustic but industrial vibe that I just loved, the design was one of my favorites, so it made working here extra special.
"Iced Coffee, pour over, soy milk for Sasha!" I shouted, sliding the cup onto the counter. An attractive college girl came up and grabbed her drink, shyly looking at me and winking before dropping a tiny scrap of paper and scurrying over to her table with her friends and their mountains of textbooks. I smiled at her, trying to look polite as I grabbed the phone number, making sure I was totally out of her sight before I threw it out.
It wasn't that Sasha, the college girl, wasn't beautiful, she was. But I just wasn't interested. Honestly, this sort of thing happened to me a lot when I was working at the coffee shops. Ever since the wedding ring disappeared from my finger I had been getting a lot of phone numbers, at the coffee shop, at fancy dinner parties I had to attend for my business, at the gym, everywhere. I even had a girl who was jogging past me on the beach once stop and give me her number.
I tried to always be as polite as I could, but I didn't usually call them. I'd had a few flings, friends with benefits and one night stands in the last few years, but it was always a physical thing, just someone to keep the bed warm for a few nights and then we'd both move on. I didn't want to lead anyone on, not when I knew I was no good for them.
I crumpled Sasha's number into the trash bin and headed back out to take the next customer's order and stopped cold. The next customer was…exceptional. But I wasn't exactly sure why.
In many ways she looked like a typical hipster chick who would come in this coffee shop - youngish, dirty blonde hair, oversized sweater with a soft sundress flowing over her gorgeous body. Big lips and sharp, inquisitive eyes. But something just hit me when I looked at her, it felt like nothing I'd ever experienced. I was tongue tied for a moment, pretty uncommon for me, and just stood there, gaping at her.
"Hi, uh, can I place an order?" she asked, looking at me, confused by my expression. I shook my head, trying to get back to normal, hoping she didn't see me leering.
"Uh, sorry, yes, of course" I stumbled, screaming internally at my idiocy “What can I get you?”
Chapter 2: Casey
I had been watching this barista for a few drinks now, wondering if he could be my next model. Now that I was at the counter I was blown away, he was even more attractive up close, where I could see his eyes were a deep warm brown and he got little dimples when he smiled. I couldn’t believe my luck to meet such an attractive man so quickly. It was only my first afternoon living in Portland and already I had found a truly swoon worthy man.
“Three mocha doubles with whip, and one of these croissants” I said, grabbing a delicious looking pastry from the small basket of them on the counter. Wow, this guy was really something else I thought as I watched him write down my order.
He got a sassy twinkle in his eye as he wrote my order on the cups and then looked up at me and said “Don’t mean to be rude but our coffee is really strong, are you sure you can handle that much?”
I was confused for a second, wondering why h
e would say this when I had only ordered a doubleshot. A few seconds later my brain caught up with the joke and I laughed.
I took on a light mocking tone as I said “I’ll have you know I can drink at least fifteen espresso shots a day.”
It wasn’t the smartest thing I’d ever said but hey, it’s flirting. I always say that when it comes to flirting it doesn’t really matter what you say if you say it with the right emotion.
He loaded up the espresso machine, tamping the grounds down with his muscular arms and setting the cups under them before whipping around and saying
“Ohhh really? Is that so? Well, that may be the case with those other coffee shops you’ve been to -” with this he waved his hand in the air as though to dismiss them all “but we’re different. I roast and grind all the beans myself, and source them from the strongest fair trade beans in the area. I doubt you can handle even 3 shots, let alone the 6 you’ve ordered. Which will be $12.50 by the way”
At this he stared at me, his mouth turned up on one side, the dimples on full display, his eyebrows wiggling dramatically and his eyes twinkling and full of laughter. He just looked at me for a moment, daring me to respond, to flirt and banter back with him.
I gave him a sassy smile, handed him my credit card and countered with “I’m actually an international coffee champion, so don’t worry about me.” I winked and turned around, flipping my hair in that way I knew made it look gorgeous. I wanted him to pay attention to me. I knew I shouldn’t, I had just got out of this mess with Kyle - mostly by just running away to Portland. But I couldn’t help it, this guy was just so dreamy. Besides, I told myself, it’s for work. If the model is into me the photoshoot always comes out better.
I moved over to the end of the counter, leaning on the large wooden end, pretending to look at my phone but mostly trying to sneak little glances at him while he made the drinks. It wasn’t easy since every time I looked up I caught him looking back at me too. How did he even make those drinks when he spent the whole time looking at me? I was flattered though, and excited. Finally, after a minute of this he said
“So what’s an internationally renowned coffee champion doing in my coffee shop in Portland?”
I smiled, happy for an opening to turn this into a real conversation and said “Actually, I just moved here. Those drinks are for my new roommates. So make ‘em good - I don’t wanna get kicked out!”
He laughed at this and said “I doubt that’s likely to happen.”
Whoa, I thought, this guy is going for it. I decided to go in for the kill
“Sorry if this seems forward,” I started, watching as his eyes perked up, his attention focused on me. But before I could finish he cut me off and said
“I’d love to go on a date with you.”
“I was actually going to ask if you’d be interested in modeling for me, shirtless.” I blurted out, kicking myself for how awkwardly this had gone. Typical Casey, here was this gorgeous guy, asking me out, and I had to go and make it so weird.
“I mean, I’d like to go on a date too. The modeling thing is for work, I mean, it’s not like a weird porn thing, I’m an artist.” I quickly pulled up my Instagram on my phone, feeling the heat rushing to my cheeks as my embarrassment grew, I wondered - how could this get any worse?
I shoved my phone in his face, showing him my account.
It had all started a few years ago in New York. I had been putting my arts degree to use working as an assistant to freelance photographers, boring work that involved a lot of holding things and buying coffee. I wanted more, I wanted to document my life and share it with people. So I started photo blogging, mostly of New York and my cat, when suddenly one of my images went viral. Of course it was of Kyle, welding shirtless. He was an artist, metalworker and jewelry designer who made his works from found objects in Brooklyn which he repurposed. He was thin but still muscly, with tattoos, and long hair pulled into a bun, and in the photo he was welding in a very unsafe but very sexy way with no mask and no shirt. Naturally, he assumed that the popularity of the photo had to do with him, but I guessed that maybe this was just something the internet was interested in. I asked a few male friends to pose for me, started taking photos, and suddenly I had hundreds of thousands of followers clamoring to buy prints of sexy, shirtless, young men doing their jobs. So now, I guess that’s my job. Taking photos of half naked men - I really can’t complain. But this part was always pretty awkward, even more so now that I was so attracted to this guy.
“Wow, that’s a lot of followers!” he said, with a whistle “Your work is gorgeous. Do you work professionally for any companies?”
I was a bit confused by this questions but the move out here had been expensive so I was anxiously looking for any work opportunities “Yeah, I’ve done some freelancing here and there. I’m currently looking for freelance work as well as preparing a gallery show.”
He browsed through my phone for another minute then he handed it back “Well, I’d love to do everything with you.” he said.
“Everything?” I said, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
His eyes went wide when he realized what he’d implied, then he laughed nervously, it was beautiful.
“Ah, well I mean the date, and the modeling, and I’d like to hire you to take some photos for the shops.” he wave his hand around the coffee shop.
“Are you allowed to do that?” I said, surprised that he was hiring.
“Date? Yes, definitely. I’m an adult and single!” he said, winking.
I laughed. It was a nice feeling, I think I had barely laughed since I found out about Kyle and Fiona. I loved how this guy made my heart feel light. Not to mention how he made other parts of me feel.
“Okay, well it’s a date then.” I said, swiping to the contacts and having him put his number in. I quickly texted him so he’d have mine too.
He handed me the tray with the drinks and said
“I’ll see you soon Casey.”
Chapter 3: Casey
I walked back into my new apartment to find both my roommates in the living room. Marc, my former college room-mate and forever gay best friend was scrunched up on the couch looking at his phone. Greta, my other roommate and a so-far unreadable hipster girl was in the kitchen making herself some food.
“Hi guys!” I said as I walked in, triumphantly holding the tray of coffees out in front of me.
Marc immediately got up with a big grin on his face and said “Oh my god YES, I knew you would be the best roommate ever! Thank you!” he grabbed one of the coffees and kissed me on the cheek before turning his booty-short clad butt around and heading back over to the couch. I walked into the kitchen and pulled out a coffee, holding it out to Greta. She looked up from the very strange batch of vegetables she was rolling into seaweed and said
“What’s this?”
“Coffee!” I said, cheerily “For you, I thought I’d start off our new friendship on the right foot.”
Greta looked at me skeptically and took the coffee, looking at the little white cup suspiciously as though it might explode. She opened the lid and peered inside, she took a sniff and almost immediately her face turned into a sneer and she said
“Is that…cow’s milk?”
I was suddenly nervous “Maybe? I mean, probably. It’s a mocha, that’s what I usually get and I figure everyone likes chocolate so…” I trailed off, not finishing my sentence as her look darkened.
“I’m vegan, Casey.” she said icily, putting the cup down quickly on the counter and distancing herself from its very existence.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry!” I said “I could’ve sworn I saw you eating dairy last night, that’s why I thought it would be okay.”
She didn’t look up from her seaweed roll but said, her tone even more cold “Yesterday was Sunday, it’s a weekday now.”
I didn’t quite know what to make of this statement, as it made no sense, so I decided to retreat to the safety of the couch and a chat with Marc. I turned to walk over there
and saw that Liam was watching our interaction with barely contained laughter. I wiggled my eyebrows at him as walked over to couch as if to say ‘I don’t get it?’ and he waved me over with his hand. I scuttled over and sat down next to him on the squishy big maroon velvet vintage couch.
“What’s going on?” I stage-whispered conspiratorially.
Marc laughed just a tiny bit before clamping his hand over his mouth, then he said “Greta is only vegan during the week.”
“What!” I exclaimed loudly, before catching myself. However, it seemed Greta was not the least bit interested in us as she did not even look up from her seaweed “That’s ridiculous.” I said
Liam shrugged and laughed “I know, right? Honestly, I wouldn’t worry too much about befriending Greta. I promise not everyone in Portland is as grouchy as her!”
I smiled at him, Marc had such a positive aura, I loved being around him again “Well obviously it can’t all be bad, you’re here!” I said, then continued “Plus, I already met somebody sexy and charming.”
Marc’s eyes lit up and he put down his rhinestone-encased phone - now I really had his attention “No way! You’ve been here less than 24 hours and you’ve already met someone, how do you do it girl? Give me all the details, pronto.”
I grinned, ready to dish
“Well I met him at Outlaw Coffee when I was getting these and I don’t know, we hit it off. We exchanged numbers and he’s going to model for me. I think he might hire me to take photos for the coffee shop too?”
“Wait, wait, I’m confused - so did you get a boy or a job?” Marc asked.