But First, Coffee

by Sarah Darlington

  But fuck me, the first sight of Joe on the other side of that door was like slamming into a brick wall going eighty-miles-per-hour. Nancy’s eyebrow message suddenly made a whole lot of sense as I gasped at the sight of him while the papers in my hands fell to the floor.

  Joe Coffee cleaned up like a freaking diamond in the rough. Like a banana split sundae on a hot summer day. Like an orgasm with a brand-new vibrator.

  My Good Holy Savior—if I thought the man was beautiful yesterday, then I didn’t know what beautiful was. The man in my office today, leaning casually against my desk with his arms crossed over his chest, and his vibrant blue eyes intensely on me, nearly made me come right then and there in my panties. Not kidding. A shockwave hit me from my head to my toes, one that left me feeling weak and a little nauseous.

  He was beautiful. Like a GQ angel sent from above. He wore a suit, but not just any suit, something designer. Admittedly I sucked at brands, so I didn’t know what, but I could tell it was expensive. Navy blue, crisp lines, the color bringing out his intimidating as hell eyes. He’d mostly shaved. He’d looked good with the full beard he’d been sporting yesterday, but today I could see more of his beautiful face, of the lines of his jaw, and seeing him now, knowing how incredibly drop-dead gorgeous his face was underneath, I knew with certainty that the beard had purposely been in place to hide some of his handsomeness. Because he freaking radiated handsomeness.

  I dropped immediately to my knees to collect the papers I’d let slip to the ground. I busied myself with collecting them.

  He moved to help me.

  His curly hair was different. Pulled back. I guess he had enough of it to pull it back. It was the one thing I think I liked better the other way. I knew I needed to say something to break the silence as he helped me clean up the papers, but I couldn’t really speak. I couldn’t really think. I couldn’t really breathe.

  As we finished, both standing back up, I’d never been so happy in my life to see Nancy. She came into my office, carrying my coffee. And it was Nancy who broke the awkward tension.

  “Doesn’t Joe clean up nicely?” she commented, all smiles, setting my coffee in its spot on my desk. “I almost didn’t even recognize you, Joe.”

  I’d never seen Nancy flirt before. She was good at it, as if she’d had plenty of practice. She tossed her pretty wavy blond hair over one shoulder, smiling widely, relaxing in front of me in a way I’d never seen her relax before. Typically, she raced out of my office so fast you’d think I might bite.

  The worst part was that Joe smiled back at her. A genuine, friendly smile on those full, kissable, deliciously gorgeous lips of his. “I figured if I was going to work this job, the least I could do was look the part,” he joked lightly. His eyes were only on her.

  “Well, you look the part,” Nancy returned politely. “Would you like me to get you some coffee? You’re not the only barista in the room. I can make you anything you’d like.”

  “No, thanks, I’m actually more of a tea person.”

  “Oh. Well, we have tea in the break room. I could—”

  “Thank you, Nancy. That will be all,” I said dismissing her. Because, seriously, was she going to offer to drop to her knees and blow him next? She took the hint and immediately she left us.

  The smile on Joe’s face left the moment she left. He became serious, so damn serious, that it was like a slap right across my cheek. I took the papers he’d collected from the floor straight from his hands, and then I moved to sit at a small table with chairs that I had on the opposite side of my office.

  Joe followed and sat in one of the chairs across from me.

  “Let’s get started.” I scooted my chair closer to the table. “You do look nice,” I added, kind of under my breath. It wasn’t something I really wanted to mention. He didn’t need to know I thought that, especially after his gag-worthy flirting with Nancy. But it was so obvious, I felt I couldn’t not mention it. Like an elephant in the room that needed addressing.

  His response was a nearly inaudible grunt, as if my compliment annoyed him. It hadn’t annoyed him when Nancy had complimented him. I’d been looking down, but I glanced up to look at him. My eyes connected with his across the table. His eyes narrowed for a moment. No smile. No flirting. But a shiver ran through me because I got this weird sense that somehow moody, grumpy Joe was the real Joe. And that happy, flirty Joe wasn’t.

  Which was entirely strange.

  Because wouldn’t most normal people try to put their best face on in front of their boss?

  “Can we start with my job title?” he asked. “I don’t even know what that is.”

  “Right.” I knew I hadn’t explained much to him yesterday. I’d kind of done that on purpose. I was ready to be completely frank with him now. “My goal is to expand the structure of the company. We have a COO and a CFO—I’ll introduce you to both of them soon, there’s a meeting in about an hour—and a Vice President of our Marketing Department, but really, my company has grown to the point where we need more than just those three other positions at the top. The position I want to create for you would be completely new. Vice President of Growth and Development, that’s the title I’ve been tossing around in my head. You’d be in charge of a whole new department.”

  “Wow,” was all he said.

  “I know that sounds like a lot. Right now, I’m shouldering most of the work. I oversee every single step each time we open a new Java Beans store and that workload needs to be delegated. I want you to shadow me for the next couple of weeks until you’re familiar with all the steps in the process, until you’re ready to take this part of the business over for me. I’m going to be honest, I don’t have a clue if you’ll be right for this job. But I wanted someone who knows the day-to-day side of Java Beans, who’s been there, who knows our customers, who knows a store that’s established runs. I didn’t want to hire someone outside the company. So, combining your experience with your unique education, I’m hoping you’re the right person for this job.”

  He cleared his throat. If all of this new information was intimating, he didn’t show it. He stared at me as if everything I’d just told him sounded exactly like something he could handle.

  I kept talking, kept explaining. He kept listening. He asked questions when appropriate. He didn’t joke like the charismatic Joe Coffee I thought I’d hired. But this other version of Joe, this serious version, put my mind at ease. He was smart. He was calculated. And by the end of the hour, I felt that I’d made a good choice in hiring him.

  Go figure.

  Beauty and brains in one package.

  It almost felt too good to be true. I remembered how yesterday he’d mentioned he had ADHD, how it affected his ability to focus, and wondered if I should be worried about that. I didn’t bring it up, though. Because it seemed like he was right here, in the present moment with me, and that was good enough for now.

  “Let’s go meet everyone,” I said.

  “Let’s,” he answered and stood to follow me.

  CHAPTER 5

  JOE

  I was damn near suffocating in this suit. Last night I’d dug it out—along with a few others—from a box from the back of my spare room. Then I’d rushed over to a twenty-four-hour dry-cleaner. I’d also shaved. I’d made an attempt to tame my unruly hair. I’d done everything Doug would have wanted me to do. I’d shown up on time. I’d shown up with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. I could make small talk with any fool.

  But could I be charming with Lana?

  I couldn’t quite manage it. She brought out a weird side to my personality. I couldn’t be fake with her. I couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t torture for me to be here.

  But I had to give her credit where credit was due. When she spoke, I could focus.

  I could stay in the moment with her.

  Most people in this world are so fucking boring. I can’t keep up with conversions and ignore half of what everyone says.

  I flirt and joke constantly becaus
e any other kind of human communication makes me want to bang my head against the wall. It’s what keeps me sane. If the conversation is too boring, I always change it, bend it to my will, and make things more interesting.

  Working as a barista had been a good match for my ADHD. It was fast paced, with tasks easy enough to focus on, no real responsibility, and a constant revolving door of different personalities. My mind could race right along with the racing environment.

  But an office environment?

  Shoot me in the head please.

  But surprisingly, I didn’t hate the one-on-one time with Lana. I guess I liked that she didn’t bother with useless small talk. She didn’t ask me questions, trying to pointlessly get to know me.

  She got straight to the point. And as long as I was focused, tell me anything once, and I’d remember it perfectly.

  I remembered everything Lana had said today.

  Shadow her for a couple of weeks? Hell, I was certain I could shadow her for less than one week and easily take on the Vice President role she wanted to give me. I was versatile like that. A challenge always initially excited me, but I had a reoccurring pattern where I lost interest. I wondered how many days it would take before that happened here.

  It surprised me when five o’clock came sooner than expected. “That’s enough for today,” Lana said, at five on the dot, closing her laptop. “Tomorrow, like I told you before, I’m seeing a few potential sites for our newest location up in Tacoma, Washington. I’d like you to go with me. It will just be for one night.”

  I let out a breath. One day in and this job was already cramping my lifestyle. “Okay,” I answered because I didn’t have any other choice.

  “We can drive separate or together, whichever you’d like.”

  “I don’t have a car, so it will have to be together.”

  “Oh. Okay.” She sucked in a deep breath. Did driving together make her nervous? Did a woman like Lana even have nerves? “So, let’s meet at the office and we’ll leave first thing tomorrow. If things go quickly enough in Tacoma, then we might not have to stay the night.”

  I nodded. That sounded reasonable. I said goodbye and left her office, and quickly set off toward the elevators.

  I’d survived my first day. I’d planted three different microphones in Lana’s office at various spots. That way Doug could always be listening, like the sick little maggot he was, and as I left Lana behind in her office, my conscious tried to rear its head. I felt a little sick to my stomach about spying on her. I had no idea what Doug’s grudge against her was, or why he was determined to destroy her. What could she have possibly done to have warranted this kind of attention from a man like Doug?

  I decided I’d continue to do Doug’s dirty work for him, I had no choice about that, but at the same time, I would also figure out what Doug’s true intentions were.

  I rode the bus home. I started peeling off layers as soon as the door closed behind me. My younger sister, Kitty, was home—good—asleep, tangled in blankets, and snoring on the couch. She’d been living on my couch for nearly a year now. Which was fine with me. At least it wasn’t the streets.

  “Kitty.” I hovered over her and loosened my tie before yanking it off. “Kitty,” I repeated, then flung the tie aside.

  She moaned. The smell of vodka hit my nostrils as she flipped over onto her back.

  “Jesus, Kitty. You’re drunk?”

  My stomach dropped. She’d been sober for the last two months. She’d been going to the meetings with me. She’d been making progress. What had happened today in the nine hours I’d been at work?

  Her blue eyes blinked open.

  They were bloodshot with black makeup smeared all around them. It looked as if she’d been crying, too.

  I dropped to my knees. “Kitty,” I said softly. “What happened?”

  “Mark broke up with me,” she sniffled, rubbing her nose on the blanket. “Like I meant absolutely nothing to him. He called and ended it this morning. Where were you?”

  “I told you. I’m settling things with Doug Maddox once and for all.”

  “Is that why you’re dressed like an asshole?”

  I smiled. “That’s why I’m dressed like an asshole.”

  Kitty returned my smile, briefly, before she rolled over and vomited straight onto my shoes. I jumped back, cursing, because I’d just bought these shoes yesterday. I’d saved a few suits from before, but I hadn’t saved any suitable shoes. I’d have to hope I could throw these ones into the washing machine tonight and they’d turn out decent.

  The rest of my evening was spent tending to Kitty. She was even worse off than I’d initially thought. What was it with her and jackass boyfriends? How could she let every bullshit-talking guy who came along right into her heart? It would be one thing if a broken heart was all that followed one of her break-ups, but it never was. Each time she’d binge, mostly on alcohol, but I could tell there was more in her system this time.

  By nine, I was freaking the hell out. I was scared shitless about going to Tacoma tomorrow. I couldn’t just leave Kitty for a whole day, possibly two, in her current state. What if she intentionally hurt herself?

  But Doug would have my head on a stake if I called out of work on my second day.

  I sat down on my bed in my room with my phone clutched in my hand. Lana had given me her contact information earlier today. She’d made it clear that I could call her whenever if it was work related. This wasn’t exactly work related, but dammit, I had to do something. And the one good thing I had working in my favor right now was that Doug wasn’t listening on the other side of a microphone.

  I dialed Lana’s number.

  I sat there with my heart thumping in my ears as I listened to it ring, waiting on her to answer. After the fourth ring, she picked up.

  “Lana Bitterman,” she answered, sounding like an automated answering machine.

  “It’s Joe Coffee,” I said, getting straight to the point, breathing heavily. Damn, what was I even doing?

  “Is everything okay, Joe? It’s late.”

  “It’s not that late. Um, so about tomorrow, something’s come up.”

  “Oh. Okay.” I think, if I wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of disappointment in her voice.

  “I’m not canceling,” I explained before she jumped to that conclusion. “I’m calling to ask if it would be alright if my little sister tagged along with us on this trip. She’s an adult. She’s a piece of work. And she’s not in a good state today. Honestly, I’m worried if I leave her tomorrow she’ll do something stupid.”

  “Um—”

  “She won’t get in our way. She’ll keep to herself. She’ll just be another body in the car. What do you think?”

  Silence followed my request.

  “Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what to do,” I said to her, speaking softer now, speaking from my heart, clutching the phone tighter in my hand. It was kind freeing not having the microphone taped to my chest, knowing I could say whatever I needed to say.

  “We could postpone,” Lana suggested.

  “No, I can’t do that to you.”

  “Then okay. She can come. But, Joe, this can’t become a regular occurrence.”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief. “It won’t. I promise.”

  “Why don’t you send me your address and I’ll pick you up in the morning from your place?”

  “That works for me. And Lana, thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. I have your back.”

  Wait! What? I don’t know why the hell that last sentence slipped out of my mouth. I have your back. I most certainly did not have her back. I don’t even know what I meant by saying it. My heart spiked, pounding like a kick drum against my ribs because I knew I shouldn’t have said that. “Okay, bye,” I added quickly. “I’ll text you my address.” I clicked the button to end the call immediately, not even allowing her to say anything in response. I tossed my phone away from me on my bed, then I tangled my hands into my hair.

/>   “Shit,” I said aloud.

  Doing this thing for Doug was already turning out to be harder than I had expected.

  Still, I picked up my phone and texted Lana my address.

  CHAPTER 6

  LANA

  I had my driver park in front of the address Joe had texted me. It was a single-family home in an average neighborhood out in the suburbs of Portland. It was close enough to walk to the Java Beans location that Joe had previously been working at. However, the commute to the office building, if he didn’t have a car, had to be hellish. An hour at least, each way, on public transportation.

  I texted him that I was here and a minute later, Joe and his sister came out of the house.

  He was dressed much like he’d been yesterday—suit and tie, gorgeous, drool-worthy. He also carried a small duffle bag, I guess just in case this trip took longer than a day, which he held close against his chest.

  His sister had dark curly hair like him, the same blue eyes, rimmed in several circles of eyeliner and mascara, and she was dressed—surprisingly—decent in a blouse and skirt. I wondered if Joe had made her put on something business appropriate.

  Joe knocked on my window and I opened the door. “You have a driver,” he commented, speaking to me while still standing outside. “You made it sound like you’d be driving.”

  “Sometimes I hire a company, that way I can work while I travel. Is that a problem?”

  “No. I just wasn’t expecting it. This is Kitty— or Kathrine. My sister.”

  Kitty nodded in my direction before slipping headphones on over her ears. “I’ll sit up front,” she said, then she reached for the door, yanked it open, and climbed into the passenger seat.

  Opening the back door wider for Joe, I scooted over to the other side of the backseat, leaving plenty of room for him to climb in beside me. He did just that, with his bag still clutched tightly against his chest. He let out a sigh as he put on his seatbelt.

  “Want to put that in the trunk?”