I watch as he makes his way to the car, hops in, and cranks it. A sigh brushes past my lips as I turn around and pretend that I’d much rather be at work than with Jules. But my heart is still racing; my tummy is still fluttering with prancing butterflies.
I pull my beanie off of my head then shrug out of my jacket to hang it in the employee’s lounge room. I rush to the mirror and smooth my hair down. But I’m still smiling about that kiss—about Jules in general. I’m happily glowing. Ugh, Chris is going to notice and he isn’t going to get enough of this.
The door to the employee’s lounge swings open and Mindy steps in with a green apron on and her hair bundled up in a purposely messy bun. “Hey, Alex,” she chimes, reaching for a chair that is tucked beneath the grey table.
“Hi, Mindy,” I smile. She rocks back in her chair, leaning on two legs as she observes me.
“Something’s different,” she says, narrowing her eyes.
“Not really,” I mutter then reach for the extra green apron on the rack.
“Yeah there is.” She drops her chair on all four legs. She stands and walks around the table to get a look at my eyes. “Your eyes are smiling . . . why?”
I laugh as I step past her. “I didn’t know eyes could smile.”
“Well, they do. And yours are. Are you seeing someone?”
“Possibly,” I say reaching for the door handle.
She narrows her eyes again. “Is it that hot guy that used to come here but doesn’t show up anymore?”
I press my lips to bite back on a smile but she notices, most likely from my cheeks that are heating up and flooding with red. I push my bangs away from my eyes as I shrug. “I knew it. This sucks. I really thought I had a chance,” she groans then reaches for her chair and flops down.
I sneer as I spin around and step out of the room. I know it’s bad to want someone jealous of you, but Mindy is one person that thinks she’s prettier and better than everyone else. She’s an envious person and people like her, I can’t stand. I know that if I pretend that Jules and I don’t have anything going on, she will try to get to him the next time that he is around. I refuse to allow that. I only want him to myself. It may seem selfish but I really could care less about how egocentric I am, as long as he’s only with me.
I shut the door behind me and the thick scent of coffee fills my lungs. I breathe it in, actually satisfied with the sweet aroma. It reminds me of Jules.
My face immediately slants. Everything is beginning to remind me of him.
I swing behind the marble counters and spot Chris standing behind the register taking the order of a customer. He notices me making my way to the cappuccino maker and grins heavily. “You look happy,” he says, winking.
I smirk as I reach for a cup and place it under the brewer. “You didn’t see that happen,” I tease.
He hands the woman her change, reaches for a cup, and then makes his way to the machine beside me. “Oh, I saw everything quite clearly, my dear. I think you owe me a thank you.”
“A thank you?” My eyebrows stitch together quickly. “Why?”
“Because if it weren’t for me, you never would have talked to him,” he says, frowning a bit as the coffee pours into his cup.
“Oh, yeah. True,” I say pulling my cup out and reaching for the milk. “Well, thanks, Chris,” I grin, tilting my head.
“Anything for my best employee.” He turns to place a lid on the cup then hands it to the woman. I pour the milk in my cup then stir it while leaning against the counter. The front door of the shop swings open and Stacy walks in with a red beanie on her head, a black and red plaid peat coat, and some dark-blue denim jeans. “Wow. She’s gorgeous,” Chris says, observing her with wide eyes. “We don’t get many pretty people around here. She’s a first. Don’t screw it up.” He makes his way to his office but I can’t help but to stare at her. Seeing her automatically reminds me of what Braxton was about to do to himself.
She spots me and a bright smile flashes across the lower-half of her face rapidly as she rushes for the counter. “Alexandria, hi! I didn’t know you worked here!” she says, collecting a few strands of hair in her fingers before placing them behind her ear.
“Yeah, I do. What brings you around?” I ask, hoping that Felix isn’t with them.
“Oh, Braxton and I were just out on the city. I needed to get him a breather. He’s feeling much better,” she assures.
“Oh, that’s good,” I sigh. “I’m really glad.”
She nods then the door opens again and Braxton steps in with a puffy blue coat on and loose, light-blue jeans. His shaggy hair is tucked beneath a blue beanie and as he spots me, he grins. “Alexandria!” he sings from the door. The whole coffee shop turns to look at him quickly. My cheeks redden as I try my hardest to bite back on a giggle. “What?” He frowns, eyeing a few of the people that have rude scowls on their faces. They shake their heads as they look away from Braxton to continue doing whatever they were doing. “These twats don’t know how to be happy around here, huh?” he asks rhetorically, reaching the counter with a heavy grin.
“It’s great to see you’re feeling better,” I say with a fold of my arms.
He nods. “I’m feeling much better. Just had a rough night that night.” He reaches to rub the back of his neck nervously.
“I understand.” I really do.
“So, what do we have here?” He glances up at the menu.
“Pretty much everything related to coffee,” I quip.
“I’m going to go run to the ladies room. I’ll be right back,” Stacy says then heads for the restroom area.
Braxton watches her walk off with a sigh. “You know, I hate dragging her through my problems.”
I tilt my head with soft eyes. “I’m sure she understands, right?”
“She does sometimes, but most times I can tell that she’s afraid that one day she’ll lose me. I’ve been trying to be happier about everything but it just seems to only get harder the older that I get. I swear if she weren’t in my life, I would not be here right now.” He chuckles but I can tell that it’s forced.
“You just seem like the happiest person I know. I never thought that . . .,” I trail off because no words are comfortable enough to say.
“I know. Stacy takes me to a therapist and my therapist tells me to try to be happy—and I do—but when things like Saturday night happen, I can’t be. It brings back too many memories that I hate to think back on. When I fight in Angel form, I’m angry. I don’t like being an Angel but I am a Guardian and when there is trouble, we have to fight if we are around. There are no exceptions. We have to protect the humans because it is our job—our duty.”
I nod as he sighs. Mindy swings around the corner but pauses as she observes Braxton. She looks him over with delighted eyes before looking at me. “Well, hello,” she says as she steps behind me to reach for a cup. “Alexandria, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
I shake my head. “He’s standing right here, Mindy. You can introduce yourself.”
Her eyes widen but she brushes me off as she stretches her arm past me to reach for him. “I’m Mindy Lewis. I work here.”
She smiles but I roll my eyes as Braxton takes her hand cautiously. “Nice to meet you . . . I suppose,” he says, pulling away.
She giggles. “You suppose?”
He narrows his eyes as he slightly tilts his head. “Mindy, can I give you a word of advice?” he asks.
She nods her head eagerly, leaning over the counter just a bit to listen to him. “Of course.”
“It is never a pleasure to meet a girl that throws themselves at someone—especially when they know nothing about that person. But I take it that respect doesn’t revolve in that brain or soul of yours so you wouldn’t know that. Huh?” Mindy’s face falls as she stands up straight again. “Tell me, did all of the boys in high school ask you on a date once and never asked again because they scored on the first night?” He rests his fist beneath his chin while his elb
ow rests on the counter.
My eyes broaden as I stare at Braxton with a huge smile that I’m not even going to bother to hide. I glance at Mindy and her eyes are just as wide and shocked as mine—with a tad bit of guilt and shame.
“Screw you,” she hisses then passes behind me to go to the back of the shop again. He watches her walk off as he stands upward again.
“Braxton,” I chuckle. “That was so rude!”
“Oh, forget her. She knows nothing about me. I could be a killer for heaven’s sake.” He reaches for his back pocket to pull out his wallet. “Besides, I can tell that you don’t like her but you’re too nice to ever say anything to hurt anybody. You let people run over you too much, Alexandria.”
“I do not,” I argue, folding my arms.
He raises an eyebrow with doubtful eyes. “You don’t? So why did you let Felix convince you to go to my art exhibition? Why did you let Jules drag you out of the gallery room without even bothering to slow him down? Why did you allow Felix to shove you into the backseat of his car during our brunch date?”
It isn’t too long before my frown fades and my arms unfold. He’s right. They do like to run all over me. I never really paid attention to it and now that he’s brought it up, I feel stupid for letting them. “I—I never really noticed,” I mumble.
“Of course you haven’t. It’s the way you are. There’s nothing wrong with that, though. I can tell that you just like to go with the flow. I’m just used to Stace yelling at me and sometimes kicking my ass if I don’t do what she says,” he chuckles. I smile and just as he speaks of Stacy, she is making her way towards us.
“They ran out of paper towels in the loo,” she says, flinging her fingers to get rid of the droplets of water on her hands. I reach for a bundle of napkins and hand them to her. “Thanks.” She smiles then turns to look at Braxton. “So, are you getting anything to drink from here?”
“Yeah, just give me a Toffee Nut Latte. It’s freezing outside. What would you like, Stace?”
“A regular latte please—with two scoops of sugar, if you might.” I nod as I grab the money from Braxton and toss it in the register. I spin around to get their drinks together but as soon as I do, the front door swings open and for some reason, I can feel the cold swarming in—even from behind the counter. The something-bad-is-about-to-happen cringe takes over me rapidly, flooding me with warning.
Turning around cautiously, the cups slip out of my hands. Luckily they’re empty. Braxton and Stacy look at me curiously before turning around to face Felix who has on a navy blue suit with a white button-up beneath and a navy blue tie. Goodness, he looks so good. His hair is pushed back as always but his hazel eyes are focused on me. He makes his way towards us, not looking anywhere else but into my eyes. There are female customers in the coffee shop staring at him with wide, googly eyes as big as mine but they are most likely pleased to see him. I’m not.
“Hey, look what the Hellion dragged in!” Braxton exclaims with a large grin and a joking banter. Stacy nudges him softly, choking on a laugh. “Where have you been?” he asks.
“Business meeting in California. I have to go back tomorrow but I came to speak . . .” He pauses as his eyes meet mine again. “With Alexandria,” he murmurs, simply.
My heart clutches, and for some reason it isn’t in a bad way. I swallow the brick in my throat as I bend down to grab the cups that I had dropped. I then turn around to avoid his cold, solid glare but I can still feel him staring at me. I grab another pair of cups and place them under the brewer.
Braxton snorts a chuckle. “Sounds boring as hell.”
“It is. But we may have landed a great deal on an upcoming restaurant being built there—but I’m not sure. We’ll see,” Felix says, sounding less than enthused. He sounds off, like he’s thinking about something but trying his hardest to not let it get to him.
The cups fill up to the rim and I pour some toffee syrup into Braxton’s cup, dump two scoops of sugar in Stacy’s, then place the lids on them. I hand the hot drinks to them, forcing myself to not seem bothered but I’m sure they are all noticing that my face is as pale as a ghosts.
“Well, it was great running into you here,” Stacy says with a forced smile. I can tell that she senses my worry and doesn’t want to be involved with this one. “Braxton and I have a lot more running around to do before nightfall, right sweetie?” She hooks her arm through his as she bats her eyelashes.
He glances down at her with a confused glare but as she presses her lips to force a wary smile, he catches her drift. “Oh—yeah! Got lots to do,” he says spinning around with his arm lapped on her shoulder. “See you around Alexandria.” They make their way towards the door and they don’t bother to look back.
I slowly glance at Felix who is standing just a bit to my right with his fingers tucked away in the pockets of his suit jacket. His eyes are still solid, still glowering with an arctic chill. He takes a step forward and his eyes finally drift away from mine. I fold my arms, pretending that I’m not afraid of what he has to say. He called earlier when Jules and I were going to my apartment and he called when we were on our way to the coffee shop but I ignored both calls.
“This is where you work?” he asks, his face twisting disgustedly.
“Yes. Why?”
“You can do better than this, Alexandria.” He takes another step forward and even while he’s behind the marble counter, his height is still overbearing. “You haven’t answered my calls. Is something wrong with your phone?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I lie.
His eyebrows stitch together. “Don’t lie to me, Alexandria. Be serious.”
Damn it. How does he know that I’m lying? Does my face really give it away?
He sighs as he looks around the coffee shop again then at the office door where Chris is always hidden behind. “I need you to come with me . . . to speak. Right now, please.”
“What’s wrong with speaking here?”
“I can’t express how I feel here. Too many ears. Too many distractions.”
“So you just expect me to leave from work to go with you? I’m on the clock.” I narrow my eyes.
“Who gives a shit about the clock, Alexandria?” he hisses. “I need to talk to you in private. Now,” he says through his teeth.
I frown as my heart leaps. He’s trying to remain casual but I know he’s angry. I can see it in those icy hazel eyes of his. I sigh. “I don’t think right now is a good time to talk.”
“Why not?”
“My manager is busy and the other employee is on her lunch break.”
Felix nods and I finally feel like I have won. But just as my heart does a happy dance, Felix makes his way to the edge of the counter and steps behind. He passes by without eyeing me until he is standing in front of Chris’ office door and knocking gently. His eyes narrow into thin slits as he stares at me.
Chris swings the door open and he nearly faints from the stunning beauty that is before him. “Oh,” Chris says, smiling. “A gift, for me?” He glances around Felix to look at me and I try to signal to him to say no to whatever Felix is about to say or ask but he doesn’t seem to notice. Felix looks over his shoulder at me then back at Chris.
“I’m Felix Wells,” he says, lending a hand. “Alexandria and I have a lot to talk about. A lot that I would like to discuss right now because I will not be able to do so tonight or tomorrow. It will only take a few hours.”
Chris frowns curiously while pulling his hand away to fold his arms. “Okay?”
“Would it be possible to steal her from you?”
“And exactly what am I getting out of this?” Chris asks.
Taking a step back, Felix thinks on his question and for once I am glad that Chris is being stubborn. Felix turns to look at me again. I really want him to just give up but with Felix, that is never the case. I of all people should know that Felix isn’t a quitter. Felix turns back around to observe Chris’ black skinny jeans, grey sweater, and the black scarf tied around his neck
. “I see that you are highly into fashion. I know a ton of people in the market that you could join and perhaps group with. Do the names of Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, and Alex Perry sound familiar to you?”
Chris gasps, clutching the heart of his shirt dramatically. “Oh my—you would do that? Just to get a few hours with my best employee?” he asks. “Hell, you can have the rest of the night with her if you’d like. We’re not very busy and I can always bring my other employee up.”
Felix chuckles but in my head I’m screaming. My jaw drops as Felix reaches for his cell phone and hands it to Chris. “That is exactly what I was aiming for. Add your number to my contact list and I will be sure to get back to you about everything shortly.” Chris snatches the phone while Felix turns to eye me again. He has his casual smile glued to his lips now—the one that still makes me melt but the one that I absolutely hate right now. Every feature on his face is smug as he takes a step back. Chris hands the phone back with a bright smile.
“Oh, I’m so excited! Thank you for this, Mr. Wells. She’s all yours. Mindy!” he calls, trailing off to the employee’s lounge room.
“You aren’t really going to set it up for him, are you?” I ask, my face still stuck in disbelief. I watch him make his way to the other side of the counter—the side where the guests are supposed to be—and his eyes soften as he stuffs his hands into the jacket of his suit.
“Of course I am. I am a man of my word.” He half-smiles. “Besides, any extra work and phone calls that I have to make can’t even compare to a whole night with you. It’ll be worth it.” He winks but I groan.
This is going to be one hell of a night.
RUNAWAY
The city lights blur by as Felix rushes through the city. He looks anxious, annoyed and I know that I am the blame for that. He passes between cars and by the speed that he’s going, I’m sure we’re going to wreck sometime soon.
“Could you slow down?” I ask, clutching my seat belt.
“Oh, you want me to slow down?” he asks, a hint of sarcasm brewing in his voice. “Did you slow down when you were with Jules?”
OBTAINED (Book One) Page 18