Married To A Stranger (Wattys2021 Eligibility Award) (AMAZON PUBLISHED)

Chapter 3 Part 1

"Good morning, Mrs. Johnson," "Late this morning I see," Mr. Chang, my boss said to me as I walked in.

Awesome, not only did my husband drag me upstairs like a sack of potatoes that contributed to me being late, now I'm being called out. Can my day get any fucking worse?

"I know Mr. Chang and I apologize," "This morning was really out of my hands," I apologetically said to him.

He smiled and slowly walked away. Standing at 5'6" and a little chubby, Mr. Chang has been a saving grace. With the fact I have no memory of my past and pleading to him that I needed a job at the interview, he took a chance with me, and here I am today. I could have been a stay-at-home wife, but being that dependable did not sit right with me, I had to do a lot of convincing to Mark for him to allow me this much freedom. Speaking of which, my scalp is tender and I feel like I'll be having a headache soon.

"Karla!" Kelly shouted, dragging me out of my thoughts.

I snapped up looking at her and blinked a few times. She stepped further into my office and closed the door with a worried look on her face.

"What's wrong?" "Why are you crying?" "Is it because of Mr. Chang calling you out on your lateness?" She dropped all questions at once.

"What are you talking about? I'm not crying," I said still looking at her.

Kelly is about the same height and age with just a month apart but a little less body mass. She's smaller everywhere but still curvy, light-skinned, straighter face with 4b type hair. She's the only friend I've had since I started working here.

"Yes, you are Chicca," she said while handing me some tissue. I took it and wiped my eyes and she was right.

"Mr. Chang was just being silly," "You know how he is," she held my hands.

"I know, it's not that Kellz," "I didn't even realize I started tearing up," I assured her.

I can tell she's going to start asking a bunch of questions and honestly, I don't think I can give her the answers she's looking for.

"Then what's wrong?" "Not only are you late, but you are also crying," "Does Mark have anything to do with this?" Kelly asked sternly. I flinched a little and heard her sigh.

"What did he do Kay?" She asked. I honestly don't want to drag anybody in my mess, so I have to try and steer her away from this. Knowing Kelly, she won't drop the topic easily.

"I'm good Kellz, we just had a small disagreement that's all," I lied hoping she believes me. She stood up and stared me down for a good half-minute before she sighed.

"Just so you know, I don't believe you but whenever you are ready to actually tell me what's up, I'm here to listen," Kelly replied. I smiled and got up to throw away the tissue.

"I know Kellz and I promised to tell you if something is really wrong," I told her while giving her a hug.

She hugged me back. "Just so you know, you are not alone," "We are all here for you," Kelly continued while she squeezed my shoulder.

"I know and thanks," "Anyways what was it that you wanted to tell me?" I asked while we pulled apart.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot," "I wanted to find out if today's the day we are starting the free coffee for every ten customers?" She asked. I walked back to my desk and sat down.

"Yeah, it's today," I replied. "Persons are already coming in so we should have selected the tenth one by now or about to," I continued. She nodded and then left to head back to the front of the store.

While I continue to sort through some paperwork seeing I had arrived late, might as well get these done before I do anything else. Three hours later and with just the fruit salad I had for breakfast I'm beyond famished. I got up and decided to head to the front of the store and see if I could get something to eat. I made my way to the front and I realized we were packed. We not only serve coffee, which is all varieties, but we also do pastry dishes. And we are the best. So, I wasn't surprised to see the crowd we accumulated this morning. I decided to put on an apron, gloves, and a mesh on my hair and help out. After helping out at both the coffee section and pastry shop, the crowd is now under control.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite lady behind the counter," a male voice said. With that, I smiled and turned around.

"Well, if it isn't my not-so-favorite customer," I walked over to Matthew.

He has been coming to the cafe for as long as I can remember and I'm starting to think he's doing it just to see me. Because of how he dresses, the car he drives, I am positive he has no need to be here all the time just to get a Cafe Au Lait and a strawberry muffin.

"You look lovely today Mrs. Johnson," "It's always a pleasure to see you on the front line dealing with customers," "I hope Mr. Chang knows you are the face of his establishment," Matthew said while standing in line.

"I'm sure he does but call me Kay," I replied. I finished up on serving a customer her ice latte and cupcake and was now clearing the counter.

"First name basis, I like," Matthew smiled widely at me while walking to the counter.

I could see the other customers and staff listening in on the conversation because this has become a routine for Matthew and me.

"Your usual order today, Matthew?" I asked him ignoring his comment. "While I would love to chit chat with you, I do have other customers to attend to". I said to him while gesturing around the coffee shop.