Fatal Infatuation [18+]

Ⅰ

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I wiped the sweat off of my brow with the back of my palm, and returned to the impatient customer with a short smile. 

"What can I get you?" I asked, reading his tone and body language. He wore a suit that was slightly too big for him, he had a permanent scowl that accentuated his frown lines despite having an otherwise young looking face, and his forefinger on his left hand was pressed against the earpiece in his ear. He spoke loudly and with displeasure to whoever he was on the phone with, and barely paid me any mind besides when he lifted his gaze to me and signaled me to wait. 

I sighed and waited fretfully, tapping my gloved finger against the surface of the counter. My co-worker, Kashvi, approached me and gestured me to go to the back. I smiled graciously at her and walked away. I wasn't supposed to be manning the front counter, but our other co-worker was, yet again, running late. With no one else to serve the customers, I did what I had to. I worked at a small, family owned café. One of the only cafés' in our town, which meant that it was often busy, especially in the mornings and evenings. I enjoyed my job, despite most of my co-workers being half-assed at their jobs and the labor being intensive. 

It was a surprisingly nice café for this part of the neighborhood. The interior was decorated with string-lights and bright pastel colors and signs and posters that radiated positivity. Still, despite the decorum and homeliness of our establishment, most of our customers were as grumpy as ever, which I thought was strange because bright colors and joyous imagery were proven to improve dopamine and serotonin levels. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the neighborhood that clashed with the atmosphere of the café.

I got lost in my thoughts for a moment, because I didn't notice Kashvi standing in front of me with her hand on her hip.

"Where did you go?" She asked, squinting at me. 

"Nowhere." I replied quickly, standing up. I considered Kashvi my best friend. Not only at work, but in general. I'm sure she wouldn't consider me her best friend, though. She was far more social and far better at communicating with the team as well as the customers than I am. She was fond of me, in my quiet and reserved nature. Others would dismiss my behavior as disrespectful and pompous, but she understood my shyness. It isn't something I can exactly control, it's just me. 

She looked at me, concerned. "Are you okay, ev? You look... Off." 

I gave her a small smile and waved her concerns off. We walked to the kitchen together, where the bakers stood lazily and the waiters scrolled on their phones. Kashvi was the middle manager, so they all straightened out when they noticed her. 

"Has anyone seen Mateo? He didn't come in for his shift again, didn't he?" She sighed. Mateo was the barista that didn't show this morning, leaving me to tend to the front counter. He barely showed up to work, and his position at the café was strictly a result of nepotism. He was the youngest son of the family that formerly ran the café, and one of their only demands was that Mateo would remain working here. Meaning, when Kashvi and her partner took over, they couldn't fire him and still can't. So, us regular employees had to clean up after him and take his shifts. 

As if on cue, Mateo burst through the back door, chucking his cigarette on the ground before closing the door behind him. He looked at us strangely. "What?" 

Kashvi huffed and crossed her arms. "Okay, well, the lunch rush is over. You're 5 hours late." 

"Traffic was terrible." Mateo shrugged. 

"You don't drive..." One of the other employees piped up, furrowing their eyebrows. 

He groaned, tossing his head back. "God, I've been here for maybe two minutes and you're all riding on my ass!" 

"So what if I'm a little late? Whitewell can handle a few hours of barista-ing, can't you?" He turned to me, and my cheeks flushed as everyone turned to look at me as well. I felt myself grow small, and Kashvi stood in front of me. 

"Actually, no, she can't, because that's not her goddamn job!" Kashvi exclaimed, looking at him incredulously. I hated being the topic of this discussion. 

"Well, she's not doing anything else!" He yelled back, dangerously close to her face. He couldn't be more wrong, though. I did a bit of everything. I prepped the kitchen, I cleaned, I occasionally assisted the bakers and servers when they were backed up. Even though my formal title was the café accountant, there wasn't much to account for, so I made myself busy. Anything to avoid going back home. On the plus side, I loved helping people, especially people I would consider to be my friends like Kashvi and her partner. 

Kashvi growled in anger, looking like she was ready to choke Mateo. Luckily, a busser stepped between them, pushing them away from one another as they shot daggers at each other. I exhaled quietly, looking at the pair. It was blatantly obvious that they weren't at all fond of each other. 

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