The Barista

Work And All Play

"What are you working on?" Abby asks as she walks over to the dining room table, cradling her coffee in her hands and analyzing the living room.

I'm deep in thought while on my laptop. "Mr. Easton sent me my next assignment. And it's a big one. He kind of has me all over the place. He's using my intelligence to his advantage. And I am fine with that because apparently, he's giving out bonuses when I do different work like this and they aren't small bonuses either."

"Hmm." She breaths from the back of her throat. "And how much did he pay you for this assignment?"

I flash my eyebrows, trying to keep my attention on the current assignment that has even me confused. "Well, this is a larger project than he's ever given. Mr. Easton said not to tell the boys. But on top of my five thousand weekly pay, he's adding ten thousand this week for this project alone. And I can see why."

I look up just in time to see Abby's jaw drop, her eyes widen, and her hands almost drop the coffee as she sits at the table. "This man is your lifeline right now. Who pays that much money?"

"Well..." I say, pause, and raise a piece of paper. "If I'm looking at this correctly, what he needs to do would normally be done by a team of maybe five different people. I did the math before even starting the project. I oddly didn't even need to look up the salaries of everyone. Because he's a large corporation, and the fact that this project seems different than all the other ones he's given out so far, there is a chance the wages of everyone who would have taken on this project would have cost his business thirty-plus thousand this week."

"Jesus." She gasps. "Wait! Are the boys gone now? I mean. I kissed Holten goodbye, but I didn't see him physically leave. And I'm assuming if you're talking about something the boys can't know about, they are gone...right?"

I nod while continuing to dig deep into my work. "They are gone. Liam said something about them possibly going to Venice next week and they have two meetings today which revolve around that."

"Oh, that asshole!" She complains. "I knew it! Holten mentioned something about it. I said he should take me with him, and then he changed it, saying he wasn't going anymore. But he just doesn't want me going."

I shrug. "Well. You two did just start dating. Maybe he wants to take things slow."

She rolls her eyes with a look of amusement building on her face. "He didn't take things 'slow' last night...which reminds me. Did you and Liam...you know...take things 'slow' too?"

I can't help but bite back this wild fiery feeling inside of me as those words roll off her tongue. I exhale this excitement overfilling my body. "Abby. My body fills with crazy mixed emotions and parts of me alert my brain that I'm craving him. Which should be a problem. I can't 'crave' any man right now. But no. We didn't do anything. We've never kissed. We aren't anything except for friends."

She scoffs in disbelief. "Wait. Are you telling me you and Liam Easton slept in the same bed and didn't even kiss? They are the Easton boys! They are handsome, smart, rich, caring, calm, and...well Holten isn't so calm when in bed if you get what I mean..."

"Yes, Abby!" I interject. "I get what you mean. You're getting laid while I am over here thinking about Liam and getting nothing. You know, I asked him if a friendship was all he wanted."

Her eyes dance with excitement as she leans into the table. "And what did he say?"

"Nothing! You screamed and we thought you were dying. But it was the spider! I didn't get an answer from him after that. He got dressed, looked me in the eyes, and said he enjoyed the entire twelve hours we were together which left me boggled because we didn't do anything."