Hired To Love

Chapter Five

Henley

My phone went off for the tenth time in twenty minutes. Annoyed, I pulled it out of my pocket to see the name Bennett Calloway flashing on the screen. Was he some kind of crazy stalker? I'd never met anyone who would call someone every two minutes if they didn't answer right away. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of me answering it, I decided to just turn off my phone. Then it wouldn't be as distracting.

"Bennett again?" Ariana called from the back room.

"Doesn't he know I'm at work?" I wondered out loud. Like he'd asked, I'd sent him my schedule at Coffee House for the week. So if he'd got it, why was he trying to call me during the middle of my shift? I couldn't just answer my phone at work.

Well, I actually could, but I wouldn't tell him that.

"Aren't you kind of excited?" Ariana said as she returned with an armful of coffee bean bags. "He's so handsome."

"He's cute, but his personality needs some work," I responded, thinking back to the comment about my breasts. Didn't he have any common courtesy? Didn't he know how mortifying that was? I looked down at my shirt, making sure nothing was popping out or straining. How was it my fault that my boobs were too big for my body? Or that retailers I could afford didn't make "small torso, big boob" size? And he didn't need to mention it right off the bat.

My cheeks were starting to warm up from just the memory and I shook my head furiously.

Ariana watched me curiously. "You know, about the boob thing, I'm sure he was just trying to give you some advice—"

"Ugh, just don't talk about it," I cut her off, covering my ears. "Ah, I'm so mortified."

She laughed, shoving the beans under one of the counters. "You'll get over it. Plus, I want him to come back and bring that other guy with him."

"Sebastian?"

"Yeah, Sebastian."

I eyed her warily and began to grind some decaf coffee beans. "Why?"

"He's so cute and so nice," she gushed immediately. "The whole time you guys were talking he was over here keeping me company. He's funny too."

I didn't know much about Sebastian, but he seemed like an okay guy. Still, I didn't like the thought of him flirting with Ariana. If he was a friend of Bennett, then he could be just as strange as Bennett. "Try not to get too involved with him."

Nodding, she let out a soft sigh. "I'm no competition for any rich girls, anyway."

When it came to money, probably not, but if it came to looks, I'd say Ariana had the upper hand. She was a grade A beauty. Even if she didn't realize it herself. But that was part of her charm.

"At least I'm not crushing on your brother anymore," she pointed out.

I paused, the grinder coming to a stop.

"It'd be kind of weird to crush on someone in jail." She laughed, but it faded quickly. "But he shouldn't be in there..."

Clearing my throat, I continued grinding the beans. "I know."

"How long does he have left?"

"Uh, about six months?" I replied hesitantly. I wasn't too sure. It already felt as though it'd been forever since he'd been sentenced. A year didn't seem like much, and it was a light sentence, but it felt like forever to me. Especially since Brandon was the only family I had besides a grandfather in Canada who was too senile to remember either of us.

Ariana raised her fist in the air. "Just think about all the settlement money you guys will get when he gets proven innocent! Thousands of dollars!"

I couldn't help but smile at her spirit. "That's if he gets proven innocent."