showbiz // phan

Fillip

Fillip // Chapter Three

"Can you look after the shop for five minutes? I really need a coffee right now." Dan looked at Pauline, knowing she would say yes because well, Dan just happened to be her boss, even though they were good friends, too.

"Sure, go ahead." She smiled lightly.

"Thanks," he grinned. "You want anything?" he asked while throwing on his coat, mindlessly checking his phone's notifications for a second and seeing a message from his friend Dodie. He decided to reply later and let his phone slide back into his pocket, together with his hand.

"Could you get me a Caramel Macchiato, please?"

Again Dan nodded. "Be right back." He walked out of the shop, passing a new customer and mumbling a quick "Good afternoon" before actually having walked out of the door.

The closest Starbucks wasn't far away from Dan's boutique. One could reach it within just two minutes, and on busy and tiring days like these, that was more than convenient.

He opened the door leading inside the coffee shop and was immediately greeted by the compelling smell of coffee and caramel.

It was warm inside, so Dan removed the coat from his torso and held it in his arms instead. There weren't many people here, or at least not more than usual, and he walked over to the counter to make his order.

"Hello," the barista said. She sounded and looked bored and clearly wanted to be somewhere else. "What would you like to order?" She looked at Dan, a fake smile on her face which almost amused him but he kept himself away from chuckling. The girl was around 17 or maybe 18 years old, and Dan remembered how annoying his jobs were when he was that age. He also noticed she had a foreign accent but wasn't able to identify it.

"A Vanilla Spice Latte and a Caramel Macchiato, please."

"Which size?"

"Grande."

She typed the order into the cash machine before looking at Dan again.

"£7.05, please."

Dan nodded, opening up his wallet and handing the money to the young barista.

"What's your name?" she asked while grabbing two paper cups.

"Dan."

She nodded and wrote his name on both cups. "Wait over there, please."

Dan did as he was told, once again checking his phone while walking to the other side of the counter.

He waited, standing, typing some words to reply to Dodie's message.

A coffee was ready and one of the baristas called out the name, however, Dan didn't catch it. So he looked up, just to find a familiar somebody grabbing the coffee.

Dan almost laughed. They were in London, for god's sake, and this was the third time within two weeks they met. How high were the chances for that?