DANGEROUS

The Coffee Shop (SP #3)

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Chapter Two
The Coffee Shop
Eliza

It was five in the morning when I went out for a jog, I had drove all the way to one of the city's large track field. I bumped into Kylie, one of Jenny's colleague. We spoke a little, talking about the recent books that were going to be released soon. After that, we said our goodbyes and went back home.
I asked Olivia to accompany me at the coffee shop we always go to. But she cancelled, saying she had plans with her sister.
When I entered the shop, I was greeted by the strong aroma of caffeine; I loved that smell, especially the scent of fresh bread pulled out of the ovens.
As I looked for my usual seat, Harry, one of the waiters, went to greet me. "Morning Hart, your usual table's been occupied, but you can seat near the window."
"Thanks Harry, I'll order in a bit."
"Sure thing!"
I went to sit by the window and put my bag down next to me. I pulled out my laptop and notepad, I texted Gunter and asked him to email me the final look of my book's cover.
This book had 50 chapters, with 2 parts. The first part is more on Ana and Mason's adventure together, and the second part is about their lives together along with their families and friends.
It wasn't exactly focused on my own romance, but the it was close enough—I had planned to put a bittersweet ending, something realistic as to what I had experienced too.
While preparing my things, Harry approached me again, "Hey, can I get your order now?"
"Oh yeah, I'll have two pieces of pancakes, one hot chocolate, and one grilled cheese."
Harry nodded and went to get my order.
As I turned my laptop on, the sound of bells had me looking up to see who just entered. I didn't expect to see a familiar face.
When Philip and I met, I had first bumped into a friend of his. We met at one of my brother's parties, and as soon as we met we instantly hit it off. He and I were alike, we hated socialising and we hated parties; we had similar likes and dislikes. But when Philip interrupted us, there began our first meeting.
Philip is a con artist, he's known to be the second best, and I was surprised when he told me about his friend, who I was previously talking to, being the greatest of all. Both of us were talking and talking all night, and I soon forgot about Philip's friend. I was a little bummed that I didn't caught his name, but I didn't think we'd be seeing each other again.
A few weeks after Philip and I started dating, I started seeing him again—he had been in Philip's many parties and hang-outs with the gang. I wanted to talk to him, because he was a cool guy. He was mysterious, but I knew I had some sort of interest in him because we were so similar.
When Philip properly introduced me as his girlfriend, that's when I noticed he stopped hanging around with Philip and his friends. I couldn't forget him since then, because he was just...different, in a good way.
A few months had flown by, Philip and I became closer than ever. During those months, I found out he was also a mobster, and that he was my family's business partner. I got angry at him, threw a fit, and avoided him. But after a few apologises here and there, we slowly went back to our routine.
But I knew our relationship wasn't as good as it was before, and it was because he only asked me out because our family expected him to. And with one dinner with the whole family, he proposed. Later that night, he cheated on me with my sister.
Now I know what anyone else might think, 'She ran away just because she got broken hearted?' Yes, that's a part of it. But like I said before, I ran away because I was also the reason why my mother disappeared.
Ever since my escape, I became cautious and vigilant to my surroundings. And now, as I'm looking at the same friend of Philip's, I knew I was screwed if he recognised me.
But I knew I was hardly recognisable from before, because I had my hair dyed in blonde and my eyes lensed in brown. I wore medium make-ups everyday, and wore trendy clothes to make it seem I'm a fashion diva. I was a famous anonymous writer, so I had a lot of money combined with the money my brother had given to me before.
As the man entered, I noticed how different he was from before too. When we first met, he was short and skinny. He had a nerdy vibe, which isn't a bad thing. He wore glasses, but still he stood out so mysteriously—he was quiet and reserved, which made him look mature than any of us before.
Now he looked like a man, a large guy who's tall and a bit bulky. His muscles were in perfect size, along with his healthy body. He was tall than before, but I knew it was him because of his face's features. He had grey eyes with long lashes, full lips, sharp jaws, and thick eyebrows; in other words, he had a perfectly sculpted face and body.
I was relieved from the fact that he didn't recognise me, because he didn't give ma single glance at all.
He wasn't alone too. He had two companies, they were the same size as him—they wore dark clothings, making them look like businessmen.
This coffee shop was know for it's famous coffee, and I can't blame how many people visit this place. Although, this is the first time I saw him.
'What the hell is he doing here?' I thought.
Since he was an old friend of Philip's, does it mean he's part of the mob? He's a con artist, isn't he? So he must be a part of them.
Apparently, I was staring too long, because Harry had cleared his throat in front of me. I casted my eyes away from the handsome man, looking up at Harry with a sheepish smile. "Look at you, checking out hotties. That's so unlike you," he laughed.
He put down my orders and teased me little more until he backed away from my playful glare.
I hear my phone ring, I looked at the caller's ID and accepted the call. "Hey Gunter," I said.
"Hey! Olivia and I are hanging out with her sisters, I bumped them from the grocery store. You wanna come over the apartment later for dinner?"
"Damn, I can't. I'm meeting up with a friend later."
"Ah well, that's alright, maybe next time. I can send the cover later, I'm still at the store."
"Alright, I'll be waiting. Have fun with the girls."
"Yeah yeah, I'll see you tomorrow!"
I hung up and went to drink my hot chocolate, "Damn that's good."
Looking up from my cup, I spy my little eye the con artist, who was now sitting two tables away in front of me. It looks like he's meeting with someone, since his two friends stood only at the corner of the shop.
The door of the coffee shop rang again, and this time I almost spat my drink and choke myself to death when I saw who entered.
Out of all the people I'd see today, here's my brother Wesley entering the small coffee shop I always go to, here in the city I stayed in. What in the hell was he doing here?
As he entered, he took a small glance around the shop, and thankfully didn't set his eyes on me. Walking forward, he approached the con artist's table confidently. He sat down and they began talking.
Thoughts had gone haywire in my head, and questions flew everywhere. Like 'What's my brother doing here?', 'Why is Philip's friend here?', 'Why here in all places?', and 'What are they meeting for?'
I knew I should talk to Freddie about this, because usually when one of the people in my past visit this city, he'd warn me. Did he not know where Wesley goes to nowadays? Does he know who this con artist's name is?
Taking a bite on my pancake, I looked down at my laptop and sighed, I'm not going to finish any work today at all. Not with my brother sitting a few meters away from me. I haven't seem him in years, I want to talk to him—but I knew better not to.
And so I signalled Harry over, he came in an instant. "Is everything alright? You look pale."
I nodded, "Yeah, um, I—I want to take my hot chocolate on-the-go?"
Harry raised his eyebrows, but nodded nonetheless. He took my hot chocolate and walked back to the counter.
I finished my pancake, feeling like I'm gonna puke. I noticed how hands were trembling when I held my fork up, so I took a deep breath and tried to relax.
'Calm down, they won't recognise you. Not anymore—you're stronger than this.' I though to myself.
Taking another glance, I see Wesley nodding multiple times towards the con artist. The man was facing towards me, so I had to discreetly lower my head towards my laptop while peeking at them.
"Here you go," Harry arrived and put my drink on the table.
"Thanks Harry," I quickly gathered my things, and then grabbed my cup as soon as I was done. "See you around," I said.
I calmly walked towards the exit, but I knew my hands were still trembling. When I got out, I could feel eyes scrutinising me—I shivered at the feeling.