for, liar

Chapter 18

I was able to get Maddy to eat the dinner I cooked shortly after we finished talking on the couch. We ended up talking for hours about unspoken memories and such before it was time to go to bed. I left the apartment quietly to head into work so Maddy could sleep in for as long as she needed. Morning shifts really are the death of me. I shouldn't be too cranky because a seven o'clock shift will always be better than a five o'clock one.

As soon as I walk through the door I practically freeze in place when I see Lana making a guy's drink at the other end of the store. I could've sworn Catherine was supposed to open this morning.

I rush to the back room where I find Jesse sitting, once again, on his damn phone.

"Why is Lana here? Catherine never schedules us together!" I yell and startle him.

He sets his phone down and shrugs.

"Something about an emergency meeting. She had to stay out of town." He tells me and sighs under his breath.

I have the feeling we both share a mutual hatred for Lana. It's not that she's a terrible assistant manager, she has just perfected the art of being a Grade A bitch. I guess that's why this job is perfect for her.

"Bree! Are you coming on the floor or not? I saw you walk in!" She yells from the open back room door.

I didn't even realize she made her way over here. To think I was actually going to enjoy my day...

"Get your ass up here! We're getting slammed! You too Jesse or you're doing cleaning tasks with a very detailed inspection from me!" She yells again.

Jesse groans and climbs out of the chair. He shoves his hat back on his head and gives me a sorrowful glare before walking onto the floor with the devil. I take my time clocking in and getting dressed in my barista attire. My apron is so raggedy and old but Catherine still hasn't ordered us any new ones. She's been insanely busy lately. I'm glad she's been very successful, I just don't want her to forget about her home store if she ends up making it big.

I rush out onto the floor to avoid any more verbal abuse from Lana. She urges me to help out with the line of drinks set up on the counter. Our lobby was pretty full already until a group of five came in, all wearing suits, and ordered a bunch of nonfat lattes before work, backing us up even more. I start to get overwhelmed with the amount of eyes on me. Usually I would say something snarky about taking a picture of us instead of staring so intensely, but I really didn't feel like being a jerk today. Besides, the morning crowd really isn't as much fun as everyone else. They usually are just in a rush to get to work so they don't pay attention to our entertaining commentary.

By the time the morning rush subsides, I'm halfway through my shift so Lana sends me on my break. I grab a cup of water and make my way outside to our patio. I love taking my breaks outside away from the noise and especially away from Lana's needy ass.

The traffic passing our store this morning is heavy for a Monday. I hope Maddy is feeling better today. It's going to be a rough day regardless. I just don't want her to feel like she's alone. I get off in a few hours and I'll probably take her out to get ice cream and get her mind off things.

The past few years when this day came around we would choose something to do that Selena would be up for and kind of dedicate the day to her. I really try to not be sad about it anymore, just like she wanted, but sometimes it gets really hard. I haven't lost many family members in my life and I feel like Selena was close enough to be considered one. It was exceptionally worse since she was young and it happened so suddenly.

As I'm about to head back inside for the remainder of my shift, my phone starts going off. I yank it out of my pocket quickly, thinking something must be wrong with Maddy and she was calling me. I really need to get my mind away from such dark thoughts. I've been doing that a lot lately.

"Is everything okay?" I answer without even checking the contact name.

"Um, yes? I'm doing great. How are you?" Miles answers.

I pull my phone from my ear and check the screen for a split second. I never actually saved his number. Oops.

"Oh, sorry! I thought you were my friend. What's up?" I head back inside to the back room to grab my apron from the desk.

"I just wanted to talk to you. I feel like we didn't really get anywhere with our grocery store meet up."

I laugh faintly into the speaker. "It wasn't really a meetup. You were harassing me in the PopTart aisle."

He doesn't laugh but he does snicker a little. I can tell he's smiling.

"Whatever you say. That's not the point, though. What are you doing right now?"

This is probably the only guy I've spoken to that actually asks me that question during the day. I'm already impressed.

"I'm working. I get off at 3." I tell him and tie my apron behind my back while slickly keeping the phone pressed to my ear with my shoulder.

"Perfect! Can I pick you up from there? I would like to take you to dinner."

I bite the tip of my tongue and lean against the wall. "I can't today. Today's kind of a special occasion and I have to be with my friend."

"Oh! Well shit, I have horrible timing as usual. That's okay. When will you be free then?"

"Tomorrow, for sure. I'm off the next two days if that helps."

I hear the back door swing open and Lana's heavy steps making her way over to me.

"Gotta go. See you then!" I hang up and shove my phone in my back pocket when she turns the corner.

 She isn't my boss and technically doesn't have any superiority over me here, though she's very threatening and borderline psychotic. Let me keep the promise to myself to have a decent shift by not getting into an altercation on the floor.

I follow Lana back up front and finish the rest of my shift in silence. A few people looked disappointed that I didn't insult them. I was so focused on making the list of endless lattes and iced coffees that I really couldn't focus on anything else. I also had Miles on my mind. It baffles me how we barely know each other and he's that eager to see me. I try not to be suspicious over these things, he just seems way too nice and hot to not have anything wrong with him. Besides, it's sort of my thing to find the ones that have something fucked up about them anyway.

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