for, liar

Chapter 26

I was in a deep slumber when Maddy sneaked into my room and threw herself on top of me. I jolt and groan as she cackles maniacally, rolling off to the empty spot on the bed.

"Maddy, oh my Goddddd." I whine.

"You have to tell me about your date! Right now! C'mon. I made pancakes and coffee. Get your ass up."

I'm in such a sour mood I didn't think I could possibly enjoy the fantastic breakfast Maddy prepared but I was dead wrong. She's such an amazing cook that it's honestly sickening. Why can't she let me be in my sadness?

"Spill the tea."

How is she ready for drama this early in the morning? Usually I'm the morning person.

"There is no tea. We went for dinner and then to the park." I tell her and dig my fork into my stack of pancakes.

"You're bullshitting me." She edges on.

I huff and pick up my coffee cup. I think now she's starting to realize I'm in a bad mood because her expression starts to change.

"Oh no. It was bad?"

I shrug, shake my head, and take a sip. "No, it was wonderful. Amazing. We talked and talked and talked..."

"You just talked? What else?" She cuts me off.

I break our eye contact and pick up my fork again. I know it's so hard to believe that you can go on a date with a guy and just talk. I don't think Maddy has ever done that.

"And then he took me home." I say blankly.

"Did you invite him in? I never heard you guys come in."

"Because we didn't come in. He said he had to go."

Her mouth drops and she shakes her head. "No way! You invited him in and he said he had to leave? What the fuck!"

"I know! I really thought everything was going great. Am I crazy?"

"I mean, a little but if the vibe was good then I don't know. How much did you find out about him?"

"A lot. Basically his whole childhood." I admit and try not to smile thinking about all the stories he told me.

I don't want to smile. I'm slightly devastated. He put all this work in to get me to go out with him and then nothing. I wonder if he'll even call me today. I guess it could be possible he was just worried about moving too fast with me, but I wasn't even intending on doing anything anyway.

"That's so odd. Next time you go on a date I'm coming to spy so I can give you some pointers." Maddy offers and cracks a smile.

"Definitely not. It was embarrassing enough for my own eyes."

"You're probably overreacting. You should call him."

I raise my eyebrows. "Did Madeline Hennith just recommend that I call a guy? What happened to 'oh he will call if he's interested.'"

She giggles and rolls her eyes.

"Well you look disappointed so you obviously have a little feelings for the dude. Besides, I'm just proud of you for finally going through with a date. I know it's hard to believe but I actually want you to be happy, dumb ass."

"You're such a sweetheart." I mutter sarcastically.

Maddy hates my sarcasm so she always replies as if I mean what I say most of the time. Imagine that.

"I know." She says and winks at me.

I huff and finish my breakfast. "I have to get ready for work." I whisper and leave the kitchen.

Maddy starts cleaning up the kitchen when I hop in the shower. I really want to call Miles just to get an update on how he feels about last night but I get this horrible feeling he's just not interested anymore. He could probably never contact me again and I'll never know exactly what happened.

Lana texts me and asks if I can come into work a little early. Usually I'd say no, but this would be a great distraction from Miles. I get ready super fast and leave after telling Maddy where I'm going.

Scream Beans is swamped today so everyone is running around freaking out about orders. All of our baristas are on edge for some reason and I find out exactly why when I head to the back.

Lana is leaning against the back desk talking to a man whose back is to me. She makes eye contact with me and widens them slightly. I almost back out in time when he notices my presence and turns around.

"Hi! You must be Bree? My name is Jeff Chrisley."

He reaches his large hand out towards me and firmly shakes mine.

"Hi, Jeff...it's nice to meet you. What's going on here?" I ask politely and keep a concerned smile.

Lana crosses her arms and stares at Jeff. She looks pissed. Even more than usual.

"I work with your boss, Catherine. She asked me to come down and talk to you ladies about a few changes for your store." He explains.

This must be why Lana asked me to come in early. Now I'm wishing I didn't.

"Changes to what, exactly? I thought everything was going great."

Jeff is about to speak again when Lana interrupts him.

"Cat isn't coming back." She says bitterly.

He flashes a glare at her and relaxes his face muscles before speaking to me again.

"What is she talking about?" I ask, noticeably impatient.

"It's not as bad as it seems. It's actually great news! Catherine is in the process of spreading her business more around the east coast so she has a lot of work to do. She specifically came to me and asked if I could take the store in my hands while she gets things taken care of."

"Take it in your hands? As in like...management?"

Lana's face is bright red. This is the longest she's ever held back her anger.

"That is correct." Jeff answers.

She storms past us and walks onto the floor to help our coworkers out. I take a deep breath and push my hair behind my ear. I know she was going to lose her mind if she didn't walk away. She probably would have lost her job too.

"Miss Taylor, I know this seems like a lot but I can promise you this change is going to be good. We'll get a lot of things sorted out while I'm here. It's for the better. Besides, you want Catherine to be successful right? Who knows, maybe one day you can manage your own store."

I can assure you, Mr. Jeff, this is not what any of us wanted. 

Revised;