Fly By Night | Sons of Anarchy Fanfiction | Jax Teller x OC

Chapter Fourteen

Allie brought her coffee mug to her lips and inhaled the sweet deliciousness of her caramel macchiato. It tasted even better than it smelled too - sweet vanilla and caramel, creamy chocolate and bitter coffee. This was the stuff dreams were made of, and she wished she was able to treat herself this way more often.

It wasn't often she was able to actually leave the office and get some work done elsewhere, if she wasn't already at home, so this was a welcome change of pace. Tempest Coffee was bustling with customers, some staying behind to sit on their smartphones or laptops with their coffee, like she was doing, and others taking their go-to cups to go about the rest of their day. She'd always known this place was here in Lodi - she'd just never really got a chance to actually get here. It wasn't that far from the studio, but she just never really had time for the detour, especially since it was a little bit out of her way.

But still, she wished sometimes that she could just slow down and enjoy life a little bit more. Lately, it seemed all she was doing was working or thinking about work, or checking her email to see if there was anything work-related she'd missed. But then again, she'd agreed to take on this extra work knowing full well that she was basically kissing her personal life goodbye. Right about now, her social life consisted of Golden Girls marathons with Dan. Not that she had any problems with that, it would just be nice to do things outside the house that weren't work-related too.

Nothing had forced her to take Samcro as a client - except for, of course, the thought of her former step-brother getting a real shot at seeing his kids again. That had been low and it had been dirty, but it'd worked. No one with a heart could've told him no, and now here she was, sitting in a coffee shop, waiting for Jax and Bobby to arrive so they could head to yet another business meeting.

Tempest Coffee was one of the more popular mom and pop shops around the area. It was also looking to add a location in Charming.

Bobby had brought up this opportunity a few days ago, and she had to marvel at not only his ability to dig up these potential deals, but to make contact and set the meetings so quickly. He really seemed to have his finger on the pulse of everything that was going on in Charming - that was an asset that had to help the club in spades.

If Samcro could get in as a silent investor for this new location, they'd really be on the path to truly and fully going legitimate.

I'm trying, Allie. I'm trying really fucking hard.

She swallowed hard at the sound of his voice in her head. His voice had been so rough...so vulnerable. There was a little bit of hopelessness in his voice too that had made her heart ache. And she believed him. She really did.

Yes, she wanted Opie to see his kids - she wanted that more than anything. And yes, she wanted the club to turn away from the danger and the blood and the bullets. That was just better for everyone and anyone who came into contact with them. But she also wanted that hopelessness to disappear from Jax's voice. She wanted to see him succeed. She wanted him to feel like he wasn't failing. Maybe that was easier said than done, but they were on the right track. And at the end of the day, she just wanted to help him.

Allie didn't know how to feel about that.

She lifted her head at the sound of a motorcycle pulling into the coffee shop's parking lot, frowning when she realized it was just one motorcycle instead of the two she'd been waiting for. She glanced at the time on her laptop and shrugged. Jax had given Opie a little bit of a break from some of his regular club duties so he could be at home with Lyla, so it was just Jax and Bobby headed to this meeting. They'd been given strict instructions to show up at 11:45 for their noon meeting with the owners, and it was 11:34.