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“Well… you did already drink this one,” I said with a sigh. “Didn’t you?”
It was true. At least three-quarters of his latte was gone.
“Not all of it,” he said defensively.
Rather than answer him, I smiled and shrugged.
“If your milk foamer is broken maybe you shouldn’t be pouring lattes at all,” he grumbled. “And if you think for one second—”
“You know what? You’re right,” I cut him off. “Hang on sir. I got you.”
I plucked the cup from his hand, tossed it away, and grabbed one of Java Queen’s proprietary ceramic mugs. A minute and a half later I was handing him a hot, steaming latte. Freshly-poured milk foam and everything.
Franklin accepted it graciously. He was halfway back to his laptop when he stopped dead in his tracks.
“You’re kidding, right?”
The disgusted way he was staring down at his mug made me giggle. “No. Not really.”
“I think you need to get me the manager.”
I paused for a moment, then shrugged one shoulder. “Sure, no problem.”
As the man returned to the counter I ducked behind the cappuccino machine. When I stepped out again, I had a much brighter smile and an ear-to-ear grin.
“Hi, I’m Ariana! How may I help you?”
The man’s lip curled back in repugnance. “You’re the manager?”
“I sure am,” I said cheerily. “Supervisor, too. And head barista. And—”
“Can I speak to the owner, then?”
I motioned, and somehow caught Katie’s attention. She put down the broom she’d been sweeping with and glided over.
“Can I help you with something, sir?”
Franklin squinted skeptically at the curly-haired blonde. “Are you the owner?”
“Yes, why?”
Katie shot me an inquisitive glance. I shrugged in response, and her eyes rolled.
“Alright,” she sighed heavily. “What’d she do this time?”
The man was speechless for a moment. He was still staring down at the coffee art I’d so thoughtfully provided him.
“Did she draw an asshole again, or—”
“Well no, not exactly.”
“Did she write a curse word then?” Katie frowned. “A bad one?”
“No,” the man admitted. “Here. Look for yourself.”
Holding the mug out, he rotated it so that she could finally read it.
“What does that say?” Katie squinted through her glasses. “T-E-A-M G-R-”
