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Chapter16
I slipped my phone back into my apron after texting Alek. By then his brother was already at the counter.
Borya wasn't in a suit today. Instead, he wore a black t-shirt and dark jeans. The dark ink that was now visible along the defined muscles exposed only made him look more dangerous.
There was no way he couldn't see the fear in my eyes. I had never been good at hiding my emotions, but I would do my best. "W- Welcome to The Busy Bean. What can I get you?" I only stuttered once, but it was at half my normal volume. So much for hiding my fear.
The jerk smiled, seeming to enjoy my discomfort. I shifted my weight, glancing around. I was working with one other person, but she'd run out to pick up some extra cream twenty minutes ago. It was anybody’s guess when she'd be back.
Did it really matter? If Alek's brother was anything like him, nothing would stop him from getting to me if he wanted to.
"How about one of those fancy strawberry smoothies with a few scoops of protein powder?"
The owners added smoothies to the menu to be trendy but nobody ever really ordered them. Figured he'd want the protein powder, though. Better to keep up with all the muscle mass.
"They're not very good," I said reflexively, before remembering who I was talking to. Ugh. What did I care if he didn't like his smoothie? He raised a questioning brow and then I felt like I had to continue. "I mean, we're more of a coffee place. The smoothies are all frozen fruit and high fructose corn syrup. The protein powder is vanilla. I can mix it in with a blended frozen caramel drink. That would probably be healthier."
He tilted his head and considered me. "Aren't you an odd one? Take your job as a barista seriously, do you?"
I planted a hand on the countertop, hoping that would stop my shifting feet. It was as though my body knew it should be taking off running.
"It's just a freaking smoothie. Do you want it or not?" There. I'd been rude to a customer. I was a total rebel. Alek would be proud of me.
"You've sold me. Blended coffee drink it is. Is that an upsell?"
"Down sell. The frozen fruit is expensive to keep in the freezer, so it runs up the price of the drinks. I helped with the pricing of the drinks, so I know too much about it. I tried to talk her out of adding it to the menu but..." I stopped myself when I realized I was rambling.
Quickly, I put the drink in our point-of-sale system and told him the total. He slapped down a twenty. "Keep the change."
"What is it with you guys throwing your money around? It's like you're doing a nice thing as an insult." As I talked, I carefully counted out the change and slid it towards him on the counter.
He ignored it.
Did Alek even realize how similar he and his brother were?
I got to work making the frozen drink for him. It was my favorite drink here, though I didn't add protein powder to mine, so I oddly hoped he liked it. Maybe if we bonded, he wouldn't wish me bodily harm.
I got into the zone while making the coffee. By the time I turned back around I realized there was a group of customers standing at the door.
My brows drew together in confusion before realization hit. By then my one and only customer had walked around the counter to join me, picking the drink from my hand.
"Hope you don't mind that I locked the door. I wanted some private time to talk to the woman who has my brother so enchanted."
I glanced between him and the customers, debating calling for help. They could call the police. Not that they would get there in time...
As if to prove the negative direction of my thoughts, my wrist was grabbed and twisted painfully. "Daisy Stone, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Borya."
I took a nervous gulp as my eyes fell submissively to the ground. All I wanted to do was curl into a ball and hope he forgot about me and left. But that was hard to do when all that malevolent attention was turned onto me.
"You're the sweetest thing, aren't you? Where did the Black Thorn find you?"
What the hell was he talking about? I wanted to ask but my throat was too thick to form words. It was like he'd grown extra hands and had wrapped long fingers around my neck. All I could do was shake my head.
"This is the one and only warning I'm going to give you. Stay away from my family. If you don’t let Alek out of your clutches, I'll get you in mine." He yanked me forward with so much force that I slammed into his front, his hard body the only thing keeping me from falling to the ground. "And I don't play nice." Then he leaned forward and bit me on my shoulder. Not a warning bite, but hard enough to draw blood if he weren't biting through my t-shirt.
I held back a scream but still moaned in distress, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes. This man was insane.
But just as quickly as he'd bitten down, he let go of me completely and stepped away. He turned his back to me as though I wasn't even a moderate threat. Then he picked up a straw and stuck it through the hole at the top of his plastic cup and took a deep drink of the frozen coffee.
"Damn, you were right. This is tasty. Keep up the good work, Daisy. They're lucky to have you here." Then he gave me an evil wink and walked casually out of the store.
And because he unlocked it on his way out, a stream of annoyed customers followed in his wake.
How was I supposed to work when all I wanted to do was run into the back and throw up?
