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Poppy scowls at me disapprovingly before rolling her eyes. "We're doing lunch before Remi pops. Duh."
"Oh duh!" I smack my forehead dramatically, causing Benji to fall into another fit of adorable toddler giggles. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Because you work too hard and would forget to pee if someone didn't remind you," Lily tsks. "Have you even eaten today?" I grimace. She's right. I do forget to do things like that which is a shock because I fucking love food.
Shrugging, I try to play it off. "It was crazy busy this morning."
Lily tsks again before spinning and heading back toward the door, just expecting everyone to follow her, like the matriarch of our raggle-taggle bunch she is.
I open my mouth to protest because I can't just leave in the middle of the day, but Uri beats me to it. "Have a great lunch, Boss. Bring me back something fatty and fried. Please and thank you." Biting my lip, I look between Uri, Kai, and Kala nervously. Obviously, they can handle it, but leaving them right in the middle of the afternoon fills me with guilt.
"Seriously, Vi. Perks of being the boss. Take some time off, you need it." Kai placates, as she shoos me toward the door, handing me my purse and hoodie as she goes. "And Jess will be here in a while to relieve me and Kala soon, so everything will be fine."
Lily steps out onto the sidewalk, gesturing me to hurry up. "Come on, Aunty Vivi. I hungry," Benji pouts and I'm done for. He knows it, I know it, we all know it. One sad look from this kid and I'm putty. Groaning, I wave at my staff and dutifully follow my sisters.
A few hours, and way too many tacos later, I arrive back at work feeling better and more positive than I had been when I woke up this morning. I don't know what exactly it is about spending time with my sisters, but it never fails to cheer me up. They are sarcastic, bitchy, dramatic, and insane, but they are mine and I love them.
I quickly jump in to help Uri and Jessica finish the orders in the queue so we can get ahead of the early evening rush that I had predicted. Fridays are always nuts and today is no different. After making a few drinks, I get into the groove, lost to the energy of the music in the background, only slightly muffled by the buzz of a full house.
Between the three of us, we catch up easily but the line seems to be never-ending. Poor Uri, who has incredible customer service skills but dreads using the fancy computer system, shoots me a pitiful look, silently begging me to switch jobs with him. Chuckling at his dramatics, I jut my chin in the direction of the espresso machine that I was manning. He gives a loudwhoop, claps his hands, and literally runs from the computer, mid-order.
The customer he had been helping laughs and pays his bill before moving aside. He tosses his change into the tip jar, and I give a cheerful thank you and wave before jotting down his order on a cup and passing it to Uri. I'm so caught up in the chaos, that I don't realize who takes the man's place until I look up and spot the most piercing blue-green eyes that I have ever seen, already staring at me from beneath thin framed glasses.
Eli.
NO SUGAR IN MY COFFEE-CAUGHT A GHOST
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Don't panic, you can do this.
Fuck, he looks incredible. Breathe, Violet. Get it together.
Oh my god, was he always this good-looking?
Stop, stop, stop! You're a badass bitch. Pull it together.
"Hi, Violet."
Oh, fuck.
"Violet?"
Speak! Say something. Anything.
"Do you like coffee?" I blurt.Oh, no. Nope. That's not what I said."Do you want coffee?" I correct, except this time, instead of blurting the question like a crazy person, I shout it like I find the word coffee offensive. Eli's eyes narrow on me in confusion. He glances around, discretely looking at the customers near us. When he finds a few of them watching our interaction, he grits his teeth and leans across the counter.
"Um, are you alright?" he whispers, his voice laced with concern. It'sthat, that snaps me out of my stupor. Anger replaces nerves faster than I can blink.
He thinks there's something wrong with me? After everything? After seeing him and his besties almost daily at the gym for months and months, then hooking up with the three of them in a life-altering orgy, only to be ditched the next day, without a word.
Except, there were a lot of words. A lot of words about explosions, attacks,war, then radio silence for months.
Oh, and don't forget about last night. The whole shit show where I learned the rumors about them being in thefucking Mafia!To top it all off; they showed up at their club like their asses were on fire, stared at me for a while, and then ran back out with their tails tucked between their insanely toned thighs.
Oh yeah. I'm alright.
The audacity of this motherfucker.
