AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Technically, I didn’t lie.
After kissing Brayleigh goodbye, I headed straight to the grocery store and bought myself a bag of sweet chili heat Doritos and pink lemonade. At Indigo, I treated myself to a Double Chocolate Frappuccino before picking up one of Rebecca Zanetti’s sexy vampires.
I spent the afternoon reading in my favorite armchair. In lieu of dinner, I washed the entire bag of Doritos down with pink lemonade while watchingThe Willon Passionflix. It starred one of my all-time favorite book boyfriends which more than qualified him as ‘interesting’.
And if I went to my bed feeling the gaping space within me that marked Brayleigh’s absence and Lucky’s changing focus, no one needed to know about it but me.
In any case, there was no one I could tell.
Eebie-Jeebie
Hope
My high heels heralded my exit as I crossed the polished floors to the elevator bay. I maintained my professional smile until the doors slid shut behind me. Only then did I allow the shudder I’d repressed to work its way through my entire body.
My boss, Maeve, a stellar human being, stood for everything I valued. Successful, independent, and powerful, she gave no fucks and ran our department like a benevolent drill sergeant. We were her all too willing infantry, and I was not ashamed to admit my eagerness to be first in line when she called. Working with Maeve was an education and a treat.
Maeve’s boss, however, was an asshat. A throwback to the era when men didn’t bother to learn the names of the women working underneath them and called everyone ‘sweetheart’. Back then, a pat on the ass commonly served as a thank you. Judging from the gleam in his rat-faced, beady eyes, his hands were itching.
My skin positively crawled in his presence.
On more than one occasion, Maeve had warned me to keep my distance, and to let him know in no uncertain terms should he step out of line. “Otherwise, he’s harmless really,” she assured me.
Maybe for her he was. I was less than convinced for the rest of us. More than one woman had left his office red-faced and fuming only to hand in her resignation within a few weeks. If not a few hours. There was only so much a girl could take.
When HR questioned them, they all too readily spilled their concerns, but he never seemed to cross the line.
Not verbally.
The elevator doors opened, and the sweet smell of heaven wrapped around me.
“Good morning, heavenly Hope! What can I get you on this fine day?”
Another throwback, this one welcome, Giovanni welcomed all his regulars with a nickname and a smile.
“Giovanni! Please don’t hurt my feelings and tell me you’ve forgotten my order?”
He pressed his lips together in mock dismay, his eyes dancing. “Don’t tell me.” He paused dramatically and turned away from me for a moment before swinging back with my regular order ready to go.
“Giovanni, you tease!” I wagged my finger at him. “This is how you keep all the girls coming back? You play hard to get!”
He smiled widely, the deep creases in his face framing the enchanting gap between his front teeth. “Double-double with whip and a chocolate croissant to go.”
I presented my card and took my order off his hands. Glancing around to ensure no one was paying attention, I dipped my chin and bit the top off the swirl of whipped cream floating atop my coffee.
“Mm, so good. One day I’m going to have to give up the whipped cream, Giovanni, but today is not that day.”
He returned my card with a gentle admonishment. “What would coffee be without cream? Or cream without coffee? You’ve got to take the good with the bad, heavenly Hope, or you’ll be left with nothing but a bitter taste in your mouth.” With those wise words, he reached across the counter between us and topped up my whipped cream with a flourish.
I laughed as I thanked him. When I hit the elevator, my smile only widened at the sound of his booming voice greeting his next customer.
As the doors closed around me, the rich aroma of coffee and chocolate expanded to fill the space. The next person to enter the elevator would head straight to Giovanni’s for their own fix. I licked the top of my whipped cream and watched the numbers change as the elevator flew up its track.
Giovanni served coffee, smiles, and warmth like it was his sole mission on earth. Maybe it was.
When the elevator doors slid open, I swept the vicinity for any sign of rat face, but thankfully, there was none. He must have retreated to the top floor. Ironic, considering he belonged in a sewer somewhere.
Maeve winked at me from where she stood coaching one of our younger associates, seemingly aware of my thoughts. She laughed at my coffee. “What on earth is that?”
