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Having a chocolate day.
Dang, girl. That looks good. Bring me one.
Will do.
For fun, I posted the same picture on Instagram with #weirdwednesday and laughed loudly, covering my mouth, and apologizing when the barista looked in my direction.
As I drank my delicious caramel-infused coffee and picked at the donut, which was decidedly too sweet, I scrolled through my bank account and then through LinkedIn, searching for a new job. The bank account confirmed what I already knew – I didn’t have much time to sit around. I ordered another coffee and started to feel energized and expanded my search to browse through the listings on Indeed. Nothing caught my eye.
Leg bouncing, I set the second empty cup onto the saucer, and decided it was time to head home before the snowstorm worsened. At least now I had enough caffeine in my veins to propel me with ease.
I flagged the barista. “I’ll clear up my bill please.”
From out behind the counter, he walked in my direction, tapping my total onto the handheld unit.
Clicking on my phone, I opened Apple Pay and tapped the card reader. A loud ding, followed by the worddeclined.
“There’s lots of room still,” I said more to myself than the young man.
Without any expression, he punched in the total again and held the machine up for me.
Once again, I tapped, and once again I saw the dreaded word.
“It’s fine, don’t worry. I’ll try another card. It’s not your fault, something’s up with the bank. I’ll deal with them tomorrow. Let me try another.”
I tried with the debit card, and still the transaction wouldn’t go through. Embers of anger were flaring in my gut, along with a thick layer of embarrassment. I’ve never had failed payment transactions.
Then it hit me.
I had Baker-Bloom cards on my phone since all my transactions were work-related, but they must’ve cut those off, and rightly so. Dang. Stupidly, my cards hadn’t been added. Double dang. I opened my tiny handbag, but my wallet – the one with my personal cards – wasn’t in there. No, they were at home because today was a workday, and I was out doing work things.
Triple dang.
I rooted through my bag, finding the odd coin, but not enough. In a full panic, I flipped the bag on the table, spilling the limited contents out, magically hoping a twenty would appear between the lipstick and the dental floss, and I could leave with a tail tucked between my legs. No dice.
I swallowed. What was I going to do?
“Can I e-Transfer you?” At least I could access my bank account through the app.
Finally, there was some expression on the young man’s face, which followed a shrug. “Let me ask the manager.”
I scooped the scattered items and dropped them back into my purse, and heart beating loudly in my chest for anyone in eyesight to hear, stared in the direction of where the barista disappeared. Surely, an e-Transfer would be fine. Who wouldn’t accept that? It was still payment.
I opened my banking app and started setting up the transfer, including a hefty tip to cover my embarrassment and any additional fees. All I needed was the email address, and I could be on mytail-tucked-between-my-legsway.
“I’ll come out and talk to her.” The voice was oddly familiar, even though it shouldn’t have been. Not out here, whereverherewas.
Turning my head, my heart stopped its incessant pounding when the six-foot one-inch Scandinavian with broad shoulders walked into the immediate area.
“Holy, wow. Cara Gallagher, is it really you?”
What the what?
Chapter Two
Carter Cross. The three syllables had barely finished rolling across the forefront of my brain when he stepped around the counter and strutted over in my direction.
I rose and extended my hand in a professional greeting, preferring that to the hug I sensed I was about to receive. “Hey, it’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it?”
