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“Bridget, I’m glad I caught you.”
I turned around and looked up at my boss. He was at least ten years older than me, but that didn’t seem to stop him from flirting with me constantly. “Oh, hi, Mr. Ellington.”
“I told you to call me Joe.” He smiled at me and put his hand on my shoulder.
Nope. “What can I do for you?”
“Coffee. Please.”
“Sure. As soon as I get upstairs, I’ll get you a cup.”
“No, the good stuff down the street. Thanks, Bridget. See you in a few.” He let go of my shoulder and stepped onto the elevator.
I wanted to tell him that it was 15 degrees outside. And that there was perfectly good coffee in our office. Instead, I bit my tongue and went back out into the cold. The place my boss was referring to wasn’t exactly nearby either. It was three blocks away. I folded my arms across my chest and walked as quickly as I could.
When I finally arrived at the coffee shop, I could barely feel my nose. I got into the back of the line and rubbed my hands together. A woman walked up behind me. She was talking really loudly into her phone. I rolled my eyes to myself.
“What can I get for you?” the barista said with a big smile when I reached the front of the line.
“Could I have a 12 ounce cappuccino with soy milk and extra foam to go please?” I hated how pretentious Mr. Ellington’s order sounded. I felt my cheeks blush.
“Sure thing. That will be $3.99.”
I handed the barista the company card.
“Sorry, our register is being weird this morning. It’s not scanning cards. Cash only.”
“Oh, okay.” I opened up my purse and rifled around. I had handed the homeless person my last dollar bills. But there was tons of change at the bottom of my purse. “I’m so sorry.” I started pulling out quarters and placing them on the counter. I could feel my face turning even more red. This was mortifying.
“God. Don’t you see that someone who’s actually ready is waiting behind you?”
I turned around and looked at the woman behind me. “I’m really sorry. It’ll just be a second.” If she thought I was rude, she shouldn’t be yelling into her phone in a small coffee shop.
“This is ridiculous,” she snapped. “I’ll have a latte. Whatever your biggest size is. With coconut milk and no foam.”
Of course her order is as pretentious as Mr. Ellington’s.
“Umm…” the barista looked at me.
“It’s fine. I need another minute anyway.”
“Okay,” the barista said. “That will be $4.75.”
“Here,” the woman said and handed him a ten dollar bill. He pulled her change out of the register and handed it to her.
“And if you think you’re getting a tip for not making me wait, think again.” She grabbed her change and walked toward the other end of the counter where the pickup line was.
“What a bitch,” the barista said under his breath.
I laughed. “I’m sorry I took so long.” I slid the quarters toward him. I had ended up finding a few extra quarters. “Keep the change.”
“Thanks.” His big smile returned from earlier as he dumped the extra change into the tip jar. “I hope you have a great day.”
“You too.”
* * *
“It’s cold.” Mr. Ellington looked up at me.
