揑 suppose you can leave yours out. It抯 probably better to have more on hand,?he says, annoyingly calmly.
Destiny appears over his shoulder, wearing a Wired Cup t-shirt. She抯 leading a pack of chatty teenagers balancing a couple huge boxes on their shoulders.
I stare as the pack moves.
He glances at them over his shoulder and then looks back at me. 揟hey need community service hours for Honor Society. And I see your rating cards梖eedback from charity coffee isn抰 very scientific. You don抰 need to lug your brews around town anymore, you know. We have panels for taste tests I抎 be happy to open for you. You抮e not an amateur anymore. Welcome to the major leagues.?
It takes all my willpower not to roll my eyes.
揊or the CEO of an 憃kay?coffee brand, you抮e arrogant. And what are they carrying??
揃oxes full of insulated coffee and espresso drinks, all branded with Wired Cup抯 name. Everybody wins at this event. Besides, I can serve more people than you can.?
My foot taps the ground, imagining I抦 stomping his face.
揇ad! What do you want us to do with this stuff??Destiny yells from across the room.
He stares at the table for a minute.
揕et抯 put a few urns under the table for volunteers only.?He walks over and starts moving them as he抯 saying it. 揂nd then we抣l put a box of coffee and another box of espresso drinks on the table, and line the bottom with several more for easy reach. The rest are going to go to the actual Wired Cup booth.?
揟his isn抰 our booth??she asks.
揘o, this belongs to Haughty But Nice. I believe they抮e selling donuts梬hich has nothing to do with fashion梥o I抦 not sure why they抮e even trying to steal our thunder.?
揥e sponsored the fashion show, but Dakota thought donuts would be fun,?Lincoln cuts in with a serious look. 揑 can never tell her no.?
揥ise man.?Cole grins at him with a real smile that has me doing a double take.
He just has to go from ten to eleven on the McHottie scale when he grins.
Shoot me now.
揑s Eliza coming to our booth??Destiny asks.
揑 don抰 know, is she??He looks at me.
揘ope. I抦 here to help Dakota today. Sorry,?I say.
揅an I stay with Eliza??
揘o, you抮e here helping your company and your friends,?he tells her.
揃ut Eliza is selling coffee too! It抯 research, Dad.?
揓ust let her stay,?I say.
He glares at me. 揝ure. I always wanted to have my parenting decisions questioned by a lab tech.?
Ouch. I shrug, pretending it doesn抰 get under my skin.
揂nd I always hoped my boss would be the surliest man in the industry. Guess dreams do come true.?
揝he抣l get in the way,?he warns, walking closer and sizing me up.
揑抦 fifteen, Dad! Not five. God.?Destiny stomps her foot.
揝he was with me all day in the lab. I tried to tell you that before you left for the day, but you had other things on your plate, I guess,?I say pointedly.
揊ine. But if anything goes wrong棓 He points at me. 揧ou抮e fired.?He points at his daughter next. 揂nd you抮e grounded.?
She jerks her eyes away, pretending to ignore him.
Good move. I do the same.
揟he best part about this job is all the exercise my eyes get,?I say with an exaggerated eye roll.
Destiny giggles.
Cole glares at me and storms off, taking the other volunteers with him.
Thank God.
Destiny抯 cool, but I抦 not sure I could deal with that many teenagers.
When we抮e alone again, Dakota leans in close, tapping my shoulder frantically. 揈arth to Eliza? Where have you been? You didn抰 tell me he looked like that.?
Oh, crap.
揕ike what??
She fans her face. 揧ou know exactly what I mean. He抯 a smokeshow with the whole tortured dad vibe…？
I almost gag.
But I can抰 just go down this road again today on what抯 supposed to be my day off.
揌e seems like he抯 into you,?Dakota teases with a massive grin.
Does he? I think like an excited teenager, but then I shake my head. We can抰 do this right now.
揑t抯 not like that,?I say sharply. 揘othing like before.?
Except it抯 really exactly like that, and my voice is whiny and defensive and possibly a little panicked.
I hope wincing ends the conversation.
揙h, no. Definitely not like梑efore.?Dakota抯 face falls. 揝orry. I was just teasing, lady. Didn抰 mean to imply anything about that gross relationship with Derek. Yuck, I still can抰 believe he did that to you…？
揇akota, not here. Apology accepted.?
揑抦 sorry again,?she whispers.
But maybe she抯 right.
Maybe my baggage is the reason why I can抰 have a single peaceful interaction with this man.
He抯 a different person, but he fits Derek抯 profile.