Older. Rich. Commanding. Attractive.
Maybe I抦 just scared to death of ending up a sidepiece again梕ven if there抯 a negative chance that ever happens with my boss.
I抦 not nearly stupid enough to get involved with someone I work with. But maybe the similarities keep tripping some long repressed psychological switch deep in my brain.
Because even here at this charity function, we can抰 have a truce.
Not when Cole Lancaster is one bad cup.
8
Special Order （Cole）
My lips curl in amusement as I stare at the message on my phone between the break in longwinded panels.
I can抰 believe you抮e doing this, Lump. My brew wasn抰 good enough for an undiscerning charity function, so you抮e taking it to a conference now?
I laugh. It抯 the tenth time Miss Angelo has texted me this morning, ever since she caught wind of the upcoming event and my travel schedule.
I抦 probably enjoying her reaction more than I should be.
I reply, After considerable thought, I prefer Commander Coffee over the unflattering Lump. That does a disservice to my weekly jogging routine and the way it keeps me in shape.
That earns me a string of red faces with $!——# over their mouths.
Eliza: Lump. As in Lump of Cole, you lunk.
Cole: Regardless, you need to calm down. This is the perfect place to judge the new product. No one at this conference will mince words.
Eliza: …that抯 what I抦 worried about.
Cole: I抦 confident they抣l love it. And if they don抰， I抣l just keep paying you to experiment until you produce a drink they抣l adore. I抦 not sure what you抮e worried about.
I watch the dots at the bottom of the screen indicating she抯 typing stop and start again. Several times.
Eliza: Maybe I just hate disappointing my boss. He抯 rude as hell and gets scary when he抯 mad.
Cole: He also hired you at a premium after a stormy altercation and provided ample direction. If you fucked up, he has no one to blame but himself.
That must catch her off guard.
I don抰 get another text for half an hour as I return to reading over Troy Clement抯 latest sourcing report about our Brazilian facilities.
When my phone pings again, I look down, expecting another text from Eliza.
It抯 Destiny this time. She抯 sent me a picture of the first slide of her presentation that goes with the paper. It抯 eye-bleed purple and decorated with animated coffee beans that make me bite my tongue.
揕et抯 hope the content is better than the style,?I mutter.
The center of the page reads, 揃ean Business: The Science Behind An Empire.?
Well, the title has a nice ring to it.
I forward it to Miss Angelo before I can second guess, adding Destiny seems to have enjoyed her time in Development. Thank you again.
She immediately responds with a smiling cat emoji. You抮e welcome. And the text you sent before this梩he one where you took responsibility梩hat抯 one thing I never expected.
I glare at my phone with my face overheating, scratching my beard.
There抯 no need for such heavy words when this conference is nothing special. It抯 the same as every other networking booster ever invented for men and women with net worths exceeding eight figures.
Corporate. Stiff. Droll.
Barely two hours in and I抦 restless as hell.
Maybe it抯 because I抦 in a hurry to finish, press a few hands, and go home so I can pay a personal visit to the R & D team. It抯 been almost a week since I sparred with my sassy new lab dork in person.
I sit through another panel, only half listening as some advertising mogul from Chicago named Heron drones on about his company抯 success. The few mentions of how he found peace for his family and his company vaguely catch my attention.
I抦 glad when it抯 over, ready to grab a water for my parched throat.
I抦 walking by the table that has the beverages when a tall man approaches. It takes me a second to put a face to the name.
Brock Winthrope?
I抳e only met him once, but he抯 a whale among big fish, and heir to the international Winthrope luxury hotel brand. So when he wants to talk, I make time to listen.
He might be a bit of a young hothead from what I抳e heard, but what he lacks in age, he makes up for with that last name of his, which always wins respect. He抯 also running more of the brand ever since his grandfather moved into the background after the grand opening of their Chicago jewel a couple years ago.
揗r. Lancaster. I had to come over and tell you how otherworldly this coffee is. I love it,?he says, tapping the side of a complimentary cup with my brand logo on it.
揟hank you. We抳e been working on the latest line for a while. We抮e testing it now for a launch late this year.?