Page 49 of Sidelined Love

I nod, understanding the sentiment. “Of course. I'm here with my best friend, Jade. Jade, this is Ben, my coworker.”

Jade waves at Ben, flashing him a bright smile before handing me my drink. Ben nods, acknowledging her presence.

Ben leans in closer and says, “Can I be honest with you?”

I have no idea where this is going, but curiosity gets the best of me. I need to know what he wants to say. “Sure. What's up?”

“I've noticed you've been a bit more… distracted this week. Is everything okay?”

I take a sip of my Jack and Coke, letting it coat my throat before responding. “Yeah, everything's fine. Just a tough week at work and trying to juggle schoolwork, that's all.”

“I know how that can be. I wanted to ask you how you were while we were at work but didn't want to make things awkward.”

It is a little bit awkward to be frank, but I don’t want Ben to feel that way. “Thanks, Ben. It means a lot to have you looking out for me.”

“So what tales can both of you tell me about working at Brewed Beginnings?”

I swear I can't thank Jade enough for being an extrovert because she easily steered what could have been an awkward moment into an opportunity for us to find something else to talk about.

“Marc keeps us all on our toes with his random ideas and demands. Hailey, did you hear what he's thinking of doing next?” Ben asks as he looks at both Jade and me.

I roll my eyes. “Let me guess, another brewing technique?”

“Even better,” Ben says with a chuckle. “He's planning on themed days. Like, Mocha Mondays or something.”

Jade raises an eyebrow before taking another sip of her drink. “Sounds… interesting.”

“Yeah, interesting is one word for it,” I reply, dreading this idea with everything in my soul. “He'll probably make Funky Foam Fridays a thing.”

Ben laughs. “I wouldn’t put it past him. Hey, remember when he tried to introduce that artisan toast thing?”

Ben and I burst into laughter at the memory. “It was a disaster,” I admit. “Burned bread isn't exactly gourmet.”

Jade chimes in, “But hey, at least it's never boring with him around although, based on what Hailey has told me, he's an asshole.”

“You're putting it mildly,” I say. I start laughing again at the thought of theme days.

We continue to talk among ourselves when suddenly Jade pulls her phone out of her pocket. The slightly puzzled look on her face has me wondering what she's reading. I lean over and ask her, “Is everything alright?”

It takes a few seconds before she responds. “Um… maybe?”

I share a look with Ben and say, “That's not convincing.”

“It's Wilder.”

That is the last thing I expected her to say, but at this point, I'm not shocked. “What did he say? Shouldn't he be doing something related to hockey right now?”

“They don't have a game tonight.”

Oops. Guess I haven't been paying attention to their schedule even though Levi sent me his. I don't have a reason to.

Regardless, there is still a question I need to find out the answer to. I glance at Ben before I turn back to Jade. “What did he say to put that look on your face?” I ask. Normally I wouldn't be asking this many questions, but the expression on her face is confusing to say the least.

Instead of replying, Jade looks up and moves her body so that she can look around Ben and toward the front door. It is then that she finally puts me out of my misery. “Levi is here. And he's staring right at you.”

20

HAILEY

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