Page 7 of After Midnight

“I’m just saying, I can see why you’re single.”

“What?” My eyes went wide and my blood boiled.

“You have a quick temper. No wonder you’re single. Haven’t found a man that can tame that raging beast within you yet, huh?”

I saw red. Not figuratively, but literally saw red. I wasn’t one who believed in auras surrounding a person and shit, but if ever there was one, it was in everything around the man. From the sky to his once black cut off shirt everything was now red.

“You know what?” I said pointing my finger at his chest and with a nod of my head. “Iwasgoing to offer you a ride back to town, as a way to apologize for almost hitting you with Daisy— “

“You mean almostkillingme. And who’s Daisy?”

I ignored him and continued my rant. “But now you can continue walking your happy ass back to wherever you were going in the first place.”

“See? Temper. It doesn’t take much to throw you off balance, does it? But, I’m glad you like my ass.”

“I neversaidI liked your ass.”

“Ah, but youdolike it. It’s okay, I like it too. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging the beautiful things we see in life, Dream.”

My eye began to twitch.

“Listen, I have a very good book I can recommend to you. It’s calledForbidden Hunger, and it’s by a guy named Lawrence Hall.”

“That sounds like some kind of bullshit romance novel.”

“Nah,” he said with a shake of his head. “Do I look like the kind of man that reads romance?”

“So, itisa bullshit romance novel,” I sassed.

“Nah. Well, I mean it is, but the author is the one full of bullshit, not the novel. I’ve been following his works for quite some time now. If you can separate him from his words, it’s really good. Anyway, the story is all about finding balance in life,” he continued and looked me up and down, “which you clearly need to learn. You should check it out.”

“Fuck you. You don’t know me, you don’t know anything about me,” I yelled and stormed back to Daisy’s opened door. “You know what? I’m glad you’re passing through. You just keep on passing through, mister.”

“My name is— “

“I don’t care what your name is, and I don’t care that you’re an egotistical ass-hat that thinks he’s God’s gift to women.”

He chuckled and put his hands in his pockets. “And what makes you think I’m egotistical.”

“Oh, you want to know? Fine,” I said and stormed back to the spot in front of him I’d vacated a second before, determined to give him a piece of my mind. “You’re walking around here, in your cut off shirt showing your rippling biceps like you don’t have a care in the world, while some of us have all kinds of problems. Your very demeanor screams egotistical.”

One corner of his mouth curled up. “You think my biceps are rippling?”

“Ugh!” I exclaimed and stomped my foot into the concrete. “You have a good day, sir. Best of luck to you wherever you go.”

I spun on my heels and stormed back to Daisy. The more I walked, the angrier I became. Once my hand was on the cold steel of my car, I got in, slammed the door harder than I wanted to, put her in drive and sped off, thankful I’d never see Sex-on-a-stick again.

So why am I staring at him in my rearview mirror as I drive off?

#

ICALLED JEANETTE ANDasked her if she could switch it up with me and open the café the next day, and I was thankful I did. I needed to sleep in and take my time getting there based on the events of the day before. I couldn’t wrap my head around what happened. I’d almost killed a man as I was driving, which had never happened before, but it was a symptom of the illness, and I needed to treat the illness.Why did Victor want to buy my little old shop in the middle of the city?

Victor was one step ahead of me and I needed to know why. I’d recently celebrated my one-year anniversary of opening “Dreamy Bake Shop & Café”, so it wasn’t like it was an established, well-known brand. With all the costs involved, the profit I’d generated was minimal. It didn’t make sense, and when things don’t make sense, I have to make them make sense. And I do it through research.

“Yes! Research,” I said to myself in the mirror after my morning shower. “Whatever reason he’s got for wanting to buy the café will probably be with the city.”

There was something I was missing, so I needed to find it to be on equal footing with Victor. So, I determined I would visit city hall, find the planning division, and hopefully find some answers. I wouldn’t be able to do it today though. I’d switched shifts with Jeanette, which meant she’d leave earlier than normal. I needed help. If I could afford to take on one more staff member, then I’d be freed up to do things other than eat, sleep and breathe the café. But, I had to put the thought away as my mind flashed me a picture of my Profit and Loss statement hanging up on the whiteboard in the backroom. Taking on another employee would push me from minimal profit to great deficit, and then I’dhaveto sell the shop and admit I was a failure.

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