Page 18 of Tuned To Break
“Maybe I like being in your way.”
“Jake,” Chase’s voice cuts through the steam and sexual tension like a bloody fire extinguisher. “Stop distracting Stella and let the rest of us get caffeinated.”
I step back with a grin.
Stella gives an exaggerated sigh, but I catch the twitch at the corner of her mouth before she focuses on pulling the first shot.
She’s a bloody natural—all those years working at the coffee shop show when she starts flicking switches, timing pours, frothing milk like she’s been doing it for years. The workshop quiets, everyone weirdly reverent, watching her like it’s a performance.
She hands me the first cup. “For you.”
I take a sip and groan. “This is... I don’t even have words. This is sex in a cup.”
“Careful,” she says. “I charge extra for moaning.” My dick stirs just thinking about making her moan.
“You could bottle this and start a cult.”
“Don’t encourage her,” Asher mutters, stepping up for his turn. “She already walks around like she owns the joint, and she’s only been here a day.”
“The way she bossed us around yesterday, she may actually own this place one day,” José points out, then holds out his own cup. “Make mine a double. No milk. Actually...” He looks around, grabs a can of Red Bull from his toolbox, and cracks it open. “I’m mixing it.”
“Absolutely not.” Stella tries to grab the Red Bull out of his hand, but José is too quick for her. “Don’t you dare.”
“Oh, I am. It’s happening.” José moves away from her and pours the liquid into the espresso shot like it’s some kind of experiment. “Red Bull latte, baby.”
Stella’s face pales. She’s horrified.
“Mate, that’s not coffee,” Chase shakes his head. “That’s a fucking heart attack in a mug.”
José sips it proudly. “It’s called innovation.”
“It’s called ‘do not resuscitate,’” Asher chimes in. “You’re gonna vibrate through the floor.”
“Pretty sure I just saw your pupils dilate,” Stella deadpans, shaking her head in disgust.
José raises his cup. “To caffeine.”
“To regret,” I mutter, watching as he takes another long sip and shudders.
A few minutes later, Stella begins passing around more drinks like she’s the caffeine queen of New Hope. “Nobody can complain about being too tired to focus now.”
“Does that mean no more Monday arvo naps behind the parts shelf?” Asher asks hopefully.
“No,” she replies sweetly. “It means I’ll be double-checking the CCTV footage.”
Groans ripple around the room.
“You’ve created a monster,” Asher says, taking a sip of his coffee and nodding in approval. “José is going to be bouncing off the walls, more than usual.”
“Right,” Stella agrees, finishing her own cup. “Now that you’re all properly caffeinated, we need to talk.” She walks over to turn off the radio, and we all automatically gather around. It’s like she’s got some kind of natural authority that makes us all want to listen.
“I spent most of the morning going through the paperwork, and we have some serious problems. You’ve got clients who haven’t been billed in months, suppliers who haven’t been paid, and parts orders that were never followed up on.”
She starts pacing, and I find myself mesmerised by the sway of her hips.
“José, I need you to start taking photos of your work progress every day. Not just when you remember—every single day. I’m setting up a client portal where they can log in and see updates on their cars. No more phone calls asking, ‘How’s my car going?’”
José nods. “Yeah, all right. That makes sense.”
