Page 59 of I Choose You
“Have a good day, Mom,” I interrupted her before her lecture could go on any longer, disconnecting the call to try to save my sanity.
The icy wind whipped through my hair in the short stretch between my car and the café. The door slammed shut behind me, catching the attention of the barista.
“Morning, Claire,” she called. Her long brown hair was pulled into her usual ponytail, her makeup artfully applied, and her nails done up.
“Morning, Kayleigh.” I smiled. It wasn’t being fake; it was being pleasant. It wasn’t like it was her fault that my mother refused to listen to me, forcing us to have the same conversation over and over again. “The usual, please and thank you.”
“You got it.” She went to work making up the specific drink orders for each person on-site. Not one of them drank their coffee the same way, but I had memorized their orders early on as a means of getting into their good graces. I was here so frequently the barista not only knew the orders as well, but she also knew my name.
She rang me up and passed me the drinks in a cup carrier.
“Thanks. Have a good day.” I swung around with the drinks in my hand and collided with the person behind me. Coffeeswent flying, spilling onto the man, onto me, and landing in a heaping mess on the floor. “Oh, my goodness. I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” My gaze flew to the poor man who now had coffee spilled down the front of his coat. My eyes widened as shock rippled through me.
Andrew Hassell, my boss, was in Calla Bay.
“Andrew. Hi,” I said. It took a second for my brain to process the surprise encounter. “Let me help you clean up. I’m so sorry about this.”
He didn’t answer me or say a word, instead moving to the station where the napkins were kept.
Kayleigh came around with a mop to clean up the spill. “Are you okay? Did you burn yourself at all?”
“No, I’m fine. Here, let me clean this up. Whatever he orders, it’s on me.” I pulled the mop from her hands and shooed her back to behind the counter. Could this day get any worse?
“Claire,” Andrew called, getting my attention. “What are you doing? Are you mopping their floors?” he asked, clearly appalled by the idea. “They have people who do those kinds of tasks.”
“I don’t mind. I made the mess, I can clean it.”
“Put the mop down, Claire.” His mouth was pulled into a sneer, his cold eyes trying to look down at me, only he had to look up to do it. Somehow, the effect was the same, even though I had a few inches on his five-foot-six frame. “You are here as a representative of me and my company. You are not a servant.”
“Of course,” I said, putting the mop into the yellow industrial mop bucket. “What are you doing here? Can I get you a coffee?”
“And add it to your expense report with the rest of those coffees?”
“I’ve got your replacements right here, Claire,” Kayleigh said. “And what can I get for you,sir.” Her mocking tone and clearly fake smile almost made me laugh. If I had to bet, I would guess that she didn’t like being called a servant very much.
Kayleigh got Andrew his coffee and refused to let me pay for it, even though she had just made double of my order already.
Andrew followed me to the library, and as I stood in front of the large, ornate building, its turrets and spires glinting with new, shiny shingles, I couldn’t help but admire the beauty of it. The first time I saw the library, I had been blown away by not only its size but the character and details that made it so unique. Over the past few months, it had become a home for me.
“The stone needs to be washed. And that roofing doesn’t exactly look historical, now does it?” Andrew said as he walked up to me.
“That’s true, but some concessions had to be made for quality purposes. This roof will last the next thirty years. And the black shingles may look too new and shiny to us, but when this building was new, the shingles would have been black and shiny then, as well.”
“I don’t need a lecture on how history works, Claire. Let’s get inside so I can see what else you’ve been doing.”
Okay…
Andrew could be a bit gruff sometimes, but I’d never seen him quite so disdainful. It was making me nervous to show him around, even though I was really proud of the work thatReid and his crew had done with a little guidance from me.
“Hey, guys, coffee’s here,” I yelled to the open space. Banging and buzzing came from the two rooms where Reid had set up his construction zones.
The noises quieted, and Richie, Dale, and Shawn all put down their tools to grab their coffee. Eyes darted to Andrew, but no one said anything.
“Is Reid here? This is my boss, Andrew. I was hoping to introduce them and give Andrew a tour.”
“I can see what you’ve done from here. Although, it doesn’t seem to be much.”
Shawn’s eyebrows nearly touched his hairline while Dale’s furrowed deep into his forehead.
