Page 64 of Daily Grind
“Yeah.” She dusted her hands on her apron. “I need to talk to her doctor.”
Family was rough. His grandparents were still ticking, but one of his great uncles had developed dementia, bad enough that they’d had to put him into a home. “Hey, I’m sorry.”
A pained smile. “I’m just grateful you keep me on for a few shifts here and there. Helps keep me sane.”
That worked both ways. “Anytime. You’re one of my best.”
Miranda laughed, then sobered. “Thanks.” She turned away to wash the milk pitcher, but then faced Brian again. “You need to tell the others they’re good, too.”
Brian ran a hand through his hair and cringed. “I know.” The shop bell rang and a nervous young woman stepped in. “Speaking of which…”
“Good luck,” she murmured. “To both of you.”
Yeah. Four interviews. Four very different people. They all needed a little luck.
* * *
Three hours later,he shook the hand of the last of the candidates—a man close to his own age and already working two other jobs—and watched him leave the shop.
Couldn’t tell if luck had been withanyonetoday. None of the candidates had been awful, but he didn’t connect with any of them, either. He let out a breath and headed back around the counter to type his thoughts into his laptop.
He wouldn’t find another Justin, yet he kept hoping. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath.
Miranda leaned up against the counter next to him. “Oh, come on, Bri, they weren’t that bad.”
They hadn’t been. “I just don’t feel like any of them meshed.”
She frowned, but it was thoughtful. “I could tell.”
“But I still need to hiresomeone.” More than one someone. Three, ideally, but with rising costs, two would be more manageable until he figured out how to balance the budget. Probably needed to rejigger the menu.
Miranda bumped his shoulder. “Who’d you like the best?”
Good question. “Lamont. Smart and driven. Never worked in a coffee shop, though.” He couldn’t hit the ground running like Beth could with her experience. The third candidate, Nick, had been a bust—to young and too flighty. And the fourth? He felt for Rich, but working around his schedule would be a nightmare.
On the other hand, he worked around Miranda’s and was damn lucky to have her.
“People can be trained, you know.” She looked up when more customers poured into the shop, and headed to the register.
Yeah, they could. He closed the laptop and washed his hands, then helped Miranda with the orders.
Three decent candidates. None perfect. Three slots he could fill. Hire them all? At least on a provisionary basis. Especially if Rich would be like Miranda and very part time—that wouldn’t break the budget, would it?
Well, he’d think about it, anyway.
Chapter Thirteen
By the endof Rob’s morning meeting on Wednesday, he was ready to get the hell out of the office. It wasn’t yet noon.
He stood and stretched, grabbed his mug, and headed to the kitchen to make tea. The office coffee still tasted wretched even though it was supposed to be near–coffee shop quality, according to the supplier.
Perhaps “near” meant the Dumpster out back. He swallowed his own snort and pulled out a teabag, soaked it in hot water, and stuck it in the microwave for another thirty seconds. The water from the instantaneous hot water tap wasneverhot enough.
He should just bring in an electric kettle.
Once the microwave beeped, he headed to the nearest window to peer out at the world. At least today was calmer and he’d see Brian tonight.
Both Monday and Tuesday had been awash with in-house customer meetings, including wine-and-dines. He and Brian had texted during the day here and there, and spoken on the phone in the evening, but nothing erased the ache to be near him.
