Page 63 of Daily Grind
Shit, he needed to get it together. He had a series of interviews starting at noon and his first customers would walk in soon. Five minutes before eight, he unlocked the door and fired up an espresso for himself.
Eight on the nose, Sam Anderson strolled through the door. Brian put down his cup and donned his professional face. “Hey, Sam. Your regular?”
“I’m nothing, if not predictable.” Sam stood by the register.
A large cappuccino with 2 percent. Brian started in on Sam’s order. Halfway through, it suddenly occurred to him that Sam must know Rob and he nearly dropped the frothing pitcher. He finished Sam’s drink and handed it over.
A curious expression on Sam. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” The answer was automatic and not quite the truth. “Actually, great in some ways. In others…” He shrugged. “Replacing Justin’s been hard.”
“I’d say I’m sorry, but…” Sam tipped the cup to Brian.
He couldn’t help the laugh. “I know. Honestly, Justin was wasting his talent here. I knew he’d move on.” He leaned back against the counter. “And then the whole Eli thing…”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Those two.”
As if speaking an incantation, the door clattered open and both Eli and Justin entered. Sam visibly bit back his smirk. “Thanks, Brian.”
“No problem.”
Sam exchanged a few quiet words with his employees and headed out.
“Morning,” Justin said. “Don’t suppose you’ll let me back there…?”
Eli tapped his cane on the floor. “You’re lucky he lets you pay.”
“He’s right.” Brian crossed his arms. “So what’ll it be?” While he would love Justin behind the counter, having him there only would remind Brian of the loss.
“Same as the boss-man today. Except two shots.”
He didn’t even have to ask Eli for his drink—he nearly always got an Americano with room for cream. If he didn’t, he let Brian know.
Eli was a creature of habit—except when he wasn’t—but he signaled his change.
He got started on their drinks. Pouring hot water into Eli’s Americano only reminded Brian of Rob and his breath caught. Rob inside him. He inside Rob. The way they fit together—in and out of bed. Took all his concentration to finish the damned order.
At least Justin hadn’t ordered whip. He handed over the drinks.
“Rough night?” That from Eli as he presented his credit card.
The card tumbled out of Brian’s grasp and onto the floor. “Shit.” He picked it up and ran the transaction. God, he needed to get his head on straight. “No.” If you didn’t count the sex.
“Must have been agoodnight then.” Justin sipped his drink, but Brian saw the smile.
“Dude.”
This time, Justin’s smirk was visible, as was Eli’s grin. Thankfully, they didn’t rib him anymore. After they left, the shop filled with customers and he had no time to think about anything until Miranda came in at eleven thirty.
Even then, he spent a good fifteen minutes catching up on dishes and wiping down tables before his first interviewee arrived. Impressions worked both ways—he wanted a clean shop. He scanned the notes on his laptop to get a sense of the first person he’d be talking to. Beth, a college student at Carlow majoring in political science. She’d done a couple months at a Starbucks between high school and college. Could be promising.
He snapped the laptop shut and leaned against the counter. They finally weren’t swamped and he and Miranda could talk a bit.
“Hey, how’s your grandmother?”
Miranda’s normally cheerful disposition faltered. “Not as good. She’s… forgetting stuff. Not all the time, but—”
“Enough?”
