The Chosen One

Chapter 9

Saturday mornings at work were the busiest times of the week, so Iris would be working alongside Francine this morning until she finished at noon. Francine was out back grabbing some stuff when she realized the time and thought perhaps if she was lucky, she'd avoid the jerk's regular 8 am coffee visit or perhaps Iris would kick him out with authority as the owner, and he'd actually listen to her. Doubtful, but a girl could wish, right?!

Francine gathered everything in the basket that she needed then sat on the huge bags of coffee beans that were piled six high to play on her phone to pass the time. She cringed when she heard the bell above the door chime and that stupid smell of cinnamon, spices, and men's aftershave wafted through the entire building, making her take slow deep breaths involuntarily as if her life depended on it.

Maybe she was getting ill or something, she wasn't as strong as she used to be, so perhaps she had the flu coming on, and her senses were playing up. I mean, that was the only possible reason that she was behaving so oddly, right? She could pretend, couldn't she?!

Iris began talking quite a bit, but Francine couldn't make out what she was saying or the responses she was getting, but she knew it was him. She prayed the bell would chime again, signaling that he'd left, but she heard Iris laughing softly in an almost flirtatious manner, which was weird. Her stomach tightened uncomfortably as she eavesdropped on them, feeling all kinds of unsettled all of a sudden.

She tried to convince herself that it was someone else and not the annoying man that had made it a habit to bug the s**t out of her lately, but she was just kidding herself. If she could stay hidden in here, she'd be fine.

"Francine," Iris called out, but she ignored her, hoping she'd assume she was getting rid of rubbish out the back or in the bathroom.

"Francine," she shouted loudly this time, and Francine knew she couldn't avoid her. She had that motherly tone that you just knew not to mess with. Iris had caught her and Nomer getting in trouble so many times over the years that Francine knew firsthand how scary she could be when she wanted to be, and she definitely didn't fancy her weekend starting out that way. Plus, she loved Iris like her second mom, so her heart couldn't ignore her.

She reluctantly put her phone in her back pocket with a huff and slowly retreated to the front of the cafe, dreading what would happen next. She felt him before she could even see him. His stupid bright blue eyes gazed intensely at her, and she couldn't fight the pull that drew her eyes to his. No matter how hard she fought herself, she couldn't break eye contact, and he smirked, knowing how he was affecting her. Goddess, she hated him.

"For goddess sake, Francine, what is wrong with you this morning?" Iris's frustrated tone finally snapped her out of the trance, and she turned her focus on her as she frowned at her.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a bit tired, what did you say?" she excused herself, feeling embarrassed that Iris was berating her in front of a customer, and not just any customer. This one. Him.

"Well, if you and Nomer insist on staying up all night, you will be tired, won't you?" Iris scolded her as she stormed off to the kitchen, leaving her blushing in shame at being told off like a child.

Mr. Jerk growled loudly, and his hands gripped the bar so hard his knuckles turned white.

"Maybe you should avoid the strong coffee- caffeine is clearly not good for you," she pointed out his whitened knuckles as he just sat there looking furious with black flecks of anger clouding the blue of his eyes.

"Maybe you shouldn't stay up all night with your friend Nomer," he insinuated they weren't just friends, which angered her for some reason.

"Nomer found his mate if you must know. But he is worried what Iris, his mom, will think, so I was up all night trying to cheer him up and convince him that everything will be okay," she said in a hushed tone, still unsure why she was even telling him this.

"So you didn't have s*x with him?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her as if he was trying to sense the truth in her words while seemingly more calm as time went on.

"Argh, no, that's disgusting!! Nomer is my best friend, he is like a brother to me!" The idea of sleeping with Nomer was gross, and she couldn't help but screw her face up in horror at the thought of it.

"That's good! So what's the big deal with Nomer's mate then?" The perfectly handsome stranger asked curiously, leaning his elbows forward onto the bar top with his chin propped up on his hands. Suddenly going back to completely normal with those blue eyes twinkling like the clear sky on a summer's day.

"His mate is a man and Nomer's concerned his mom won't accept him."

"But it's his mate," it was simple really. The moon goddess chose your mate, your other half for a reason that only made true sense to her and you didn't question that. Francine was glad this man was so open and non-judgmental. At least there was one good quality about him.

I mean yes- he was extremely handsome, like out of this universe, panty-droppingly handsome, his body was like a god's and those eyes could melt anything they gazed at. But he was also a total and utter rude, arrogant prick. Plus, did she mention how much she hated him??

"Exactly!" Francine couldn't agree more and it felt strangely comfortable to talk like this with him.

"Has Nomer been seeing anyone else?"

"No, I don't think so, why?" She shook her head, unsure of what that had to do with things.

"Because if he was seeing someone else and he met his mate, he'd give the other person up right away, wouldn't he? I mean you can't deny or fight the mate bond," he mused hypothetically, seeming eager for her opinion on the matter.

"Unless he rejected his mate, I guess," she shrugged, chewing the inside of her cheek nervously, totally unsure of why she was so nervous right now. Why was he taking this conversation to such a deep and complex level?

"But would he reject his mate? I mean the bond between two mates is far greater than between anyone else. Why would you settle for something less than the mate bond? Your true other half destined to you by the moon goddess herself?!" He was seriously intense right now and it was intimidating to say the least as his eyes bore into hers as if he was trying to read her mind, she couldn't help but start to feel flustered under such full-on scrutiny.

"There is more to life than just mates though!" She pointed out, deciding to make his coffee order and end this conversation before it got any more heated. She turned around to the coffee machine and began his order when she heard the bell above the door ring out and the door slam hard against the wall. She glanced back and saw that he had stormed off and left. He had a habit of doing that. What a complicated man.

The rest of her shift was so busy she hardly had a moment to think, so she was relieved when noon came around and she could head home. She grabbed her overnight bag and headed to the car when her phone beeped. 'My office 10 minutes' was all the message from her dad said. She knew right then and there she was in trouble for something or other as her dad never sent such brief stern messages usually.

Damn, damn, and triple damn.