Getting hot at the coffee shop

15

Changing the subject, he awkwardly began rubbing his forehead with his index finger, eyebrows raised.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you-“ he trailed off while finishing the question with his eyes.

Inwardly I groaned. I had managed to escape the attention from my hideous burn all day long. I had assumed that if anyone would point it out, it would be Leo. I imagined him now reveling in my misfortune and my fists clenched and my lips pursed.

“If you don’t want to tell me, it’s completely fine. I just wanted to make sure you’re ok and that something didn’t happen out front with one of the coffee machines.”

I exhaled slowly. So this was an accident at work issue. Maybe he thought if he didn’t check it out then I would sue. What a riot that would be. I could see the headlines now: Girl sues job on first day for an accident she caused at home. I giggled.

“Sorry” I said clearing my throat and composing myself before continuing. “No this didn’t happen here. I actually managed to burn myself at home this morning while I was straightening my hair.”

There. Now he didn’t have to worry about OSHA stepping in and getting on his ass.

“I’ve never understood why women go to such extremes with their hair and makeup” he commented while frowning.

“Oh no, I’m not at all like that” I assured him, “I can barely do my hair and makeup. I’m an embarrassment to all females I suppose.”

“I highly doubt that.” He smiled flirtatiously at me.

I felt my face redden. He sure was flirting a lot to be my boss and having only just met me the day before. I was absolutely not used to this kind of attention. It wasn’t that I was unattractive; on the contrary actually. I had beautiful dark hair and a very clear complexion accented by dark brown eyes. I had a nice figure too; slender with a nice chest if I do say so myself. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was an evil horrible toad of an ex had managed to steal all of my self esteem by constantly comparing me to other women and telling me how lucky I was to have him. I shivered just thinking about it.

“Well maybe not a total embarrassment but I definitely couldn’t have my own YouTube channel dedicated to awesome makeup and hair tutorials.”

“Why would you want that when you get to come here and be a servant to all of the wonderful customers who are in dire need of a cup of joe? You are making the world a better place one ground bean at a time.” He stretched his arms out as if to emphasize his point.

“Yeah as if the world needs more influencers. Psh, I’ve got them all beat. While they’re out there making millions of dollars just by playing dress up, here I am actually saving people who are desperate for that early morning or late afternoon pick me up. If it wasn’t for me, they might still be dragging themselves around like zombies or stuck in bed unable to move due to the lack of proper caffeination.”

“For sure” he agreed solemnly.

I liked this guy. He was laid back and fun. Easy to talk to. I wish I could spend my days working with him instead of grouchy mcgrouch out front.

A comfortable silence passed between us before he finally broke it.

“I like you Shannon. I think you’ll work out perfectly here.”