DARE TO BE HIS FIANCÉ

CHAPTER 2

Anne learned how to prepare coffee from Ditter, the barista. Where she was working before. For almost a year she had been working in a Ditter coffee shop, he taught her how to do coffee artwork and the techniques for preparing a very good espresso. She learned the barista's complete guide to coffee and embraced the knowledge wholeheartedly. That's why she can cook and be a barista at once!

She loves Mrs. Santiago Grilled Star resto so much because it gives the busy city authentic handmade coffee made from her province. Most of their coffee was her idea to put on the menu as it sounds rare to have a resto that offers grilled beef and coffee at once and it surprisingly works.

Anne was cleaning the bar counter when the first customers came inside. Two men wearing black suits and dark glasses entered the Grilled Star resto. They look sophisticatedly expensive and it was so rare to see such people like them in that place. Well, the restaurant is not cheap by the way but because most of their customers wear casual attire whenever they go to their resto. Not like these two who look like going to a red-carpet event.

She looked at the tall, black-clad figure of the man who came in first. He was younger than the other man. He halted at the front door and his eyes scanned the room. He stood there, devilishly handsome, tall, with a beautifully proportioned body.

Anne froze. Her mind stopped working and her body turned numb. Something about his appearance disturbed her. He looked vaguely familiar. Seems like she had seen him before but in just a blink she forced herself that maybe this guy was one of the customers she served coffee to. MYBE.

Is he an actor, a model, or a singer? Or maybe an influencer? He was probably into sports, because of his athletic body.

His dark glasses hid his eyes. It was impossible to find out where his eyes were focusing. But Anne was certain that he was not looking at her. He carried himself with a commanding air of self-confidence. He looked very powerful and extremely rich.

He said something to the other man, and then they strode into the room. They took their seats in the center of the room.

Anne grabbed a pen and the order slip pad. She hurriedly went towards them to take their order.

"Good morning, what's your order, sir?" She stood in front of the two men and smiled at them. She wrote Tie#7 probably because of what they wear.

“Good morning. Can we have a cup of americano and an iced café latte?” The older man removed his dark glasses and smiled at her. He was probably in his mid-forties.

“How about our gold dust stake?” She offered as she was trembling inside.

“Oh no honey, we just stop by.” The old man said in a good manner.

Anne's hands were trembling when she wrote their order. She didn't know why, perhaps because of the younger man's appearance. He looked like a very important man. His face was bronzed by wind and sun. The set of his chin suggested a stubborn streak and his lips were firm and sensual.

He made Anne so edgy and nervous as hell, and he didn't even seem to notice her. He was very busy talking on the phone. She couldn't help listening to his voice. It was so deep, with a velvet edge, and strong.

"Anything else besides that, sir?" Her eyes shifted from one man to another.

“What with this greasy place.” The younger guy suddenly interrupted. It is not the place that was greasy but the food because of its natural fattiness.

“Not grease Son, it is the taste of natural fatty savior meats.” The older man said.

“Next time we drop off. It should not be in this place.” The guy said, making me pissed off a little. I feel bad about what he said because most of the customers are 100% satisfied with the food we offer and even drinks. He probably does not live in this part of the city that's why.

"That's all, miss," the older man replied, then nodded at her, a sign of dismissal.

She served their coffee within five minutes. She stared at the younger man again. He seemed familiar. She was sure she'd seen him before. She wished he would take off his dark glasses so she could see his eyes and figure out where she had seen him before. Then she noticed he drank his coffee. The cup of espresso was his.

A few customers came in. She became so busy taking their orders and preparing their coffee. But she couldn't help glancing at the two men sitting in the center of the room, from time to time. She tried to ignore them and focused on her job.

After a while, she saw two girls approach the two men. The girls were giggling flirtatiously at them. The younger man looked at them and said something that made the faces of the girls turn sour. He probably said something very insulting, since the girls immediately went out of the Grilled Star resto with stony faces. Well, he was rude.

The men left without asking for their bill. Anne went to the table they occupied earlier and saw a one hundred dollar bill under the espresso cup.

And that was the longest 30 minutes of her life. She felt that everything became slow for a while as her heartbeat was running for unexplainable reasons. But she was glad that they left after they drank the cup of coffee.

~

Anne was about to go home when suddenly Mrs. Santiago said that she couldn't find new stuff for today. She keeps apologizing to Anne as of the moment.

“No problem Mrs. Santiago, It was Saturday tomorrow so I will have a rest after all.”

The newly hired staff will start working tomorrow and it was quite late for today when Mrs. Santiago found the new stuff for their resto so Anne was with Mrs. Santiago in the Grilled Star resto the whole day. She took Anne's place at the cash register. Anne did the rest of the job. She tried to serve the customers so fast that they would stop complaining about the slow service.

Before she went home, she mopped the floor and scrubbed the bathroom. She was so tired, but she didn't have a choice.

It was already eight-thirty when she left the Grilled Star resto. She took a bus to the South Bronx, where her family rented a small one-bedroom apartment. The moment she was seated on the bus, she ate the burger that she grabbed near the bus stop. After eating, she took a power nap until she got home.

"Guess what Mom. I got a very big tip today. Two rich-looking men left a hundred dollar bill for their coffee."

"What? That's too much." Her mother, Rara, narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it. I told Mrs. Santiago that we could split the tip, but she said that it was all mine."

"Aww... she's so sweet."

"Yeah, very sweet. I'm lucky to have her as my employer." Anne took her wig off and pulled the rubber band that held her hair in a bun. Her long silky red hair instantly cascaded down to her waist. She took a hairbrush and combed her hair until it shone.

"How's baby Hanz?" She asked about their neighbor's baby. Her mom worked as a babysitter for almost a year now.

"She's still very adorable, but getting heavier. I don't think I can handle her anymore since she is heavier than Nana." Her mom rubbed her chest. She had a mild coronary heart disease. It started six months ago. She was advised by her physician not to do strenuous activities.

"Then stop babysitting. I don't want you to work. You are risking your health. Don't worry, I have a job. I'll work during weekends too, to have extra money We can manage. Besides, you should take care of yourself and Nana is easy to take care of Mom. Why not babysit Nana instead of Mom? Instead Aunt Rose.”

“Nana is a sweet and intelligent girl, she often goes to school every day so it is not that hard to take care of my grandchild.” Her mom smiled as they looked at Nana’s room.

“No worries, I have a day off every weekend so I can have time to have extra work anyway.” She added.