AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Yeah." He ran a hand through his sandy hair. "You wanna grab a cup of coffee sometime?"
"A cup of coffee?" I parroted back, dread clinging to every word.
"Or tea or ice cream or something else if that's not your thing." He scanned my face. "Are you ok? You look kind of green."
I tried to smile and reassure him, but I was sick with worry and guilt. I still didn't know for sure if he was coming on to me and if I dropped the BF bomb and he wasn't, then I risked looking silly and possibly insulting him. But if I said yes, I had Jacob to deal with.
So I lied.
"We're not allowed to uh, fraternize with clients..."
"I wasn't offering a moonlit walk on the beach," he joked. "I just..." His face went serious and he shut down, just like he had when talking about his history in the military. "Nevermind. I'll see you later."
He walked around me and I watched him stalk toward the exit. He looked like a man marching to execution.
My heels clacked on the floor as I raced to catch him. He was just as surprised as I was when I asked him a question.
"Just a cup of coffee as friends?"
****
I slipped out of the office a little early, being as vague as possible about my departure when Natasha grilled me like a warden. Jacob had been a meeting so I didn't have to face his questions, thank God. I had a feeling he wouldn’t be a fan of me grabbing a coffee with Cade, even if we’d both agreed it was strictly platonic. It would be easier to ask forgiveness than permission, right?
That's what I kept repeating over and over like a mantra as I stepped into The Roast. As soon as I smelled the fragrant aroma of coffee beans, it was like pulling on my favorite old t-shirt. The Roast was in a touch and go part of town and definitely qualified as 'hole in the wall'. Somehow they made it work, the peeling wall paint mixing with works of local artists and scuffed tables and armchairs barely holding onto their threads. I'd pretty much lived in the tiny shop during the months before I got the job at Whitmore and Creighton since they had free refills on large coffees and I could drain the well dry and use the wifi.
I saw Cade tucked at a table near the back. Even though he was clearly packing in the muscle department, his slightly wrinkled chambray shirt and shaggy blond hair blended in with the surroundings. With gold strands of hair spilling into his eyes as he leafed through a paperback book, he looked like a bodybuilding hipster. I was the one that looked out of place in my silk blouse, couture slacks, and blood red pumps. It was only magnified by my slicked, bobby pinned hair. I debated ducking back to the bathroom near the door and at least taking my hair down. But Cade glanced up when he took a sip from his coffee mug and spotted me.
I clutched my latte and walked over, trying to smooth out the nerves that had me close to spilling the contents all over the floor. I managed to sit down without making a mess or a fool of myself and swiped a hand over my forehead. "Hi! How are you?"
"Glad that you showed up," he said, a teasing smirk on his lips. When I gaped at him with surprise he added, "I know you're dating Jacob. And even if I didn't know you were the 'secretary turned Cinderella' all over the rags, Jacob's territorial glares did the trick."
I sat back in the seat, suddenly feeling a little less like Judas. "For the record, I'm a personal assistant, not a secretary."
"My bad,” he said with a grin that said he was anything but. He gestured at my cup. "What's your poison?"
"Mocha," I answered, bringing the rim to my nose and inhaling deep. "Extra shot."
"White chocolate mocha here," he said, nodding with approval. "Two extra shots." He took a long sip of his coffee, swallowing hard before speaking. "You'll be a double shot-er before you know it."
"Is that right?" I said, highly doubting it. My extra shot was pushing it--I’d be bouncing off the walls all night.
I watched the jovial nature drain from his face like air from a balloon, replaced by a solemnity that reminded me of the quiet moments when he withdrew inside himself. Like when he was talking about filming A Soldier’s Creed and how he felt like a fake. Or when I first declined to get coffee.
"This life isn’t easy,” he said after a moment. “It's hard being on the receiving end of those flashing lights. It drains pieces of you that you never get back."
"It can't be all that bad, Cade,” I said. “Look at all the opportunities you get because you are Cade Wallace." I said his name in that movie preview guy's voice, trying to lighten things a bit. The tight line of his jaw did relax a little.
"I guess you have a point. I have seen things and worked with actors and directors I idolized." He steered the conversation back to me. "How about you? Met anyone interesting while you’ve been in the biz?"
"Besides you?" I thought about Rachel, remembering all the drama fit for a movie screen. "Nah."
"And I'm sure I'm a disappointment."
"Well, you're certainly more emo than I thought you'd be," I said, mixing equal measures of joking with truth.
He laughed at that and it pushed away the rest of the storm clouds on his face. "Emo, huh? I've been called a lot of things, but that is definitely a first. Though god only knows what I'd find if I was brave enough to read comments section online."
"Do not read the comment section online," I said after gulping down chocolatey goodness. "Like, ever."
