Hey guys!

I've got another story here! I know, I know... I haven't finished my holiday story, so what the heck am I doing. Well, confession: this is a story I wrote almost two years ago, and had posted over on Tumblr. I decided to edit it and post it here for all my favorites over here to read! It's completed, so I figure I'll post a couple chapters a week.

Let me know what you think!

"You're late!"

"It happens," Gen mumbled under her breath as she stormed behind the counter of the small cafe.

"Excuse me?" the burly man already back there asked, stopping with his spatula in the air as he glared at her. It was evident from his tone that he had heard her; he was just daring her to repeat it.

"Sorry," Gen chose to say instead, tossing her purse in the small cubicle under the cash register.

"That better be what you said," the man said before turning to a waiting customer. Saved from her boss' harsh attitude, Gen quickly tied an apron around her waist and reached for the carafe of regular coffee. A quick skim of the cafe told her she might as well take the decaf with her as well; there weren't enough customers sitting to warrant a second trip.

"Can I fill you up ma'am?" she asked as she approached the first occupied table. The brunette woman glanced up at Gen over her glasses before giving a small nod and returning her focus to her book.

"Regular please," she said, her eyes glued to the page, and Gen tried not to sigh as she topped off the cup.

The bell above the door rang, indicating another customer's arrival.

"Gen!" her boss barked and the woman sighed, knowing that was her cue to get to work behind the counter.

"Can I help you?" she asked the two people as they approached the counter. They made an interesting pair. The woman was older, probably in her early 40s, judging by the gray roots on the top of her head and the small wrinkles starting to show on her face. She was dressed in a power suit and Gen felt an immediate ping of jealousy. What she wouldn't give to be a business woman, not having to serve annoying customers and make minimum wage.

Of course, she couldn't really complain since she did have a second job. Actually, this was her second job. Her first job was nannying for her cousin's six-year-old daughter. When Sophia was at school, Gen worked in the cafe to make a little extra money. Sophia wouldn't need her forever, so she might as well have some backup money. Besides, she wasn't the type of nanny who was fine sitting at home while the kid was at school. She needed to be doing something.

Tearing her attention away from the woman, Gen settled her eyes on the second customer. The man looked younger, early 20s if she had to guess. He wasn't dressed as well as the woman, instead wearing khakis and a nice green button-up. Gen spent a good amount of time taking in his outfit, because she knew she'd make a fool of herself if she looked at his face.

To say he was good looking was an extreme understatement. A twinge of guilt rushed through her when she reminded herself she was almost 28. She couldn't be checking out younger guys like she used to. Besides, for all she knew these two were together. Stranger couples had happened.

"Do you need a few minutes?" she asked when neither of them responded to her first question.

"No I'm ready," the woman said, her tone full of authority. "I'll have a large chai latte with skim milk, and a wheat bagel, veggie cream cheese on the side please."

Gen wrote down the order and turned her attention to the man for his order.

"Just a coffee, one cream three sugars, and a number two breakfast sandwich," he said as he squinted at the chalkboard on the back wall, obviously making sure he was ordering the right thing.

"And are these together?" she asked and the woman nodded, pulling out a credit card. Gen told her the total as she took the card and swiped it. A quick glance told her that it was a company card, but she didn't want to look closer at the company name. That would be too obvious.

While the woman signed the receipt, the man walked over and got a table towards the back of the cafe, far away from everyone else.

"Your orders will be right out," Gen said and the woman nodded.

"Alright, thank you," she replied before turning and joining the man at the table.

Gen handed the order to her boss and started working on the chai. It was apparent from his posture that he had calmed down, already forgiving her for being late. He was like that; very hot and cold with his emotions. She knew it wouldn't have taken him very long to forgive her.

"So what happened this morning?" he asked as he started cooking an egg.

"Sophia didn't want to wear shoes," Gen said as she poured warm milk into the chai. "So she hid every pair."

The large man barked out laughter, flipping the egg and popping two halves of a bagel into the toaster.

"It took me twenty minutes to just find one pair, and of course they didn't match her outfit. Maybe she'll get made fun of for wearing green velvet shoes with jeans and a red top and then she'll never hide her shoes again."

"If I were you, I'd keep a backup pair hidden just in case," the boss said.

They were quiet for a minute, both getting the order ready, before Gen stopped and turned to him.

"I'm sorry Rob. I really am. I should be doing everything I can to get here on time every morning. I'm not doing a very good job of that."

"Come on Gen," Rob said, taking a completely different side from earlier, and she knew she was completely forgiven. "You're practically raising that kid. I know I'm tough on you when you're late, but I sure as hell don't know what it's like to raise a six-year-old. As long as you swear you're trying to get here on time, I believe you."

"Well, most days I'm trying," she teased before loading everything up on a tray. Rob chuckled and shook his head at her as she carried the tray out to the table.

The man and woman were currently bent close, obviously talking about something with great interest. A recorder was settled on the table between them and Gen stopped, unsure if she should interrupt.

"Come on," the woman said in an annoyed tone, waving her hand to Gen. As she set the cups and plates on the table, the woman reached over and paused the recorder.

"Thank you," the man said, looking up at Gen with a sincere smile. She felt the wind leave her lungs and she blushed, only able to nod.

"You're welcome," she finally choked out. "Uh, I don't want to interrupt again, so if you want more coffee, just get my attention," she told him before turning and practically dashing back to the safety of the back room.

Those eyes. Those striking blue eyes. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. As she did, she was struck with an odd feeling. She had definitely seen him before, but where? You'd think she'd remember a man as handsome as that.

"Gen!" Rob shouted, and she sighed, taking a deep breath to get herself back in control.

"Yes?" she asked, walking back out and quickly spotting a short line forming. Glancing at the clock, she tried not to wrinkle her nose. It was almost nine, meaning all these people wanted their orders quickly so they could make it to work. All thoughts of the mystery man were swept from her mind as she got to work, taking and filling orders.

By 9:45, she wanted to take her shoes off. Even with her running shoes, her feet were tired of walking back and forth from the espresso machine to the fridge to the toaster to the coffee maker and back to the register. It was like this every day, but she knew that even if she worked here thirty years, she'd never get used to it.

As she began wiping down the tables, she glanced over. The man and woman were still there, still talking. Their plates were empty, but she didn't dare interrupt them again. She wondered what they were doing, and why they seemed so secretive about it. The only thing that could come to mind was an interview, and she wondered what it was for, if that's even what it was.

The bell above the door rang and on instinct, Gen rolled her eyes. Couldn't she just get a five minute break?

Her frown went away as she saw who was standing there.

It was Whitney, her best friend since her arrival in New York City. Gen and Whitney had run into each other, literally, as they were both applying to a part time secretarial position. Neither had ended up with the job, and that had been enough to form a strong friendship between the two.

Whitney had gone on to get a full time managerial position at the Forever 21 over on 5th Avenue, something which Gen both loved and hated. Hated, because it was such an amazing job at an amazing place, loved because she got to use Whitney's employee discount.

"Hey," Gen said as she walked back to her place behind the counter and started working on her friend's order. Whitney didn't have to go in until 11 on Wednesdays, so she was able to stop in and visit with Gen after the morning rush died down.

"How's your morning going?" Whitney asked as she leaned up against the counter.

"Oh you know," Gen said nonchalantly as Rob walked by and cut her off.

"That translates to crappy," he informed Whitney. "Sophia played a game of hide and seek with all her shoes and Gen lost."

Whitney laughed before catching sight of her friend's face and covering her mouth sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, still chuckling, and apparently far from sorry.

"Yeah whatever," Gen said but she was only teasing. Handing Whitney her large vanilla latte, she sighed and leaned against the counter, lifting each foot one at a time to stretch them out. "Hey," she asked, suddenly thinking of something, "do you know that guy over there?"

Whitney looked in the direction Gen had nodded towards, squinting her eyes before shaking her head.

"No. Why? Should I?"

"I dunno," Gen said with a shrug. "He looks so familiar, but I can't place him. I thought maybe you would know."

"Sorry," Whitney said. "But it looks like he wants you."

"Huh?" Gen asked, confused at her friend's odd statement. She thought it would have made more sense if Whitney had said 'it looks like you want him.' Wondering where the hell that thought had come from, she glanced over and realized Whitney meant literally. The man had his arm raised and was looking in her direction while the woman had her head down, scribbling something in her notebook.

Grabbing the coffee carafe, Gen hurried over.

"Sorry," she apologized as she filled his cup.

"It's okay," he told her with a chuckle. "I didn't have my arm raised long and you were busy."

"Yeah don't tell my boss that," she mumbled before remembering who she was talking to. "Sorry," she said again before setting the carafe down and reaching for the plates. "Here, let me get these out of your way."

"What kind of coffee is this?" the guy asked as he took a sip.

"Uh...regular?" she asked, unsure of his question. Hadn't he ordered regular originally? He laughed and shook his head.

"No I mean what blend?"

"Oh!" she suddenly felt stupid and hoped it wasn't obvious. "I'm not really supposed to say..." she trailed off, wishing that wasn't the answer she had to give him. He raised his eyebrows and she knew she had to explain. "The boss thinks that if we tell people what blend it is, they'll go out and buy it and won't come back here to get it."

"He's probably right," he said with another chuckle. "It's really good."

"That's good to hear," she said, glancing sideways at the woman. She looked impatient and suddenly Gen felt like an intruder. Taking her leave, she walked back and set the dishes in the sink.

"You're right," Whitney said as she walked over. "He does look familiar, but I have no idea why."

"See?" Gen asked, glad she wasn't crazy.

"Yup," Whitney said quickly before lifting her cup to her lips to finish the rest of her drink. "Well this has been fun, but if I'm going to get to work on time I better leave now. Wouldn't want to be late," she said in a mocking tone and Gen rolled her eyes.

"Thanks a lot Rob!" she called and she heard his laughter from in the storage room. "I'll see you around. Let me know if there are any good sales today."

"Will do," Whitney said before turning and heading out the door. She was followed by the business woman and Gen frowned, glancing back at the table. The man was currently walking in her direction, checking his phone.

"Need anything else?" she asked as he came to a stop in front of her. He shook his head, putting his phone in his pocket and looking up at her.

"What's your name?" he asked suddenly and she looked at him quizzically. Customers didn't normally ask her that. Looking down, she sighed when she realized she had forgotten to put her nametag on. She was a mess this morning.

"Genevieve," she told him before clarifying, "Gen."

"I'm Jeremy," he said, sticking his arm out for her to shake his hand. She did, wondering where this was going. And trying not to focus on how nice and warm his hand was.

"Nice to meet you," she said slowly. No matter how attractive the guy was, if the next thing out of his mouth was a question regarding her phone number, her relationship status, or whether she was free tonight, she would not be amused.

"This really is a great cup of coffee," he said, looking at the mug in his hand before lifting it to his lips to finish it off. As she was about to thank him for the compliment, he spoke again. "Well, thanks for everything," he said as he set the cup back down on the table. "I'll see you around."

And before she could say anything, he was heading out the door.

All she could do was frown. What the hell was all that?