Leah Johns walked out from the backroom, tying her apron around her waist.

“What were you doing back there, geez?” Caleb asked.

She made a kissy face at him. “Had to make sure I was pretty for all the customers.” She batted her eyes.

“They want good coffee, not a pretty face.” Caleb flipped a switch on the large coffee pot to turn off the heat. “This one is empty.”

“You’re wrong.”

“No, it’s all grounds. Look.” He tilted a cardboard cup toward her and she could see that the bottom was covered in grounds.

“Not that.” She shoved his arm playfully. “Customers want good coffee, but it’s always better when there’s a pretty face serving it. Worked with you, didn’t it?”

He smiled and pulled her close. “Yep.”

The bell rang to signal that a customer had walked in, and he quickly dropped his arms. They weren’t supposed to show affection to each other while they were working. Not that that had stopped them from having sex in the manager’s office when the coffee shop was closed and they were alone.

“Welcome to Brew House,” Leah said, smiling at the woman behind the counter. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have a vanilla latte. Large.”

“Name?”

“Megan.”

Leah wrote her name on the cup and turned to Caleb. “Vanilla latte.” She handed him the cup as she finished ringing the woman up.

She watched Caleb pour the drink and seal the lid on the top when he was done. He turned to face the customer with a smile, then handed her the drink. She left the store and he wrapped Leah into a tight hug, kissing her neck before letting go of her.

“What’s the plan for tonight?” she asked.

“After we get out of here and clean the coffee stench off? Same thing we always do, I guess.”

“So, head to your place for beer and Netflix?”

He shrugged. “Unless you want to do something else.”

“No, I guess not.”

She was a little disappointed with his answer. It felt like all they did anymore was go to his place to drink, binge watch whatever show they were currently on, and have sex. Was there ever going to be more with them? Did they have any sort of future together, or was this just a for-now thing for him? She made a note to bring it up later, when they could talk and not be interrupted by customers.

The bell rang again and a man walked in. He was good looking in a business suit with a bright blue tie.

“Welcome to Brew House,” she said, not having to force her smile this time. “What can I get you?”

“Double espresso.”

“Sure thing. Name?”

The man raised an eyebrow at her and waited. She waited right back, confused. Had he not heard her?

“Your name?” she asked.

“Julian,” he said with a pissed off expression.

She wrote the name and gave Caleb the cup, but her heart was racing. What had she done wrong? Why was he mad?

Caleb handed him the cup. “Here ya go, Mr. Kane.”

Did Caleb know him? She gave him a subtle questioning look, then smiled again at the customer. “Have a nice day.”

He took the cup and looked at her. “Do you really not know who I am?”

She felt her cheeks go warm. “I’m sorry. No?” Then she remembered what Caleb had called him. “Oh, wait. Julian Kane? I’ll remember you next time.”

She knew customers liked it when baristas knew them and their regular orders. But she was pretty sure she would have remembered this guy, if not for his good looks, then for his arrogant attitude. He was one of “those” customers that they all talked about. The ones who caused a problem over nothing and thought they were entitled to everything.

Julian shook his head and nodded at Caleb, then walked out.

“What the hell was that about?” Leah asked, trying not to cry.

“Seriously?” He gave her almost the same how-can-you-not-know-this-man look that Julian himself had given her.

She shrugged. “Obviously.”

“Julian Kane, uber billionaire? Practically runs this city. Have you never heard of Kane Corporation?”

“I don’t know. What do they do?”

“Everything.” Caleb laughed. “You really do live under a rock. I guess if it’s not on Instagram, you don’t care.”

She glared at him, hurt by his patronizing comments. He put his hand on her shoulder, but she turned to shrug him off.

“Oh, come on. I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said. “It’s just that his name is everywhere, it seems like. Everyday in the news is some story about his company buying some other company or doing something crazy. I thought everyone knew who he was.”

“Apparently so does he,” she said. “Did you see the look he gave me when I asked his name?”

“I guess when you make billions, you can literally afford to be a complete asshole.”

“I guess.”

She tried to put the encounter out of her mind as she went on with her day, but it kept coming back to her. She was embarrassed by it. She should have known him. But also, she was hurt and pissed. Caleb didn’t have to treat her like that. And certainly, Julian didn’t have to be such a huge jerk. The whole day seemed colored gray, and she felt uneasy all day.

By the time the shop closed and their shift ended, she didn’t feel like being around anyone.

“I’m just going home,” she said as she hung up her apron in the backroom. “I’m tired and I want to be alone.”

“Are you still upset over what I said earlier?”

“A little, but it’s more than that. Maybe I’m getting my period, I don’t know. I’m beat. I won’t make it through one episode before I crash.”

“Okay.” He held her tightly for several minutes, kissing her. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” She walked out to her car and drove home, blasting the music as she drove to try and drown out her negative feelings.