TEN

Skye

My closest friend and I were in the café on another busy Monday morning. We had more than plenty to speak about because everything with Derek was going so well, and I was very grateful to have her by my side. However, the venue was fuller than it often is on a Monday. I so initially had very little time to speak to her. Numerous clients arrived as they emerged from the elevator with their typical Monday expressions. Everyone in the Avalon neighborhood never seemed to be in a good mood as the week got underway, and the majority of them flaunted how hard they had partied over the weekend by walking about. Never in my life have I seen so many middle-aged individuals suffering from hangovers. It was similar to working in a college dorm after a long weekend while seeing how everyone appeared to be half-dead. Despite the fact that my father had woken up in a less than pleasant mood, I felt fantastic and had a terrific attitude.

Mandy and I got to work replenishing supplies for the lunch rush when the morning rush eventually subsided and there were only a few customers milling around the café. I removed the muffins and cakes and put the day's supply of sandwiches in their place. As soon as the audience arrived, Mandy prepared the pots for fresh brews and ground the coffee.

“So, how is Derek?” she asked .

“Good,” I gushed. “The past two weeks have truly been the greatest ever. We go out to talk, laugh, make love, and explore the city and its surroundings. It seems as though nothing else in the world exists while we are together. Being alone together while preventing my father from finding out has become a fine art for us. Last weekend, we went berry picking in a remote area of the country where even our cell phones weren't functional. On a blanket in the field, we had lunch, and we simply relaxed and spoke. Starting a relationship on your own, without the involvement of anybody else, is incredibly refreshing. You can truly just focus on each other since all the tension associated with family and friends seems to have been lifted.”

“Yeah, except the reason no one knows is because it will cause huge issues,” Mandy said. “I'm not sure. Don't get me wrong, I love to see you happy, but it seems to me that you're approaching it the wrong way. No matter how much fun you're having with Derek, it's incredibly reckless to put your other relationships in jeopardy for a person you just enjoy to laugh with. .”

“I know,” I said, instantly feeling guilty .

“I’m sorry,” Mandy said. “No one else is going to tell you the truth, and I don't mean to hurt you or be a buzz kill. I'm sure you're going to get seriously hurt if you carry on with this little antics. In the end, what if you end up with no Derek and your father cuts you off? I just feel like there's no way to win here.”

There was no way I could truly dispute what she was saying because I could clearly hear what she was saying. I was beginning to see that it was more than simply a good time, and that was the problem. Though it was clearly not what I had planned when the whole thing had begun, I was beginning to feel romantically drawn to Derek. Knowing that I would regret it if I didn't finish it in time for lunch, I moaned and resumed filling the stations.

I limped through the day, wishing it was time to leave whenever I glanced up at the time. Working at Avalon Café, I was clock watching for the first time, but I simply wanted to be by myself since I felt so uneasy.

Mandy saw that since she began discussing how terrible mine and Derek's relationship was, my mood had soured. She tried to lighten the situation by grinning at me. She made light of the situation by giving me a hip-check and making me grin. Regardless of whether I wanted to accept it, I was aware of her hurt feelings and that what she was saying was very much true. A tall, middle - aged man approached the counter, and I grinned as I looked up. He was someone I had never seen before, but that wasn't odd given how frequently visitors from outside would stop by to have a cup of coffee from the café. He came over, looked up at the menu above my head, and grumbled at me.

“How may I help you today?” I asked .

“Can you not see I’m reading the board?” he snapped .

What a dick, my God. Even though it was Monday, I could tell that this guy had taken a double dosage of douchebag this morning. I took a silent stance with my hands tightly clenched in front of me, preventing myself from yelling at him. Normally I would provide recommendations, but this man was an ass and could take care of himself. I waited as Mandy rang up the other clients at the other register. I wasn't used to someone not having a clear idea of what they wanted by the time they arrived at the front. He also didn't appear to care that he was delaying the entire performance. He finally dropped his head and gave me a mocking stare .

“I’ll have a white chocolate mocha,” he grumbled. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you here before .”

“My name is Skye,” I said awkwardly, looking down at my name tag .

As I stepped to the side to prepare it, I rung up his order. As I put a shot of espresso in his cup, I cast a quick glance his way. He was looking at me, but not in a way that suggested he was curious about how I brewed the coffee. I felt very uncomfortable as he examined every inch of me while analyzing me. I looked over to the security man across the room, and he followed my look while giggling to himself and grinning. He came into the café and harassed me only because I worked behind the counter, giving the impression that he thought he was a great nice man. I've had my fair share of a**hole clients, but this one was just downright unsettling. He received his drink from me as I returned to the area. I was able to retrieve his card as it dropped to the counter after he threw it my way. I glanced at the name, David, but I didn't recognize it. I gave him both of them as soon as the receipt was out while smiling.

“Skye,” he repeated. “You wouldn’t happen to be Spencer’s daughter? Spencer who owns the financial firm ?”

“Yes,” I said carefully .

I gave the man a thorough once-over to see if I recognized him from anywhere. Nothing rung a bell, but it was clear that he was familiar with my father. He also needed to be aware of his residence here. Otherwise, why would he ask me a question like that?

I realized he knew more about my father and my life than he was letting on when he asked me that question since there must be hundreds of Skyes in New York City. His odd switch from being an asshole to becoming a lovely man raised a big red flag in my book. As I waited there, waiting for him to leave, I anxiously cast a glimpse at Mandy. I didn't like him at all; he was making me uncomfortable. He caught Mandy's attention as she averted her gaze and turned to face him. His fingers were tapping on the counter as he turned to face me once again.

“You ladies have a nice day,” he said with a strange smirk .

As he went away, his expression entirely shifted from one of satisfaction to displeasure. As he made his way toward the doors, he cast a sidelong glance at me while giggling to himself. He then threw his full cup of coffee in the trash can. I shrugged as I glanced across at Mandy, who was also observing him.

“What did he ask you?” Mandy asked .

“He asked if I was Spencer’s daughter,” I said .

“Just like that? Like he called your dad by his name ?”

“Yeah,” I said. “It was weird. And he just threw his coffee in the trash .”

“Skye, that’s strange,” she said. “You think you should tell someone ?”

“I don’t know,” I said, sighing. “I just want to survive this day first .”

She gave me a shoulder pat while smiling sympathetically. I had a terrific day to begin with, but now that Derek and the strange man at the counter had entered the picture, I was feeling worse than before. A major part of me wanted to contact Derek and chat about it because I knew he would listen and comfort me, but I decided against it because of everything else going on. I was aware that I would feel better once I had some alone time to reflect, but for the time being, I had to keep going.