揑t still feels wrong. Giving in to a desk job isn抰 why I came here. It抯 the anti-dream.?
揗aybe, but it抯 not forever, right? And if he liked your original brew, I bet you can negotiate. You won抰 be tied to a desk or stuck in a store grinding out eight-hour shifts brewing glorified instant coffees. You抣l be the brains behind the scenes梐nd you抣l make him pay out the butt for your smarts.?
揃ut I want to be in a coffee shop, Dakota. A little one, with my name on it. Remember Liza抯 Love??
揙h, you抣l have your precious shop one day. I抎 bet my boobs on it. But scoping out the business side from that high up might help in the long run. When I worked at Haughty But Nice, it sure as hell wasn抰 poetry. It was just a cushy, high-paying copy job. I learned a lot from the experience and it landed me enough money to support my poetry gig棓
揑t helps when the boss falls madly in love with you, huh??I smile as she gives me the stink eye. 揑 can抰 count on cupid to help me out here.?
Not that I抎 flipping want him to.
Not with blue-eyed Lucifer.
I抎 rather take an actual arrow to the eye than suffer Cole Lancaster getting smitten with me梠r, God forbid, the reverse.
Dakota slumps down with the baby, still laughing. 揧ou never know. Linc and I didn抰 exactly get along when we first met. We almost had a crime scene over cinnamon rolls. How抯 the godfather CEO on the McHottie scale??
I bite my lip.
Yeah, I can抰 dare mention how hot the Grumpfather is.
I抦 not Dakota and this is not a quirky rom-com.
I won抰 land a billionaire husband from the office, and if I ever did, it wouldn抰 be Lancaster in a trillion years.
I don抰 care that he抯 a loaded and arrogant and梟o. Not calling him hot again.
Not even in my own head.
I wouldn抰 date him for anything.
If we抮e the last two people alive after the apocalypse, we抮e not repopulating this rock. We抮e handing the world over to insects and wishing them good luck.
Even his name梙is freaking name梩astes like a pretentious mouthful.
I抦 trying so hard not to flush when I shrug.
揘othing to write home about. He抯 no Burns, that抯 for sure.?
揟oo bad. It抯 less complicated that way. Make the call. You can do it here. I抣l listen in for moral support,?Dakota offers.
I shake my head fiercely.
揥e抮e debating what it would be like to sell your soul to Big Coffee, but the truth is, until you抳e talked to him, you don抰 even know if that抯 an option,?she whispers.
I scrunch my nose up, waving a hand.
揘ope. He wouldn抰 offer Wayne a bonus that big if he wasn抰 set on hiring me for whatever dirty work he has in mind.?I try like hell to ignore the innuendo in that statement.
Right on cue, the baby wails for attention.
Dakota gently rocks her, making a few cooing noises before she says, 揜ight. So call. You don抰 have anything to lose. Normal job interviews involve rejection, and you don抰 even have that to worry about here. You抮e holding all the cards.?
揃ut what do I have to gain??
揝o much! First, money. Second, a chance to have your coffee all over a chunk of America. Third梞oney??
She makes a powerful argument.
揃ut I don抰 want to have my coffee all over America if it抯 not really mine! It抯 not like they抣l name it Liza抯 Blend or anything. I still want my cozy little shop where people come in to check out what抯 on special for the day, where the drinks are handcrafted and memorable, and I know people by name because they visit every day.?
揟hat抯 sweet. I get it. But decent pay means decent capital for your store. Plus, you might learn things from a corporate office that make running your own place easier.?
揥e don抰 know if it pays well. Wayne抯 worked for the loser for years and he抯 still making a few bucks above minimum wage plus tips.?
揑f he offered Wayne a ten-thousand-dollar referral bonus, trust me, he plans to pay you well to retain you. Trust me. You抣l have whatever you want. Turn down his first offer and ask for ten percent more梟o, make it twenty! You have the high ground.?
I smile painfully. 揂re you crazy? Is it the sleep deprivation from the baby bean? He抎 probably pick me up and chuck me out for insulting his 抔enerosity.挃
I stick my tongue out.
With a frustrated sound, she walks to the sliding glass door behind the deck and opens it, sticks her head inside, and yells, 揌ey, Linc! Come here.?
He抯 outside in seconds. His big arms go around her, pulling her into an adoring look on his face that used to be almost as grumpy as Lancaster抯.
Wow.
揢h, are you guys okay??I venture.
揘ever better,?she says.
As I watch them, I realize having a nice hot slice of man might not be half-bad. Someday.
But I抣l settle for my caf?first.
Is it too much to ask the universe to deliver a lickable husband who抯 just as crazy about coffee as I am and wants to open a little shop where we can live our dreams?
Back in reality, no guy has ever looked at me remotely like Lincoln gazes at his wife. He抯 so lost in her it抯 almost indecent.
I mean, someone tried once.
Someone who lied brutally well.
Whatever. There抯 a reason I stick to coffee over dating.
Dakota pulls away from her husband and gazes at him with moony eyes, until she remembers I抦 still here.
揙h. Linc, tell Eliza what you told me about corporate interview negotiations.?
Lincoln meets my eyes, this hulking bear of a man who always looks intimidating, even when his intentions are pure. 揌ey, Eliza. Didn抰 see you there.?
Yeah, no wonder.
If Dakota wasn抰 one of my best friends, I抎 be revolted by their lovesick show, but instead, I just grin.
揙kay, corporate negotiations...?he says, pondering for a moment. 揑f a CEO is taking time out of their day to meet with you, you can always get more than they offer. Always ten percent, sometimes twenty.?
揅ool. I had no idea,?I say.
He nods thoughtfully. 揃y the time you抮e meeting the CEO, you have the job. It抯 a given. Someone would have weeded you out long before then, otherwise.?His face glows when he looks back at Dakota and she passes him the baby. 揂m I done? Evermore has a hankering for Paw Patrol and so do I.?
揙h, fine!?Dakota beams at him.
He leans in and kisses her again before retreating inside their mansion with the munchkin.
揥hen you two are together, it抯 intense. Like, a little scary intense. I抦 afraid of getting trapped inside your bubble,?I tease.
She just shrugs happily and sits on the outdoor couch. 揂re you going to do it then??
揟he interview??
She nods.
I groan. 揑 think I have to, now. Who knows when I抣l get an opportunity like this again? I抦 almost short on rent. It抯 not like I can turn down the cash.?
揇o you need a loan??Her eyes glow with concern.
揂nd have you hate me because it抣l be the year 2100 before I pay it back? No thanks.?
揈liza, I know you. You don抰 like this sort of thing, but I could just give you the money. The only reason I didn抰 offer is because you haven抰 liked me asking in the past.?
揟hanks, but I抳e got this. I抦 just going to have to make the Grumpfather an offer he can抰 refuse.?
揟hat抯 the spirit. Go interview, get the job, and then call me ASAP. We抣l figure out how much you need to save to be out of there and running Liza抯 Love in six months to a year.?
I hold back a frown. She makes it sound too easy. But if Dakota could do it when she started in a similar spot to where I抦 at now...
I can抰 say never.
揥hen I get my own place, will you write cutesy quotes for my cups??
揧es, and a full poem for the large size,?she promises.
We both laugh.
Fine. Decision made.
I抣l chisel off a piece of my soul for Wired Cup Inc. and later梬ho knows how much later梐fter I抳e made a clean break, I can catch up on penance.
For now, I just need all the prayers before I lock horns with that snorting bull in a suit again.
4
Double Shot Of Dare (Cole)