Page 30 of Nine-Tenths

"What did you do to it?" Hadi asks, glaring at us over the rim of her mug. Her lips and hijab are both a vibrant crimson this morning, and it just makes her look more annoyed.

"Who says we did anything?" I offer what I hope is an endearing smile.

So basically, totally confessing.

"Donotbullshit me about my own coffee."

I sigh and give up on the smile. It felt tight and weird, anyway.

"Dav has some… expertise, and suggested a tweak. Don't you like it?"

"I fucking love it, that's the problem," Hadi says, turning to Dav.

He's buttoned all the way up today, in black trousers and a waistcoat, with a shirt in a burnt orange that matches the Beanevolence logo. He's wearing an honest-to-god pocket watch, with the fiddly little chain and everything. I feel like a slob next to him.

Dav had proudly presented the first cup of coffee he'd made all by himself to Hadi when she'd come in to oversee the installation of the oven this morning. The two gals in the back doing the installation were both given coffees too, and I can hear the one saying "Holy shit, this is good," through the door.

"Why is it a problem?"

"Because youchangedsomething. Colin, the key to building a customer base isconsistency. Can you honestly tell me you can do this every time?"

I look to Dav, who gives a little contained eyebrow wiggle that I interpret as an 'of course'. Then I look back to Hadi. "Yes."

"Even when the new roaster arrives?"

Dav and I exchange another look. Busted. We didn't think of that.

"Look, show me what you did different, and I'll see if I can adjust the machine."

"Ah," Dav says, and spending two days with him has made it much easier to read his body language. His face stays serene, but his posture seizes up like a soldier called to attention.

"He can't," I say, jumping in before Dav feels the need to lie. "That's, um, kind of a dragon secret?" I make up on the spot.

"Is it?" Hadi asks Dav.

"Yes," he says, calmly and firmly. "My apologies. As I am already here daily, I'd be happy to volunteer my services to roast your beans, even after the roaster arrives."

"I can’t afford another employee right now."

"I believe I said 'volunteer'," Dav points out.

Hadi heaves out a sigh, hands on her hips. "If today goes okay, if people likeit,thenwe can talk." She flicks one of my ears. I duck away because ow, and also, I don't like it when people point out my stupid jar-handles. "Don't change anything else, okay?"

"Okay," I promise, flattening my hair over the sides of my head.

She goes into the kitchen. Before the door closes, the installers clamor for a refill of the cups I’d sent them in with.

"C'mere." I lead Dav over to a table far away from Hadi's ears, where I'd been writing a sign when she’d arrived. It readsCOFFEE IS ON. BEVS ONLY UNTIL 2PM,which is when we expect the oven installation to be complete and safe to turn on. As I tape it to the window beneath our 'Closed' sign, I ask: "Isit a dragon secret?"

"In a way," Dav says. His hands are folded behind his back as if awaiting a commander's inspection. "It's only that it's…"

"What?" I prompt, lowering my voice and stepping close. His eyes pop wide before settling on my face, and I realize I forgot to ask before getting into his personal bubble. He's prickly about that.

"I… it's simply that…" he licks his lips, nervous, and I fight to keep my gaze up on his eyes instead of his mouth. "It'sunseemly."

"Oh." I guess I'm surprised? He'd agreed to try it out readily enough when I'd made the joke, but then again, Dav doesn’t seem real big on standing up for himself. Shit. "Have I put you in a bad position? Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"You haven't," Dav says, in a rush. "I wanted to try it. However, my family is quite against using our, ah,genetic advantagesin menial ways. Trivializes us, you see? Makes dragons look like a tool or a beast of burden, not a person."