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- Chapter One -

Amina

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"Isaid don'ttouch her!"

Porcelain shattered across the floor, hot tea soaking part of my shoe. It burned my ankle, but my anger was greater than my pain.

The man in front of me was dressed in a sleeveless shirt that stretched around his shoulders, causing his skin to bulge and his tattoos to glisten in the overhead lights. He was the kind of guy you'd expect to see in a police lineup.

And someone I'd hoped to never see again.

His fingers locked up on my coworker's wrist. Poor Korine—she'd been right when she told me to dump this asshole weeks ago. “Murdoch,” I said through my teeth. “What are you doing here?”

He started to smile, lips twisting up too high to be kind. "Come on, babe. You wouldn't answer my calls. I just wanted to see you again. I missed you.”

"And you thought you'd show that by harassing my friend?”

Murdoch shot a scathing look at Korine, like this situation was somehow her fault. When she tugged away from him, he released her. “Chill out,” he said, running his eyes over her body. “I was just playing with her.”

“Our job is serving drinks,notbeing your play things,” she muttered.

“Please, as if you don't like the attention. You know that your looks are how you make any real money, sweetheart. Show some skin. Earn those tips.”

It amazed me that he could act like we were in a strip club. Caffeline was acat café. We had kittens running around. We didn't play loud music or serve alcohol. We wore fluffy ears! How did this guy think it was okay to harass my co-worker?

Korine adjusted her skirt nervously, as if the knee length material was somehow too short suddenly. I knew that feeling—that weird shame.But it's not your fault,I thought, hoping she could read my mind. “Get out of here, Murdoch.” I said it under my breath so only he would hear.

His eyes narrowed meaningfully. “Come with me. Let's go back to my place, Amina. It's stupid for you to avoid me. We had so much fun together.”

I grit my molars. “It wasn't fun when I walked in on you screwing your landlord's sister.” His mouth slid into a sharp frown. “It definitely wasn’t fun when you pushed me against the wall while you were drunk.” I spoke louder, letting my voice carry. “I asked you to leave. Don't make me call the cops.”

"Listen," Murdoch said, noticing everyone staring at him. "I get that you’re upset. I made some mistakes, and I only wanted to apologize to you in person.”

“No, what you wanted to do was ignore my request that you leave me alone. Then you had the balls to make a pass at my coworker?”