Page 4 of The Billionaire Boss and the Barista

“No, thank you, Sarah,” he replied, his excellent memory providing the assistant’s name. “I was going to, but I’ve changed my mind. Going to cut back.”

Starting now.

“If you’re sure,” she said, looking at him with an eager innocence that didn’t quite mask her interest.

But Garrett had lost his taste for dewy-eyed ingenues a long time ago.

“I’m sure,” he rasped, displeased at how hoarse he sounded. “Please excuse me.”

He rushed out, his heart pounding so hard and fast it was like it was trying to burst out of his chest. Staggering down the hallway, he stopped short of the elevator bank until his vision cleared.

Where the hell had his discipline gone? He should be marching back into that café and getting into Emma’s face. Instead, he was hiding, trying to catch his breath like an asthmatic kid who had just seen his bully coming around the corner.

That visual image calmed him down. Garrett forced himself to walk away, but his blood was boiling, his anger and indignation growing with every step.

He didn’t know what game Emma was playing. But the woman who had consistently given him hell throughout high school, skipped both freshman and sophomore year, and was voted most likely to succeed alongside him was no mere barista!

No, if Emma was working here—pretending not to recognize him for fuck’s sake—it could only mean one thing.

She was up to no good.

Chapter Two

GARRETT

Fletcher spun in his chair, his face a rictus of disbelief. “Excuse me, what?”

“Emma Mendez is a corporate spy,” Garrett ground out a second time.

The line between Fletcher’s brows deepened, making him look like a skinny bulldog. “Where did you hear this?”

“I didn’t hear it,” he said, snatching the contract in front of Fletcher just so he could smack it back down on the desk. “I saw it. With my own eyes.”

His friend was confused, but judging from his sudden paleness, he was starting to get the picture.

“Here? You saw herhere?”

“She’s downstairs in the coffee shop.”

“Oh.” Fletcher processed this. “But you’re not sure which business she’s working for?”

“No. Could be anybody.”

Fletcher brightened suddenly. “Well, that doesn’t mean she’s working for one of our tenants. Lots of people in the neighboring buildings come here since the coffee shop opened. She’s probably visiting one of the investment firms across the way.”

“You’re not listening to me,” Garrett spat. “She wasn’t a customer. Emma works in the coffee shop as a barista.”

Fletcher’s face shifted from concern to incredulity. “Your high school nemesis is downstairs right now making espresso?”

He flung his hands in the air. “Yes!”

Fletcher’s expression grew speculative. He leaned back in his chair, sinking into the backrest. “That’s… interesting.”

Garrett put his hands on his hips, beginning to pace. “It’s damned suspicious is what it is.”

“And what happened when she saw you?”

He paused, spinning to face him. “That was the most un-fucking-believable part!”