Page 51 of The Boss on the Brain

Thomas beamed. “That’s right. Are you going to guess Juniper’s order too?” he asked with a sideways glance at Juniper.

I grinned. “I suspect she’s going to have the chocolate espresso cake.”

He burst out laughing just as Juniper nodded.

“You got all three right,” she said just as Carolyn wrapped up her call and walked up.

“Ava’s been a big favorite around here,” she said, an arm on my shoulders and a genuine smile on her face.

“I’m not surprised,” Desmond replied. He kept his expression neutral. “During our quarterly meeting yesterday, I heard people raving about the mocha she had made.”

Thomas turned to him. “Well, that explains why you were so keen on coming here for our caffeine fix.”

His gaze went to the cup of coffee in Desmond’s hands, and his eyebrows pinched together in mild surprise. “Already had your daily cap of mochas for the day?” he joked.

My cheeks burned while I plated the slice of the chocolate espresso cake and handed it to Juniper. The way her eyes lit up at the sight of cake told me that she would make a fantastic friend if only we weren’t separated by so many levels of hierarchy.

The phone line to the café rung, and I tore myself away to answer the call while Carolyn took my spot behind the counter.

Dear God, please don’t be the coffee machine representative canceling on us, I thought as I answered.

“Thank you for calling The Java Hobby,” I said into the black phone that hung on the side wall. “This is Ava Hale speaking. How can I help you?”

“What’re you doing, Ava?” came Kyle’s voice from the phone. It sounded raspy, like he’d just recovered from a cold.

My breath caught in my throat as I clutched the phone tighter. Goose bumps prickled my skin, and my first instinct was to hang up.

“Kyle?” I breathed out into the phone, forcing myself tonot drop the phone as I wondered just how he knew where I worked.

I turned, and I could see Desmond’s gaze had silently zeroed in on me while Juniper and Thomas had walked a few steps away, in deep discussion about the bags of madeleines on the shelf. Desmond stood a full head above them, but his gaze was thunderous. He’d heard me mention Kyle’s name.

“My manager from McDonald’s said you’ve been trying to reach me,” Kyle continued without preamble. “She mentioned you were working for a swanky new firm now, and I just had to find out for myself.”

Darn it. Ihadmentioned my workplace to his manager.

“Listen carefully, Ava,” he said, his voice going cold instantly. “I don’t want to talk to you. And if you don’t keep your pretty nose out of my life, you’ll live to regret it.”

Before I could say anything, I heard a shout in the background, and Kyle cursed.

“Wait,” I said a second before the phone went dead.

I stared at the phone in shock for a few moments, unable to process everything that had just happened.

Kyle had tried to contact me. Even more surprising, Kyle seemed to think he could make me fear for my life.

Someone put an arm on my shoulder, and I turned in a daze to see Carolyn, looking concerned and asking me something.

I stared at her, not understanding a word. She patted my arm.

“Are you okay?” she repeated, her words slowly permeating my brain, as though I were just waking to life.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, leaning back against the wall, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me.

Carolyn turned around, and seeing Desmond stillstanding there, she asked in apology, “Oh, I’m sorry. Have you not been helped yet?” She hurried over to him while Juniper and Thomas waited.

“I’m fine. Is everything okay back there?” Desmond asked, ignoring the others and looking at me.

I nodded, unable to speak. “I just need a minute,” I gasped.