The Russian Billionaire’s Secret(44)
“Perhaps, Miss, you are in need of this?” Holes reached down and picked up a wrinkled mesh shirt from the floor. The girl took it with another annoying giggle and continued picking up the rest of her clothes from wherever they had landed the night before. “I suggest you utilize the bathroom to change and when you are ready I will see you out.”
Albie tugged at his tie and jerked his thick neck to the left with a resounding crack. He felt every set of eyes in the coffee shop staring at him, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. The six foot four billionaire had played football in college and through the rigors of regular gym time he had managed to maintain the body of an eighteen year old.
“Quad espresso, please.” Albie detested the ins and outs of everyday life, but the coffee shop was the one place that he refused to allow Holmes to tackle for him, after all, he never got it right.
“Sure, darlin’. Can I get you a cookie to go with that? Or how about one of our chocolate muffins?” The young black woman appeared to be attempting a double entendre, but Albie didn’t have time to notice.
“No, thank you. Just the coffee.” She lingered in his blue-eyed gaze momentarily.
“That’ll be $5.69 please.” Pulling a small stack of bills out of his pocket, Albie fumbled momentarily before handing her a $10 bill.
“Keep the change.” Albie didn’t bother with change, something that had always annoyed his father. ‘You don’t get to be a billionaire by letting people keep the change,’ he always said. Albie viewed it differently, you didn’t get to be the billionaire by waiting around for change. Time was money.
“Look at you, Mr. Big Spender!” The girl beamed as she slid her tongue over her plump lower lip. Albie paused and then smiled.
“You get what you pay for.” He said as he slid down to the waiting area of the coffee bar.
“Well honey, I would pay a million bucks for you!” She giggled mischievously as she called after Albie. He couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head.
Albie didn’t meet women like that often, the strong, secure type. Rather, he tended to attract the insecure ones, the ones with daddy issues and the ones hoping against all hope that they could spend just a fraction of his money. As he waited for his coffee he watched her chatting away with each customer and when she cracked another flirtatious joke with one of the men in line he felt a twinge of jealousy deep in his gut.
“Quad espresso!” The server called as she pushed his drink towards him. Albie gave the girl behind the till one last look as he grabbed his drink and turned to leave.
As he slipped in to the back of his car, Albie found himself wondering about the possibilities of life with a girl like the barista. A girl who had, in respects to him, nothing and yet seemed to take life as it came with a smile. She was so unlike anything he had ever known that he felt almost as if he had witnessed a foreign creature in an alien zoo.
“Everything alright, Sir?” Holmes questioned from behind the steering wheel. Albie nodded, deep in thought.
“Drive on, Holmes.”
Chapter 2
Tami
Tami Jones had grown up as one of nine children, the only girl. She had been raised to be a strong willed woman and that was precisely what she was. Despite being blessed with a beautiful head of black curls and flawless mocha colored skin, the brown-eyed beauty had never had any luck when it came to dating.
Tami guessed that it came down to her unwillingness to take anything less than she deserved, that and her attraction to the bad boys. Her friends called this group of characteristics “picky,” Tami called it “being selective.”
Tami was run off her feet. The morning hours before the nine to fivers got off to work were always the busiest in the coffee shop. She thrived on the challenge of remembering all of her regulars’ favorite drinks and she loved every second of the conversation. Tami had always been a people person for as long as she could remember. Sure, she hadn’t imagined that at twenty-six she would still be working as a barista, but it wasn’t a job that she could complain about.
When so many of her friends had no jobs, she felt lucky to have one that afforded her flexibility in schedule and a good paycheck.
“Hey girl! I saw you flirtin’ with Mr. Tall, dark and handsome this morning!” Tami laughed.
“There is nothing dark about that man, he is my tall glass of whipped cream!” Her coworker shook her head.
“You got a thing for those white guys, huh?” Tami shrugged.
“I like what I like!” Katie leaned on the counter as the midmorning lull took over.
“Why don’t you just give him your number? Never hurts to try, right?” Tami laughed.
“Honey, there is nothing about this gorgeous black body that he wouldn’t want, but I have a feeling I’d be a little out of my league financially.” Katie sighed.
“Like I said, never hurts to try?” Tami turned to face her.
“You know what? I just might. I can’t do any worse than any of the other losers I’ve dated and Lord knows I’m getting too old to keep playing around on those dating sites.” Katie’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Oh! You never told me how that last guy turned out!” Tami shook her head with a chuckle.
“Girl, you do not want to know. First off, the guy says he’s six foot tall, he shows up and he’s all of an inch taller than me. Honey, I’m five five. I was like, I know you did not just tell me you’re six foot tall!” Katie snickered. “Then, his picture on his profile turns out to be from like high school. He shows up and he’s about a hundred pounds heavier. Now you know me, I don’t mind a little extra man to love, but you can’t prepare me for a burger and show up with a Big Mac! I gotta have an appetite for that, you know what I’m saying?” Katie nodded as she laughed. Tami could always tell a story.