“Do you want coffee? Orange juice?”
“Coffee is good.”
“We have a variety. What kind do you like?”
“Oh, you don’t have to make a pot just for me. OJ is fine.”
I laugh at her.
“I have a single serve coffee machine. Here, come look.”
I gently pull her from her chair and take her over to the three racks of coffee varieties we have.
“That seems like overkill.” She mutters to me as her eyes scan the selection.
“My men like different flavors. If I can buy the coffee they like, why wouldn’t I?”
I lean against the counter as I watch her pull her lip between her teeth while she looks. She does this a lot when she is thinking. Every time I catch her doing it, I want to lean down and take a bite of it myself.
“I suppose you are right. That is actually really nice of you.”
She plucks a flavor out and then turns to hand it to me.
“Okay, so it’s already got water in if. You pull this up here and place the cup here. Then you close it and put the cup down here. Then you press this button here.”
I show her how to use the machine, but the look on her face tells me she already knows.
“Thanks for the instruction teach.” She smirks up at me.
She stands and waits for it to finish before taking it back to the table.
“Do you want sugar and milk.”
“Yes, on the sugar. Do you have any creamer?”
“Yep. Looks like I have French Vanilla, Hazelnut, and Regular.”
“French Vanilla please.”
I bring her the creamer and sugar and watch as she doctors her coffee. She pours about 2 tablespoons of creamer then puts two spoons of sugar in before stirring it and taking a sip. I commit that to memory, then take the creamer back to the fridge.
“So, when do I get to meet my new body guard?”
She is a pistol. I had already planned on changing her body guard. Lo said he growled at her and I couldn’t have that. I reassigned him to Queens and planned to pick her replacement today.
“I was going to take you home, but I guess I could let you meet a couple of the candidates and let you choose for yourself.”
She gives me a wide smile.
“That would be great. Thanks, Bash.”
If that didn’t make my day, I don’t know what would. For some reason, her happiness means something to me. If I were a different man and the situation was different, I might even think I was falling for this woman. Too bad things weren’t different. The villains never get their happy ending and as much as I would love to be the prince in her story, I am going to be nothing more than the monster under the bed. She will realize that soon enough.
“Lo!” I call out to him.
He walks in within seconds. I knew he wouldn’t have gone far. I rarely have privacy. He just provides the illusion of privacy when needed. Honestly, I think he is soft on Sofia too. I can pretty much guarantee he only did it for her.
“Yes, boss.”
