Page 1 of Marring an Athlete

Chapter One

Anna

“Miss? Miss? I’m ready to place my order.” The nasal high-pitched voice of the customer in front of Anna pulled her attention away from her phone. Away from the email that she’d just received. She swallowed against the emotional lump which had formed in her throat from the one little sentence she’d read twenty times in the last minute.

We went with another candidate.

Those words had become a constant in her life. Ever since she’d been fired and dumped on the same day. She cleared her throat, and smiled up at the hippie with blue dreads and earring spacers who was staring at her with a disgruntled expression.

Even customers at the Jumpy Bean could sense her complete lack of guidance.

Anna sighed. Her current life situation had been her fault. At least that was what her mother seemed desperate to remind Anna of every chance she got.

“You never date your boss,”her mom constantly told her. Why had Anna thought she might be an exception? Oh, right. Because she trusted everyone. She had a Masters in Public Relations, and yet couldn’t figure out her own relationships. Go figure.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she said, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “Whenever you’re ready.”

The man stared at her, and his expression grew annoyed. “It’s rude to be on your phone at work.” He glanced behind her. “Where’s your boss?”

“Is there a problem here?” Betsy asked, stepping up from behind Anna and adjusting her glasses. Anna glanced over at her co-worker, grateful that she wasn’t going to have to face this upset customer alone. In the two months since Anna had started here, Betsy had quickly become a good friend.

“Are you her boss?” He narrowed his eyes.

Anna shot Betsy a worried look. If James, the manager, got another complaint about her, she just might lose her job. Apparently, from her last review, her attitude didn’t best portray the Jumpy Bean philosophy. It wasn’t like she didn’t try. Who knew that there were so many complexities to a coffee drink?

Besides, if she was honest with herself, working at a coffee shop hadn’t been her dream. She was valedictorian of her high school class. Voted most likely to succeed. Serving caffeine to pushy customers had never been a part of the plan.

“Y-yes. I am,” Betsy said, straightening and turning to the man.

“Well, you should know that your employee was on her phone instead of serving me.”

Betsy narrowed her eyes. “I see. Well, she’s here now. Ready to take your order.” The man raised his eyebrows as if he’d expected her to do something more. Betsy just smiled. “You still want to order, right?”

The man huffed and rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll take an Iced, Half Caff, Ristretto, Venti, 4-Pump, Sugar Free, Cinnamon, Dolce Soy Skinny Latte,” he said as he pulled out a wallet from his back pocket.

“That’s totally normal,” Betsy said under her breath, but then shot him a smile. “Great choice. Anna will ring you up.” She patted Anna on the shoulder and moved to start on his order.

Anna stared at the buttons in front of her. How the heck was she supposed to ring that up? She tried her best to remember the things he said. Once he paid, she grabbed a cup and marker. “Name?” she asked.

“Rob.”

Anna nodded as she wrote it under the rim and handed it to Betsy’s waiting hand. When she turned to tell Rob to wait at the pick-up area, she stopped. He’d already pulled out his phone and was heading in that direction.

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. She really wasn’t in the mood to talk to him anymore. With no other waiting customers, she turned to lean her back against the counter.

“I know that face,” Betsy said, nodding toward Anna. “It’s your: I’m thinking about my life and what’s happened to it face.” She smiled as she finished Rob’s drink.

Anna brushed down the front of her apron. “I got another rejection.”

Betsy shot her a sympathetic look. “Sorry.”

Anna swallowed. “It’s just hard, you know? I was supposed to do something with my life, but look at me. I’m serving coffee to caffeine-addicted people. And no one wants me.” That statement stung. She was striking out in her love life and her professional life. Man, all she needed right now was for Patrick to come walking in to see the mess she’d made of her life since he kicked her out. All the things he’d said about her, never rang truer. That she was holding him back. That he couldn’t soar with her behind him.

Anna’s stomach twisted as she forced back the tears that threatened to spill. She couldn’t think about that right now. Why couldn’t she get him from her mind? He was a jerk. That was all there was to it.

Betsy glanced over at her and, thankfully, didn’t see Anna’s near breakdown. “Just think of it as job security. Americans are overworked. The need for coffee will always be there. I’m fine with staying here,” she said as she moved to the freezer to pull out some ice.

Anna studied her nails. But it wasn’t what she wanted. Not at all. Not only was her professional life a mess, her love life was also in shambles. Which was okay. She wasn’t looking for a relationship right now, but still. She groaned and rested her forehead on her hand. This was never good. She needed to think positive. Right?

---