Page 18 of Midnight Dissonance

“Grab me if you get swamped and need assistance.”

“Will do.” Lexi headed back out front, made herself a mocha latte, her favorite, and enjoyed the first few sips in blessed solitude before she checked the time. She sighed. Time to get this show on the road.

She unlocked the front door and spied two cars pulling into the parking lot.

So it began.

She liked her job. It wasn’t necessarily difficult, other than the customers who believed they were god’s gift. And it wasn’t all the customers who acted that way, just a select few who always made her question her life choices.

Because there were customers who were sweet as pecan pie. And then there were others, who she believed had never worked a customer service job in their life, who made her question whether humanity was really worth saving.

It was one of those idiosyncrasies of working with the general public.

She would never understand the entitlement of some of these people. Like they believed they were better than everyone else and the world should bow down and be at their beck and call.

Please. They needed to get over themselves.

And she hated herself for thinking it, but she wondered which category Josh fell into. Most likely the former and not the latter. But it burned her butt that she was even thinking of him.

But in a blink, she had a line of customers almost to the door. It was the early morning pre-work rush, and everyone needed their java jolt. She knew she did. Mornings were always their busiest. And she liked it that way. It made the morning speed by until lunchtime, and they were getting the lunch rush.

It was at the tail end of the lunch rush that she noticed a familiar face standing in line.

What the hell was he doing here?

She ignored him in his three-piece, dark charcoal suit with his black-and-white striped tie. And the little flutter in her abdomen that recognized what a sexy beast he was and how much she’d love to find out what he was hiding underneath.

Shit. She wasn’t attracted to him. She wouldn’t allow herself to have the hots for him.

And even if she did think he was handsome, it was only because the Ryan clan had hit the gene pool lottery. They were all gorgeous. Although Josh stood out from the crowd.

But she ignored the way his presence made her feel as if she’d plugged herself into a bolt of lightning. Because if she surrendered to the feelings he created inside her, she’d wind up kneeling at his feet and begging for his dominance.

And she couldn’t allow herself to go there, no matter what he made her feel.

Instead, Lexi focused on each customer and their drink order. She hated that she was the one at the counter taking the orders and not the one making drinks. They tended to switch back and forth throughout the day. That way no one got stuck behind the hated register all day.

“Lexi.” His cultured Irish lilt played hell on her sensibilities.

She had no idea why, but when he said her name or really opened his mouth to speak, her body dissolved into a puddle at his overly large feet.

Pasting a smile on her face, she lifted her gaze. “Welcome to the Java Hut. What can I get you?”

“We need to talk.” He didn’t order anything. Just pierced her with his sizzling black gaze that lit her up inside like a damn Christmas tree.

She kept the smile frozen on her face as she responded. “I can’t right now. I’m working. If that’s all you’re here for, then it’s best if you leave.”

“When’s your lunch break?”

“I already had it.” One of the perks of reporting to work at five in the morning was having lunch at ten in the morning. And most days she didn’t care one way or the other. But today, she was thrilled she’d already had her break.

He frowned and checked his watch. “Look, we need to talk.”

“Josh, this line is for customers. If you’re not planning to order anything, I’m going to have to ask you to step aside so I can help the next customer in line.”

He gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes. “Fine. I’ll have a large cup of coffee and one of the chocolate chip scones.”

She entered his order into the register. “That will be ten twenty-six.”

---