Page 183 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 3
"Here," the woman said and handed him a ten dollar bill. He pulled her change out of the register and handed it to her.
"And if you think you're getting a tip for not making me wait, think again." She grabbed her change and walked toward the other end of the counter where the pickup line was.
"What a bitch," the barista said under his breath.
I laughed. "I'm sorry I took so long." I slid the quarters toward him. I had ended up finding a few extra quarters. "Keep the change."
"Thanks." His big smile returned from earlier as he dumped the extra change into the tip jar. "I hope you have a great day."
"You too."
***
"It's cold." Mr. Ellington looked up at me.
"What?" I had walked back as quickly as I could. There was no way his coffee was cold. I bit my lip.Maybe it's cold.It was freezing outside.
"Well, room temperature."
"I'm so sorry, I..."
He held up his hand. "It's fine, Bridget. Please just warm it up for me." He handed it back to me and looked down at the papers on his desk.
I grabbed the cup out of his hand and went to the break room.
"Hey, Bee. You're running late today," Kendra said. She was pouring herself a cup of coffee out of the communal pot like a normal person. "Please tell me it's because you went out last night and had a good time?"
I laughed. "No, I was just picking up coffee for Mr. Ellington. Cold coffee, apparently." I poured the cappuccino into a normal coffee mug and put it in the microwave.
"He still has you fetching coffee for him? You're not an intern. You need to stand up for yourself."
I sighed and leaned against the counter. "I'm not sure there's any difference between an intern and a secretary in his mind."
"Well, except for how much he hits on his secretaries."
"Uh." I put my face in my hands. "Kendra, what am I doing here?"
"Warming up coffee?"
"You know what I mean." I looked up at her. This was supposed to be a stepping stone. I felt stuck. "He's never going to look at me as anything more than someone to fetch coffee." And if I had to edit another one of his documents, I felt like I would scream. I hadn't spent four years busting my ass in school to be a secretary. This job was supposed to open doors, but I wasn't sure how much more I could take. And no matter how hard I worked, every door always seemed to be closed.
"Have you pitched him any of your ideas?"
"I've tried. He always interrupts me."
"Maybe do it in the meeting tomorrow? And then everyone will be listening, not just him. It'll almost force him into hearing you out."
"I'm supposed to be taking notes, not participating."
"Right, said no one ever." Kendra took a sip of her coffee. "But back to my other point. What did you do last night?"
"I watched T.V. And went to bed. Like a normal person."
"Normal people don't sit in their apartments alone every night. Come out with me tonight. It will be fun, I promise."
"I don't want to go out."
"Bee."
