Page 3 of Honey, Honey
The blonde scoffed. “Honey? What the hell kind of name is that? A stage name?” She sneered.
Honey flushed again and I got angry. “I’m sorry,” she began, but I was done with this morning scene. I hadn’t even had a cup of coffee and not one, but two women were making my morning a nightmare.
The blonde for being an asshole. Honey for making me want things I shouldn’t want. And the blonde bitch was attracting attention. The something I had thought about doing needed to be done–and I had to do it now.
“It’s the name of my fiancée,” I ground out. The lie came too naturally, but I wasn’t going to think about that. Right now, I was making things right.
Gus blinked in surprise. “Ah, what?”
The blonde spluttered. “Your what?”
“My fiancée. My girl,” I said, taking a step away from them until I was standing in front of Honey, shielding her from the pair of them. My hands went to my hips and I leveled a hard stare their way. “I came here to kiss her good morning and grab a cup of joe since she didn’t make it for me this morning, and you,” I jerked my chin at the blonde who was now staring at me with an open mouth, ”started yelling at my girl for smiling at me. Isn’t that right, Honey?” I asked, still watching the couple in front of me.
She swallowed hard, dark eyes darting from me to the idiot blonde and her boss. “Uh, I—“
“Honey,” I said, a note of warning in my voice indicating that she needed to get on the same page as me, and fast. “Isn’t that right?”
Another woman with flaming red hair leaned out from behind the espresso machine and I barely had time to register the gleeful look on her face, or the barely restrained squeal she let out, before Honey was answering me.
“Yes! Yes, I mean, I was just–yes, sir,” she blurted out and I had to clench my hands into fists, while she added a feeble, “Baby, yes.”
I didn’t like that as much as sir, but what were you gonna do in a situation like this? Beggars couldn’t be choosers, after all.
“I don’t appreciate my girl being yelled at,” I told Gus. “She’s working hard for you, it’s not right. She needs to be protected from this kind of shit while she’s working.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m sorry.” He leaned to the side to speak to Honey, and I had to fight to not lean with him to keep her hidden from view. “I’m sorry, Honey.”
“That’s okay, Gus.”
I looked at the blonde now who was fast realizing she had no power here. Not anymore. “And I don’t just work at Law Acquisitions. I own the damn thing.”
She gasped. “I didn’t—“
“Get some manners. Don’t treat service workers like they owe you something just because you’re on this side of the counter,” I growled.
We all looked at each other for a beat before Gus cleared his throat and gestured towards the door. “I think you should leave now,” he said to the blonde who looked like she was about to pass out.
“Leave? Why would you ask me to leave?” She wanted to know, but the murmur of answers from patrons around her answered her question before the owner could say a word.
“You're causing a scene.”
“Who yells at people like that?”
“She’s his fiancée! Can’t even say hello to him without a Karen telling on her.”
This was going to handle itself just fine. I sighed and rubbed my temples before I turned back to Honey and stepped up to the counter.
I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. “I’m really sorry about that.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. You saved my ass.” She shook her head at me and held up her hands. She had nice hands. Long fingered, nails painted with a sweet pale blush that went with her tan. I looked away. I shouldn’t be noticing her hands.
“What can I get you?”
“Quad americano, black, please.”
“Of course. It’s on me,” she rushed to tell me, but I stopped her with a shake of my head.
“What kind of fiancé would I be if I let you do that?”
