53. Kelly
Chapter 53
T hankfully, the fire was a false alarm. The diner wasn’t really on fire. Hope had hit the alarm by leaning on it while making out with her boyfriend when he stopped by—ironically, he’s an alpha. To top it off, instead of admitting it, she tried to shove him out the back door, which also has a fire alarm, and sent the whole place into a panic.
Luckily, no one was hurt, but I don’t know if she still works there. Regardless, I don’t plan on making any trips for takeout without at least a few of my pack mates. Garret actually looked sulky when they got home a couple of hours later, and while Steve still had an attitude, Teddy says that he could feel how disappointed his mate was .
I’m glad everyone is ok, and I need to check up on Gabe and Xan when I get to the shop this morning. It can’t be easy for them to sit around not doing anything if somebody needs help. Pulling on my jeans and a fresh polo shirt, I make my way downstairs, where Sam hands me a breakfast sandwich and a to-go mug of coffee.
“Just in case the one at work’s being janky,” he said, kissing me on the forehead and holding on to Jake’s collar so I can escape. Sam has an appointment today to have my slobber muffin’s stitches taken out, and while I’d love to be there, I can’t miss any more school.
G abe spits coffee across the front counter when I walk in. Which is made even more awkward when he pulls a greasy rag out of his coveralls and starts trying to wipe it up. Now my desk is wet and oily. Fun . Also, I thought they couldn’t get the coffee maker to work. Maybe Jacks made to-go mugs for them like Sam did for me.
Gabe knocks on the window to the shop and Xan walks in, says, “Shit!” really loudly and scrambles into the break room before slamming the door and locking it from the inside. What did I walk into? Gabe continues to wipe ineffectively at the counter while several more curse words and some loud banging comes from behind the door.
Eventually he looks down at the mess he’s made and gives up, grumbling about needing paper towels. All the cleaning supplies are in the break room. It’s the only room in the shop other than the bathroom that has a separate space and a lock. He looks from me to the mess and finally slams his fist down a few times on the door. “Give it up, man. It’s too late.”
Another resounding, “Shit,” can be heard just before the locks turn. Coffee beans and grinds are scattered all over the floor. The beat-to-heck old coffee maker is sitting on one of the couches while a shiny new machine is half crammed under the cabinet. The countertop where everything normally sits is empty, and the two alphas stare at me guiltily.
“Ok…so…Lemme just get some cleaner and towels…then you two can get back to whatever you were doin’.” There’s not really a question there. Because while these guys are my bosses, they’re also my friends, and I don’t want to make them uncomfortable.
I step over to the area that acts as a broom closet and pass the broom and dustpan back to a guilty-looking Xan while taking the spray bottle of orange cleaner and roll of paper towels for myself. No one says anything while I clean the front desk. Since Xan hasn’t done the floor either, I take the broom from him afterwards and sweep that up too.
They both continue to stare at me expectantly, so I finally ask, “Did you, um, need me to get the coffee started this morning or…?” They both glare at the floor while I walk back to the desk and pull up work orders.
Eventually Xan says, “Shit,” for the third time since I’ve been here.
He gently pushes me towards the breakroom and pulls the large silver box out from under the cabinet where it was partially hidden. “Sam and Garret got us a new coffee maker last week after everything went nuts at y’all’s place. We didn’t want you to think we didn’t need you, so we’ve been having you make coffee in the old one in the mornings and using the new one in the afternoons after you head to school. Also, while you were out for Teddy’s heat. We didn’t think you’d be back for a couple more days. Sorry.” This last is said while still staring at the floor.
Gabe talks loudly from behind me. “Of course, we still need you here to do paperwork and shit, so it’s not like we’re firing you or anything. Don’t think that.”
Stepping to the side, I look back and forth between my bosses before walking over to get a better look at the stupidly fancy new coffee maker on the counter. It has a hopper full of beans attached to the top, and a digital screen that’s off right now since it’s not plugged in. But I’m guessing this thing costs more than my car and makes really good drinks.
“This does explain some of the funny looks Sam’s been giving me, and why he was so interested in how work was going this week.” I shrug it off, plugging the fancy coffee box into the wall, only to be met with a full color display and a rotating carousel of coffee choices. Not gonna lie, it makes me feel a bit obsolete .
“You should have told me about this before. I could have been getting an extra twenty minutes of sleep every day if I didn’t need to come in and get the coffee maker started before you got here.”
The two alphas shuffle and grumble behind me, and I hear a mumbled, “Sorry.”
Once I finish my to-go cup, I’m totally gonna try this thing out though—it looks high tech and fancy, something I’ve come to expect with Sam and food.