My Arrogant Billionaire by Eros Zeo

ALIYA TORRES

I never liked coffee which was weird since everyone I knew including my mother loved coffee.

I was more of a tea person and if one asked me why I would simply reply with ‘coffee was too strong for me’. Yet here I was, my new job at Jitters serving coffee.

I had applied to be a barista but the chummy owner took one good look at me and decided I was better off a waitress in a tight little pink dress taking everyone’s orders

“Would you mind taking this to table ten?”

My new co-worker, Sasha asked. As usual, I was the one doing most of the serving because I was the new girl and the new girl always got the most work.

I removed one ear pod from my left ear taking a break from Harry Styles’ sweet voice.

My best friend, Raymond Chester, always said I was a little bit cliché because I still listened to Harry Styles but what can I say? The man’s voice was my only sanity.

With a grunt, I fake smiled taking the mug of expresso from her hands.

My eyes flung across table ten and a chubby man was seated there, his face buried in the morning newspaper.

I couldn’t see his face but I could see his enormous belly which acted as support to hold the paper he was reading.

Even from afar, I knew what type of customer he was. He was one of those guys who were probably lactose intolerant and when you took the expresso to him, he would probably spit the drink, claim you tried to poison him and the manager of the place would come running, apologize, and tell him he can order another drink for free.

Or maybe I was overthinking things. I tended to overthink.

The barista, Lilian, gave me a napkin and I placed it under the sizzling hot mug of expresso in my hands.

I had barely taken a step from behind the huge counter when my customer from table ten lowered his newspaper and I took a good look at his face perturbed.

His bushy signature beard peppered his face, his chubby face looked like overripe tomatoes about to pop. He looked paler than I remember but I could remember his face from anywhere.

My anger flared, it was him.

That two-time lying bastard! He was the same man that robbed me of my money!

I was a little stupid at first for handing him money without getting the job first but who was why to know that he was a con artist?

I had heard the news of how talent agencies conned people so when a guy showed up telling me he could fulfill my long-time dream of being a model, I jumped on the idea of giving him money.

He sounded convincing at first telling me how he had signed models like Kaia Jenner, Kendall Vasquez, and Taylor Gerber so, like a fool, I paid him expecting a call for the modeling gig the next day.

Except he never called and I never became a model. When I reported the matter to the police, they promised to follow up on the case but the weasel never got caught except today.

I was going to catch him. He was going to give me back my money.

I had the expresso in my hands and a silly thought came to mind.

The plan was simple,

I would easily make my way to where he sat.

I would pour the hot expresso on his pants.

While he cried from the burns I had inflicted on him, I would call the police.

It was a three-point plan that was bound to work. I was pretty confident that the plan would work and if he tried to escape somehow, I would straddle him to the floor until the police showed up.

My phone was already in the front pocket of my waitress uniform ready to press 911 the minute I poured the drink on him.

I walked towards him, trying to lay low in case he saw me, and decided to run. I was almost there.

I was almost reaching Frank Doherty when out of nowhere, one of the guys from table nine stood up startling me and leading me to loosen the grip on the mug.

I watched as the mug flew from my hands to his chest, the brown liquid ruining his three-piece suit which was no doubt expensive.

I saw him flinch, biting his bottom lip to hide the pain of having the hot liquid penetrate his suit and touch his skin.

“The fuck?” he growled, his icy grey eyes staring down at me.

His six feet of height made him intimidating as he towered above me. At that moment, I wished that the ground would rip and swallow me whole.

“Am so sorry”, I said immediately trying to wipe his suit with a napkin. It was of no use because the stain wouldn’t just disappear. I felt guilty so I continued rubbing the white napkin on his chest until he pushed my hands away from him.

“Are you sure you are sorry? Or is this a little trick just to touch me? I have seen women like you before!” He said with so much malice.

My eyes widened in surprise. His outburst caught everyone’s attention and everyone turned to us, some flashed out their phones to take videos of what was happening. I couldn’t care less.

Just who did he think he was? Sure he was handsome, had a perfect face, a sharp jawline, a five o’clock stubble that looked good on him, lush gel black hair, perfect lips, and a cologne that had my nose hairs tingling but that didn’t mean I would do that intentionally!

Why touch him in the first place when I didn’t even know him?

“I don’t know who you are or who you think I am but I said sorry, didn’t I? And just because you think you look good doesn’t mean that every woman that trips and bumps into you wants to touch you!”I clarified loud and clear.

“Preach sister!” I heard one of the customers say.

“You’ve been staring at me for ten minutes so believe me when I say I’ve seen women like you and believe me when I say this ‘I’m not interested”

“Just who do you think you are, you arrogant prick!”I hissed as he stepped back, a grin crossing on his lips.

“I think I want to see the manager now. I don’t think the owner of this fine establishment knows what sort of employees he hires”

I wanted to insult him right there and then but when Mr. Ramon showed up, I kept my mouth shut.

It was unbelievable how Mr. Ramon apologized to the man as if he were some sort of God.

“Again I apologize Mr. Carter. I promise you, she’ll be dealt with”

The arrogant Mr. Carter left, with his partner and as fast as they did, Mr. Ramon told me I was fired.

To top it all, Frank Doherty had already left before I could call the cops on him!

Damn you, Carter!

I cussed praying that lightning would somehow to strike him wherever he was. Okay, maybe not strike him dead.

ETHAN CARTER

“Is she one of your flings perhaps?”

Jai humored his eyes gazing at someone behind me.

I came here to at least get some work done away from my mother who wouldn’t stop pestering me back at the office. The thing about mothers was that they were the most obstinate human beings to walk the planet.

Take my mother for example, who had nagged me day in, and day out when I was going to propose to my girlfriend, Crystal Perez.