The Alpha Male Romance Boxed Set (27 page)

And the Girl From The

Coffee Shop

By

Terry Towers

Copyright 2012 by Terry Towers

Cover by: Terry Towers

All rights reserved. With the exception of brief quotes used for critical reviews and articles no part of this book may be used or reproduced without the written permission of the author Terry Towers. Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Terry Towers can be contacted via her website at www.elixaeverett.com

Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via internet or other means, electronic or print without the authors permission. Criminal copyright infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov.ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material.

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors imagination and used fictitiously.

"Damn, damn, damn," Beth muttered, leaning over the coffee shop front counter, pen in hand, attempting to find a way to make college possible. Sadly, the numbers didn't seem to want to co-operate. As it appeared, financially college just wasn't going to be happening for her this coming fall semester. There was no way around it; she was barely making enough to survive as it was. She was making so many sacrifices,
too
many as a matter of fact. Having to cut back on the hours she worked at the coffee shop in order to attend school, while paying the massive tuition wouldn't work. As it was the cost of living was a financial burden that was more than she could handle at the present time.

"Damn," she cursed again a little more loudly than she intended, as she rolled the offending list of expenses up in her fist, turned, and tossed the paper ball into the nearby garbage can. The paper ball hit the back of the can and fell in soundlessly.

"Impressive shot."

Beth sighed as she turned back towards the counter and gave Gabriel a faint smile. Any other day she would have loved seeing Gabriel - his visits were normally the highlight of her afternoon. However, today was different, not even the sight of her secret crush could brighten her day. Nope, not even the tall, lean, dark-haired hunk in the finely tailored suit with the piercing dark eyes, could take her mind off of her troubles.

"Afternoon Gabriel,” she said solemnly.

Leaning an elbow on the beige marble counter separating them he smiled at her. His sweet, seductive smile helped melt the icy mood she'd been in, up until that point - slightly. "So, come on, tell me what's bothering you? Where’s that beautiful smile you usually present me with?”  He had a warm yet concerned look on his face.

“Oh I got it! Your boss is being a jerk?" he teased lightly.

A smile began to lift the corners of Beth's lips for the first time that day as she shook her head. "No."

He raised an inquisitive brow at her. "Oh I definitely got it now. Boyfriend troubles, right?"

Her smile widened. "Hardly." Grabbing a large paper cup from the dispenser she began to pour his coffee.

"The usual?" she asked, ignoring his question. She didn't want to be spilling her financial woes to customers - not even Gabriel. And as for her non-existent love life - she
really
didn't want to be spilling
that
to him.

Gabriel nodded. “Okay I’m done guessing,” he gave a little chuckle. “Then tell me? What's wrong?"

Beth secured the plastic lid onto the cup and sighed, sliding the cup across the counter to him. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned her hip against the counter and caught his gaze. "Do you really want to know or are you just being polite?"

Damn, he looks good today
. The top button of his off-white shirt was undone. His black satin tie hung loosely around his neck. He looked as though he could have just walked off the pages of 'GQ magazine.' He was, without a doubt, one of the hottest men she'd ever met. His easygoing demeanour and sinfully sexy smile complimented his good looks perfectly.
Does he even know how hot he is?
She found herself wondering
, Of course he does... How could he not?

Gabriel chuckled. "I
really
want to know. Wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

Beth huffed. "Well, the problem is that I just
can't
catch a break."

"Can't catch a break?" Grabbing a bill from his trousers pocket he passed it to her as he accepted the coffee. "Why do you say that?"

Accepting the payment she rang in his total and proceeded to give him his change. When she offered it to him, as usual, he waved it off so she dropped it into her tip jar. The tip equalled roughly three times the cost of the coffee; he was easily the best tipper to walk through the doors of the coffee shop.

"Well, I'm halfway through college and there is no way I'm going to afford to be able to go back next year. I can barely pay my bills even with all the overtime I put in this place. Like, take this week for instance. I have a choice... do I pay my electricity or my telephone bill?"

Gabriel nodded appearing grim, but amusement gleamed in his eyes as she continued on. All of a sudden the dam broke and the need to purge her grievances was too overwhelming so she continued her rant, the words falling from her lips like verbal diarrhoea that she was helpless to stop. "So that means I'm stuck here. At the shitty dead end job for another year. Hell, maybe even the rest of my life! I'm twenty-three years old and facing a lifetime of being the donut girl. It wouldn't even be so bad if I had a
boyfriend
, or hell, got laid once in a while. But no. None of that either. The only men I seem to attract are criminals, married men or unemployed losers." Beth huffed and shook her head in defeat. "Just can't catch a break..."

Nodding, a smile spread across Gabriel's lips as he raised a brow at her. "Well as far as the telephone and electricity issues go I might be able to help you there."

Frowning, Beth caught his eyes. Her heart stopping for a moment and her face flushed.
Oh-my-God.
She groaned inwardly.
Now he thinks I'm some sex starved charity case
. She prayed for death at that moment. Though looking at him, his dark eyes burrowing into hers, she knew she'd have told him anything he wanted to know. Somehow she doubted many women could resist answering any questions or fulfilling any request he may send their way.

Feeling the heat rush up to her cheeks, Beth shook her head. "No. No, I wasn't implying or hinting. I-"

Gabriel's grin widened. "So you don't want a better job?'' He shrugged, "Or at least a better paying job. Not sure if I would say better."

"W-well. No, I do. I mean, I didn't mean to be looking for handouts. I just-"

"Can you cook?" Gabriel asked laughing outright as he reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and producing a business card which he passed to her.

The heat in her cheeks intensified and she nibbled lightly on her lower lip. "Macaroni and cheese." she joked. Could she cook? He had to be joking. She had to be the worst cook she knew. Nothing ever seemed to turn out right, no matter how much time or effort she took to prepare a meal. She overcooked
everything
. Some people were meant to be domestic; she wasn't one of those people.

Taking the card from him, she glanced down at it. "Gabriel Reynolds Enterprises."

"Yeah, that's me," he confirmed, with a disinterested shrug.

She looked up from the card to meet his eyes. She had no idea what Gabriel Reynolds Enterprises was, but he seemed to be awfully young to be running anything. He couldn't have been a day over thirty.

"You know what," reaching back into his inner pocket, he produced a silver pen, retrieved the card from her fingertips and quickly jotted down a phone number and address. "I have to go. I have a meeting in ten minutes, but give me a call tonight, we'll arrange a meeting and see what we can figure out for you."

Beth accepted the extended card once again, and decided to ask the question that was at the forefront of her mind. "Why would you do this for me?"

Snatching his coffee from the counter he grinned at her, and gave her a wink, sending her pulse racing. "Maybe I like the way you make my coffee."

Rolling her eyes at him, she couldn't help but grin; his smile was infectious. "I press a button on a machine and it pours it into a cup..."

"Call me tonight," he called over his shoulder ignoring her comment, as he rushed across the dining room and out the front door.

Beth watched as he strode across the parking lot, taking long, graceful strides. Working for Gabriel... Cooking? She tapped her lower lip with the edge of the business card as she watch him slide into his black Lamborghini, pull out of the parking slot and speed away. She made a mental note to do an online search for Gabriel Reynolds Enterprises when she arrived home. Maybe he owned a chain of restaurants? She had always assumed he was some sort of hotshot lawyer, or something of the sort. Whatever it was that he did for a living, considering the expensive car, finely tailored suit and large tips he always gave her for a single cup of coffee, Beth guessed that business was very good for Mr Reynolds.

****

"4591 Spruce Meadow Lane," Beth muttered, her blue eyes widening as she pulled her ancient Sunfire up to the tall - at least eight feet in height - wrought iron security fence and lowered her window to press the buzzer for admittance. It was easily one of the most magnificent homes she'd ever seen. It was a three story Victorian styled house that looked more like a hotel than someone's private home. It was something she'd expect to see on 'The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.'

Once she got over her awe of the house, she pressed the buzzer and waited for a response.

"Please state your name and business," an abrupt male voice called over the speaker.

"I um... I'm Beth. I'm here to see... Ummmm, Gabe...  I mean... Mr Reynolds."

There was silence from the mysterious voice on the other end.

"About a job," she added groaning inwardly at herself. Why was she so nervous? He was just another customer. One she enjoyed flirting with on a daily basis, just like all the other good looking men who came into the coffee shop. Just because he owned a profitable Mergers and Acquisitions company - at least that's what she gathered from the online research - didn't change a thing. He was still the same Gabriel she'd been flirting with for months now. And if she hadn't read the signals wrong, he was more than happy to flirt back.

"Come on through," the voice through the metal box answered as a creaking noise sounded, and the gates began to slowly part.

Shifting the car into drive, Beth slowly made her way to the front of the house and parked behind Gabriel's Lamborghini. Taking a deep breath in, she attempted to calm her increasingly rattled nerves. There was rich and then there was
this
! She shut off the car while still eyeing the beautiful home. Looking down at her black knee length skirt and purple short sleeved blouse she immediately began feeling underdressed. Bending down she peered at herself in the driver's side mirror, flattening her shoulder length blonde hair and ensuring her make-up hadn't smudged. To her relief it hadn't.

She suddenly laughed at herself for being so self-conscious. This was a job interview, not a date. While surfing the web trying to find out more about Gabriel, she'd seen a number of photographs with him and his dates. They were all leggy, model types who reeked of high-society and presumably owned little dogs they carried in their purses named Fefe or something equally as ridiculous. He was out of her league. Perhaps she was fun to flirt with in the afternoons while grabbing a coffee, but that was the extent of it for him she was sure. Sure she’d had a crush on him for some time now. But big deal. It was a crush, it didn't have to complicate matters.

Taking a deep breath she tried to steady her nerves before straightening up; squaring her shoulders. She finally got out of her car and made her way up the front steps. She was just raising her fist to knock on the large oak door when it was opened by a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties, wearing a stern expression.

"Miss Wilmington," he gave her a nod and stepped aside ushering her in.

"Thank you," pasting a tight smile on her face to cover her nerves she nodded back at him and walked into the house. The inside was just as magnificent as the outside. The front door brought her into a main room, a large white marble fountain at its center, with two cupids’ back to back arrowed poised and ready to shoot as the highlight of the masterpiece which reached up past the first floor and to the second.

On either side of her, was a staircase leading to the second floor, which overlooked the first.
Wow.
She knew there would be a look of marvel on her face, but at that point she didn't care. The inside of his home, at least the first room reminded her of an Arabian palace, with all the gold coloured trim and marble. She halfway expected belly dancers to appear and dance their way down the winding staircase. But, of course, they didn't

"This is a beautiful house," she managed to gasp. She looked over at the man who had opened the door and caught a glimpse of humour in his eyes, which faded quickly as he nodded, the stern expression reappearing.

"This way. Mr Reynolds is expecting you," with a firm hand at her back, he led her down a hallway, which was softly lit by elegant stained glass scones on the walls.

You could get lost in this place!
As beautiful as it was, it seemed
too
big, if that were possible. More like a museum than an actual home.

"In here," the man who had yet to give her his name knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," a voice that was unmistakably Gabriel's called out from behind the door.

Turning the knob, the man pushed it open and stepped aside for Beth to walk past him. Once she was in, he closed the door softly behind her.

Gabriel's office was unlike the rest of the house. It was small, quaint even. The walls were beige with burgundy trim and to her left was a fireplace, giving the room a soft, warm glow.