CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

The lunch break was over and workers had resumed their stations, but the quiet hum of the café never completely stilled. Customers trickled in with post-meal cravings, and orders started to pile up at the smoothie station.

 

Dominic glanced at the clock, then at the empty smoothie bar. "Where the hell are they?" he muttered under his breath, snapping the blender lid on and pulling out a new receipt.

He wasn't even supposed to be in this section but he had to come down and cover for Raven and Elisa when he heard some servers complaining that they weren't still back from their lunch break. But that "still" was now pushing into forty-five minutes.

 

Samantha sauntered by with a tray of croissants, a knowing smirk tugging at her lips. "Still no smoothie queens?" she asked in a sugary tone.

 

Rose, not one to miss an opening, scoffed. "Probably out chasing after some guy. Or maybe they're too delicate to handle real work."