Page 3 of Care: Part 1

CHAPTER TWO

Care for Coffee

Avelina got out of her cab and looked up at the place Johnathan had wanted to meet her at, Java Palace. She glanced down at her watch to see that she was fifteen minutes too early.

As she walked towards the entrance, she noticed how the coffee shop was practically empty, aside from the employees.

Pulling open the door, she strolled into the small store with a warm smile on her face. An employee was quick to look up at her before returning her smile. "Welcome to Java Palace. What can we do for you today?"

"A caramel latte is fine with me.”

"Can I get your name?" He asked, flashing a flirty smile.

She did not detect the fact that he was preparing to flirt his way into her heart. "Avelina,”

"You have a lovely name,” he began, “I’m not sure if it's just my ear damage due to the blender, but I hear a tiny accent. Are you from here?"

He placed her card back into her hands as She shook her head.

"No, I'm from Brazil.”

He nodded his head and then turned around to begin making her drink. She decided to stand there and wait, seeing as there was nothing else to do.

"If you don't mind me asking you, Miss Avelina, what made you come here?" He asked.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, looking down at her watch once more.

There was that feeling of nervousness that rushed through her at the thought of the meeting happening very soon. She didn't know how high-class the client had to be if the CEO himself would need to talk to her.

"I got a scholarship. Now that I've gotten my degree, I may plan on going back," Avelina answered the cashier.

Just then, the door opened, leaving her to turn to look at the intruder. It was a clean man dressed in a suit with his black hair slicked back. He looked to be in his mid-thirties as he scanned the entire shop.

With a sigh, he sat down at one of the tables while glancing at his watch.

"Excuse me," She said to the cashier before walking up to the man.

In her heart, she was hoping that he was the Johnathan she was supposed to be meeting.

When she got to his table, she noticed how his eyes skimmed down her entire body before going back up to her eyes. "Are you Johnathan?"

"Yes, and you are?"

"Hi, Avelina Santos. I'm the woman you spoke to on the phone yesterday," she reminded him.

The boy from the cash register walked up to her and handed her the caramel latte. When she looked at the cup, she had noticed that he wrote his number on it. Johnathan seemed to have seen it as well but didn't comment on it.

"Oh! I am so sorry. I didn't expect you to look so..."

He stopped himself trying to figure out the right word to keep the conversation professional.

"…So young."

"No, don’t worry about it. I know that most caregivers tend to be a bit older. I only began caregiving to pay for my college books," she blushed as she moved to sit down in the seat in front of him.

"How is college now?" He asked, attempting to start up a conversation.

"I finished recently. That's where I got my nursing degree, which you already know," she chuckled slightly.