Chapter 24: Go Home With Sawyer?

Abigail typed her reply:

"Hi, Sawyer. Yeah, I’m working in the cafe now. What do you want to order, and where should I deliver?"

After pressing the send button, she stared at her cell phone screen like a fool.

Abigail muttered to herself, ’Gosh! What the hell! What on earth am I doing now? Why did I reply to him like that?’ while lightly slapping her forehead. She couldn’t believe her fingers had moved faster than her mind.

She took a deep, long sigh, knowing she was in trouble—trouble she had created without realizing it.

How could she offer to deliver his order? What if he is far from here?

’Gosh! Abby, you should apologize to him now. Or you will be in trouble if he is in Orange town!’ She silently scolds herself.

Another text came in before Abigail could type another text to apologize for her mistake. She is no longer surprised to see it was from Sawyer.

Her heart tightened as she opened the text:

"Iced latte. And make it two. I’m parked in the building next to your cafe. Please deliver it here. Thank you in advance, Abby."

Knowing he was nearby, she felt relieved. However, moments later, she felt nervous and curious. Why didn’t he come inside instead of asking for delivery?

She turned her gaze from her phone to look outside, trying to spot his car, but she couldn’t see the building next door from her place.

Feeling helpless, Abigail put aside her curiosity and rushed back to the counter, preparing to make an iced latte. But before that, she asked Erica to issue an invoice.

"Sister, this is an Iced latte for you?" Erica asked, confused. Why was she suddenly placing an order when no one had come in and they were about to close the cafe?

"Yes, please. Don’t worry, Erica; I’ll pay..." Abigail smiled, noticing Erica’s confusion.

Abigail was about to make the coffee but stopped when she saw Erica still standing there, staring at her.

Knowing Erica seemed suspicious, Abigail hurriedly explained, "My friend is outside. He can’t come in, so he’s ordering by phone. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for his order," she said, taking out her bank card and handing it to Erica.

"Sorry, I wasn’t worried about getting paid. I was just confused about why you suddenly wanted to place an order and pay," Erica quickly said, afraid Abigail might be offended. "Sis, did you forget? You can make coffee for yourself without paying..."

"What do you mean?" Abigail was surprised. She knew they could get free drinks, but only from the staff lounge.

"Oh, you didn’t know?" Erica frowned slightly. "Boss Lana said if you want to make coffee for yourself, you don’t have to pay," she clarified.

Abigail was shocked to hear that. She had never heard this from Lana before.

"Does everyone else get that too?" Abigail asked, worried she’d missed something in the employment contract.

"No, just you. I think that’s how she appreciated your hard work." Erica smiled, finding it amusing to see how surprised Abigail was.

"Boss Lana seems to like you, sis. She always praises how fast and diligent you work. That’s why she told us cashiers never to charge you for coffee," Erica explained.

Abigail was taken aback. She felt touched, knowing Lana had made an exception for her.

"It’s okay, Erica. Please process the payment. This isn’t for me but for my friend. He’ll pay me back later..." she said, handing her card to Erica.

Of course, she wouldn’t ask Sawyer for the money; he had already helped her twice. But she wouldn’t take advantage of Lana’s kindness either.

After Abigail finished making the two iced lattes, she headed to Lana’s office to excuse herself. She planned to go home after meeting Sawyer.

"Hi, Lana, sorry to interrupt," Abigail said. She stood at the door, feeling bad for disturbing her. Lana seemed busy with administrative tasks.

"It’s fine. I’m done... what is it?" Lana asked.

"We’ve closed the cafe, and I’m heading home now."

Lana stood up from her desk and approached Abigail at the door.

"Why the rush, Abigail? Let’s have dinner first. I’ll cook for you upstairs," Lana offered. She knew Abigail had had a bad day and thought good food might cheer her up.

"Thanks for the offer, Boss. But not today," Abigail smiled faintly, feeling bad about refusing.

"Are you sure?" Lana asked, still concerned.

"Yeah. Just for your information, my friend’s waiting for me outside. I’ll go home with him," Abigail gulped silently, hearing her own words.

’Go home with Sawyer?’ She felt amused at her thoughts. How dare she wish for that?

She had just made an excuse to leave quickly. She wanted to familiarize herself with her new house.

There was so much she wanted to do there: clean, cook, and enjoy the new room. She felt lucky the owner left so many groceries in the fridge she didn’t have to buy groceries for a few weeks.

Lana guessed Abigail was eager to meet the person who was causing her bad mood.

"I see. All right, take care and see you tomorrow. You’re working shift two again, right?"

"Yes. See you tomorrow, Boss..." Abigail rushed to grab her bag from the locker.

After briefly chatting and saying goodbye to Erica, Abigail left the cafe and walked toward the building next door. She realized it was a tall office building.

It wasn’t hard for Abigail to locate Sawyer’s vehicle. She spotted him leaning against a black SUV—the same one he had used when they met in Orange Town—and he seemed to be reading something on his phone.

Abigail was relieved that Sawyer hadn’t noticed her yet.

Trying to hide her nerves, she approached him while clutching the paper bag tightly. She stopped a few steps before him.

"Hi, Sawyer..." Abigail greeted him calmly, though her heart tightened as he looked at her with a warm smile framing his godly, handsome face.

"This is your coffee..." she offered him the paper bag.

Sawyer didn’t immediately take the coffee; instead, he asked, "Have you finished work?"

"Yeah, I’m going home now."

"Okay. I’ll drive you home," Sawyer said without waiting for Abby to answer. He opened the passenger door for her. "Allow me."

After taking the paper bag from her, Sawyer walked toward the driver’s seat, leaving Abigail feeling confused.