Chapter three: Coffee poured

Ole Cafe

Evelina stood in front of the coffee shop an hour before it opened. She let out a deep breath she had not realized she was holding in and, once she was done, she finally relaxed.

Two weeks ago, she had caught her husband cheating on her with his mistress, a beautiful banker who was far slimmer than Evelina ever was. Having nowhere else to go, her father had called her and asked her to come back and run the family cafe business... the very same cafe her parents had started when she was only a little girl. It was only a week ago that she had officially taken over the day-to-day running of the business and now she was officially a business owner... though she was still taking time to learn how to run the place without her father constantly watching over her shoulder and directing her every move.

"Here we go, Evelina... another day, another dollar," she muttered under her breath as she inserted the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door.

Even though the cafe had not officially opened yet, the rich smell of freshly brewed coffee already filled the air.

Standing alone inside the cafe, Evelina looked around at the outdated decorations and smiled softly. Her father had kept the cafe exactly the same, even after her mother had passed away. The furniture was still as old-fashioned as it had been when she was a child and even the display cabinets that once showcased her mother's freshly baked desserts were still standing in their usual place.

Evelina turned around when she heard the bell above the door ring and realized one of the employees had already arrived for work.

"Good morning, Miss Bennett," the employee greeted with a smile.

"Hi, Anna... I believe that's your name, right?" Evelina asked.

For the past two weeks, all she had been trying to do was keep the cafe afloat while remembering the names of every employee who worked under her. Mots importantly, Evelina was tryign her best to forget all of Tim’s hurtful words…as well as constantly hiding in the back, afraid that customers would judge her because she was plus size.

"Yes, madam, that's my name," she responded joyfully.

"And the name is Evelina... no need for all those formalities," Evelina corrected gently.

"Sure," the young woman replied happily before grabbing her apron and rushing to the back to prepare the crockery and cutlery for the morning rush.

Hours later

Irritated with himself for not taking control of the meeting and allowing the older man to corner him, Adrian now considered himself a complete failure for not securing the merger contract.

He could already picture the disappointed look that would appear on his father's face... the same father who constantly reminded him that he was nowhere near as good as his late brother, the son who had managed the company smoothly without any problems along the way.

Not wanting to dwell on the issue any longer, yet unable to stop thinking about it, Adrian walked toward the cafe across the street... one he had been constantly visiting over the past few months whenever he needed a moment to himself.

He entered the cafe and sat in the corner seat where he always sat. Almost immediately, a young waitress approached him and, with just one look at her face, anyone could tell she was terrified of him. Adrian liked it that way.

"Two shots of espresso," he ordered arrogantly before waving the waitress away dismissively.

Once she disappeared from his sight, Adrian threw his head back in frustration. He needed to find a faster way to push the merger through or come up with a believable excuse... one his father would actually accept.

Unlike the other times, Adrian's espresso arrived much faster than he expected. Just as he reached for the cup, he suddenly spat out the bitter espresso in disgust, shocking the waitress standing nearby.

The poor woman instantly looked terrified... afraid Adrian would lash out at her the same way he had done to the other waitresses in the past.

“Seriously... do you call this coffee? This is dirt!” he yelled at the waitress, who was already at the brink of tears.

Seeing the commotion and one of her employees being yelled at, Evelina tried to walk over to the table to intervene but she stopped herself, as she was far too afraid of people looking at her because she was not exactly what people thought of when the word beauty standard is being mentioned.

“I don’t think you should go there... that is Mr. Adrian Beaumont. He owns the real estate building across from the cafe,” the waitress informed her nervously.

“And why is his name being mentioned as though he is important?” Evelina asked, not bothering to hide her annoyance.

“Please, madam, don’t provoke him. He does this all the time... at least once or twice a week. He is never satisfied with his coffee, or he claims it’s badly made,” the young waitress explained.

By then, Evelina had heard just about enough. All these things had reminded her of Tim and the way he treated her for years and all the times she excused his bad behaviour.

“No need to worry... I’ll handle him,” Evelina responded bravely before marching toward Adrian’s table, where he was still yelling at her employee.

“Good morning, sir. How may I help you?” Evelina asked as she stepped between Adrian and the trembling server, boldly looking up at him. As soon as she looked into his beautiful eyes, Evelina felt her knees buckle but she knew that she needed to look confident. She could not afford to fall for a man who she felt was far out of her league. Because standing before her was not just any kind of man, but a handsome, tall and muscular man.

Adrian was just abut to argue as he set his eyes on the rounded woman in front of him. Her beautiful brown eyes caught his attention, her lips looked so soft tahtg he could kiss them… never had he seen such a beauty in his life.

Adrian, focus. He mentally told himself, before dragging himself back to reality.

“And who are you?” Adrian asked angrily as he looked Evelina up and down as though she was insignificant.

“Well, I am the new owner of this cafe and you are causing a nuisance,” she told him calmly. To Evelina’s surprise, Adrian laughed loudly. When he finally stopped, he looked directly into her eyes.

“I see that the old man has finally given up on this rundown cafe of his,” Adrian mocked.

Evelina did not appreciate the insult. Without thinking twice, she grabbed the remainder of his coffee and poured it directly over Adrian’s head.

Everyone in the cafe froze in shock. Some customers widened their eyes while others immediately began whispering among themselves, stunned that someone had finally dared to stand against Adrian Beaumont.

Once Evelina was done, she placed the porcelain cup back onto the table and looked up at Adrian, who appeared completely speechless. It was obvious that he could not believe someone had dared to disrespect him in such a manner.

Several people in the cafe began taking out their phones and filming the entire scene, but Evelina was not worried about that. All she wanted was to teach the arrogant man standing in front of her a lesson. Adrian looked furious as the coffee dripped down his expensive designer suit.

“Now listen carefully,” Evelina warned firmly. “My employees have informed me that you have become a nuisance in this establishment, and for that reason, I have done this. I do not want to see you here again. Now leave my cafe before I call the police.”

Adrian slowly looked around and noticed that the people surrounding him were either laughing or recording him. Humiliated, he turned his attention back to the small woman standing confidently in front of him.

“I will make you pay for what you’ve done to me... you hear that?” he yelled before turning on his heel and storming out of the cafe.

The moment Adrian left, the customers inside the cafe began cheering loudly. It was almost as though they too had grown tired of the arrogant man and his endless tantrums.

Evelina watched him walk out of the cafe, cross the road and disappear into the large building opposite the establishment.

She should have felt proud of herself for standing up to him, yet she could not shake the uneasy feeling settling deep inside her chest. Something told her that this was far from over... and whatever came next would not favor her in the slightest.