There was a collective gasp of shock from everyone present in the coffee shop, including Mrs. Josephine.
"Ow, my back", Amy groaned in pains as she stood up from the ground.
She froze in shock at the sight of the customer drenched in tea, the steam of the tea visibly going up into the air. His eyes were closed, to stop the tea from dripping into his eyes.
"Oh my god!! My... Sir, I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't mean for this to happen. Please forgive me", she begged profusely.
The customer on the other hand just sat there, with an emotionless on his face. Somehow, it managed to be scarier than yelling at her.
Mrs. Josephine immediately hurried over to the scene and began begging to pacify the man
"We're so sorry, Mister. We swear this does not happen often. This was a clear act of stupidity from her. Please have mercy on her", she begged.
"I'm so sorry, sir-"
"Will you go get something to clean his suit?!", She thundered at Amy who scurried away into the kitchen and came back with a serviette in her hands.
She rushed to him and began cleaning the stains, but there weren't fading. Infact, they kept getting worse. She only succeeded in smudging his suit.
"It's 90k", he finally muttered.
"What?", Mrs. Josephine and Amy asked
"The suit you just ruined. It's ninety thousand dollars", he said.
"That's... Really expensive for a suit. I don't even make up to that in a year", Mrs. Josephine.
"Expensive?! Expensive you say?!! You think the money is my problem?!!", He banged his fists on the table and sprang up in a sudden surge of rage.
"How am I go to work and have the meeting with the Arab prince in a smudged suit?!! You deserve to be sued for this act! If I sue you, you'll be paying for this suit and for damages of nothing less than three hundred thousand dollars! And you..."
He faced her, waving a forefinger at her.
It wasn't until then that their eyes locked.
His finger was still in the air, but his tongue was tied. He was dumbfounded.
Amy had the same look and sheer appall on her face. The serviette fell from her hands in shock, and they stared at each other in silence.
Surely, it wasn't..
It couldn't be...
"It's...you,"
"You," they both chorused.
It was him!
It was the same guy that took her virginity seven years ago!
"Uhmm... Do you both know each other?", Mrs. Josephine asked, perplexed by their sudden silence.
Cole opened his mouth to say something, but before a word could leave his mouth, Amy retreated.
"Wait! Don't go! Just a minute...", But it was too late. Amy ran away into the kitchen
****
A knock on Cole's door jolted him out of his deep thoughts.
"Come in", he replied and the door gave way, revealing a familiar face - his best friend.
Over the course of seven years, Liam had somehow turned to a tech geek. It was unbelievable, but it was the truth. The party freak had miraculously turned into a software engineer and a CEO in the Hemsworth company.
"Damn, man. You scared me", Cole muttered in relief as he stood up to get to him.
"You keep overworking yourself. That's why you're startled by any little thing", Liam jeered.
"Shut up and bring it in", Cole shut him up.
He stood up and ventured to give me a hug, but he retreated when he saw the coffee stained shirt.
"Woah woah woah, now. What happened to your shirt? You got into a fight with the owner of a coffee shop?", He teased.
"It's a long story. Are you hugging me or not?"
"Not with that shirt you have on, no way,"
"I couldn't have asked for a better friend", I muttered in sarcasm, and he laughed as we settled down on the chairs.
"But really, what happened?", Liam questioned with a hint of seriousness.
Cole sighed.
"I saw her today", he said.
"Saw who?" Liam asked in perplexity. Cole gave him a look of 'are you kidding me right now,' and Liam immediately understood what he was talking about.
His eyes widened in utter surprise.
"You must be kidding! You saw her?! Like -her, her? The one you slept with you seven years ago?"
"The same one"
"And so what happened?"
"She was working as a waitress for this coffee shop I went to. She took my order, but I didn't know it was her. It wasn't until she spilled the tea on me later that I recognized her", Cole explained.
"And so, did you say anything to her?"
"Before I got the chance to, she ran away,"
"Damn. It's been seven years,"
"I need to speak to her, Liam. I need to see her again."
"And what are you going say to her when you see her?"
Cole tried to speak, but a buzz on the table interrupted him.
He checked it and when he saw that it was his Dad, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"What's the problem?"
"Shantel. Shantel is the problem. It's a surprise to me how she still manages to be a nuisance to my life despite the fact that she's miles away from me", he muttered and picked the call.
"Dad-"
"Why did Shantel just call me now, telling me that you insulted the hell out of her and called her stupid bitch?" Cole's father demanded.
Liam who heard the words and tone of Mr. Darell stared at Cole in surprise.
"I didn't say anything like that to her! She called me, asking for a ridiculous amount of money for shopping, despite the fact that I'd given her some allowance last week, but-"
"No, buts! If she asks you for some money, give her some!", With that, he ended the call.
Liam couldn't help but pity his miserable friend.
****
"Mrs. Josephine, I'm begging you to tamper justice with mercy! It won't happen again, please!", Amy fell to the floor and began begging when her boss informed her that she was sacking her.
"I won't have any money to feed myself and my son-"
"There's nothing you say that can change my mind, Amy. After what happened today, I can't risk keeping you here. You're a hazard, and the longer you linger, the faster my business burns to the ground. Leave, now!" Josephine barked.