9. Aspen

CHAPTER 9

Aspen

Crossland: Can you be ready to leave in an hour?

Crossland: I have a business opportunity in India, but there are a few black-tie events that would be great if you were on my arm.

Crossland: Do you have plans?

Icringed as I read the texts, glancing at my phone for the first time in the last three hours.

It had been an intense morning, with no break in the rushes. Mondays were normally busy, especially in the morning, but today had been a real cluster.

Usually, I loved rushes. I thrived off the chaotic energy that came with a constant stream of customers. I could lose myself in my work, satisfied with hours that passed quickly, knowing that was just more money in the bank.

But guilt twisted my insides as I noticed that Crossland had texted just after my shift started four hours ago.

Me: Sorry, I’m at work.

It was the only answer I could quickly type out before chugging an iced coffee and hurrying back to my position.

India. He wanted me to go to India? With only an hour’s notice? With all our other adventures or outings he’d given me ample warning. At the very least enough time to schedule the copious amounts of non-paid leave I had stored up. But even I knew I couldn’t keep taking it advantage of my boss’s good nature forever. I definitely couldn’t bail with just an hour’s notice, especially when I’d been slinging extra shifts in my off time in order to make up for the time I’d missed.

I quickly dismissed all thoughts of being whisked away to a country I’d never dreamed I’d get to visit. I never even allowed myself to think about vacations that grand. I was lucky when I got to go to Manhattan.

A steady stream of pre-lunch customers came in, and I lost myself among the sounds of grinding espresso beans, steaming milk, and the clinking of the blenders. It was sort of like meditation for me at this point, and I counted myself lucky to find so much peace in the motions of my work.

I’d barely had time to even think about how or what to say to Crossland by the time the lunch rush had ended, and I was in that delightful afternoon lull where I had time to clean and restock my fridges and supplies.

“Can I get a flat white?” Crossland’s voice was easily recognizable, and I snapped my head up from where I was kneeling behind the counter restocking my cup sleeves, only to find him grinning down at me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked completely taken aback. I was fully prepared to meet Crossland on his own turf, but him coming to mine? I didn’t even think the man knew how to get to Brooklyn.

“Did you miss the part about the flat white?” he asked, that overly confident smirk playing over his kissable lips.

I closed my eyes and took a breath, willing myself not to think about his lips or his tongue or his mouth in general. He casually leaned his palms on the counter, and my eyes fell to them, remembering exactly what those hands had done to me.

It was impossible to not think about. In fact, climbing a mountain without a harness would be easier.

He’d absolutely and utterly blown my mind, to the point that it was hard to think about anything since. I’d never experienced anything like that, and I thought I’d had good sex before.

But what he’d done to me in a matter of five minutes from the challenge I so naively presented him with? Jesus, I don’t know how I was supposed to come back from that. And I wasn’t quite sure if I ever would.

I finally reoriented myself behind the register, ringing him up like I would any other customer. “Okay, a flat white. Anything else?” I asked, falling right into my barista role.

“I’ll take five minutes.” He smirked.

My lips fell open, shock radiating down my spine at the challenge in his eyes. Flabbergasted, I simply turned around to make his flat white, and by the time I finished, I had somewhat collected myself.

He took the paper cup and slid a twenty across the counter.

I finally checked him out, but he refused the change, electing to put it in the tip jar instead.

“No, really,” he said. “I need five minutes with you.”

“Here?” My heart fluttered in my chest, adrenaline surging through my veins.

He couldn’t be serious, could he? He couldn’t want...then again, it’s not like I knew his kinks. Maybe he was into the public thing, the thrill of getting caught.

While I could get behind that, and while I knew that a lot of his friends were accustomed to getting frisky at the office, that wasn’t something I could do here.

It’s not like I owned the place. Not even close.

Crossland tilted his head, studying me. “I’m surprised you didn’t give me an instant no,” he said. “But no, kitten, that’s not what I meant. Do you have a break? So we can talk?”

My heart sank, my mind repeating the words so we can talk.

The phrase triggered every abandonment trauma I had, a string of past friendships and partners all leading with that exact phrase before cutting me out of their life completely, pairing it with excuses that I was too much to handle or my baggage was too much or my commitment to my sister was unhealthy.

“Sure,” I said doing my best to keep my tone even.

What the hell was wrong with me? This was a business transaction. Crossland and I weren’t actually dating.

Had he given me the most intense orgasm of my life? Yes.

Was he by far the best kisser ever? Absolutely.

Did he make me laugh on a daily basis? One hundred percent.

But when it came down to it, he was still just a business partner.

Shit. I hope I wasn’t about to get fired.

I made sure to check with my coworker that he was good to handle the front, even though we were in the midafternoon lull before coming around the counter and taking a seat at one of the far tables across the coffee shop.

“This is good,” Crossland said after we took our seats across from each other.

He’d taken a sip of the flat white I’d made him, licking a few stray drops off of his lips.

I couldn’t help but track the move, my mind directly linking back to what that tongue had felt like between my legs.

I crossed one leg over the other and took a deep breath. What if he was about to fire me because of the line we’d crossed? I told myself over and over again not to depend on completing this contract and getting the ridiculous amount of money he’d offered me, but all my preparation obviously didn’t work if the cracks in my heart were any indication.

Damn it, I’d already dreamed of how much that money could change mine and my sister’s lives. And now I’d gone and ruined it all for the sake of a little game I’d started while tipsy⁠—

“I thought that I’d given you enough living expenses to no longer work here,” Crossland said, totally shocking me out of my train of thought.

“What?”

He took another sip of his coffee before setting it down. “If you needed more money, you should have just told me.”

“I don’t. Wait, I’m confused.”

“So am I,” Crossland said, leaning back in the chair and looking so damn good in the silver suit he wore.

I mean honestly, who looks that good?

“I thought I gave you enough living expenses so that you wouldn’t have to work here. I need you to be able to go to India on a whim. That’s what my real girlfriend would be able to do.”

“Oh,” I said, understanding finely dawning on me. “Right. The living expenses were wonderful. And I really do appreciate it. But our contract is for three months. Three months, Crossland, and you’ll be gone. I’ll still need my job.”

A little crease formed between his brow. “You’re going to continue working after we’ve completed our contract?”

I laughed, looking at him like he should know better. “One, I happen to love my job. Two, I may not have money, but that doesn’t mean I don’t understand money. And while one point five million is an incredible amount, after taxes, setting me and Brecken up for retirement, living expenses, and an NYU education, there won’t be enough left to live on indefinitely. It would be frivolous of me to throw my job away.”

“Wow,” Crossland said, looking genuinely impressed. “I really didn’t think of that.”

I waved him off. “I wouldn’t expect you to,” I said honestly and with no judgment. The guy had billions in the bank, he had tax breaks galore and he never had to worry about taxes taking nearly half of every paycheck or saving for emergencies and retirement.

And I didn’t have those last two things yet, but I fully intended to use what was left over of the one point five million after school expenses and taxes to ensure that I did.

Customers started to pile in, and I scooted away from the table. “I’m really sorry,” I said. “But I pulled a double today to make up for what I missed last week. I won’t be off until seven tonight, and I work all of this week.”

I really hope that wouldn’t compromise my standing in our agreement, but I knew enough about Crossland to know that nothing in his life was predictable. I think he preferred it that way, and I couldn’t really blame him. After being with him, living in his world, I loved getting caught up in chaotic and wild adventures just as much as the next person, but I had responsibilities.

Crossland followed me, stopping in front of the counter as I went behind it. He winked at me, holding up his coffee cup. “Thanks for the drink, kitten,” he said before moving out of the next customer’s way and disappearing without another word.

I knew there would be more to discuss about my schedule, but I quickly pushed those worries to the back of my mind as I focused on each new customer. And by the time my shift ended, I was more than ready to walk home and fall into bed.

I managed to stumble through my front door and lock it behind me, then took a hot shower before I did, in fact, fall into bed. I rolled over to grab my phone, intending to set my alarm for tomorrow’s morning shift only to see a text from my boss.

Chels: All your shifts have been cleared. Enjoy the vacation. ;)

I started typing back a question to her text, but stopped myself mid-thought, quickly deleting it.

Instead, I pulled up Crossland’s number and dialed.

He answered after the first ring. “Looking for another five minutes?”

“What did you do?” I asked, adrenaline snaking through my veins. “Did you talk to my boss?” I asked before he could answer. “Did you bribe her into letting me off? Because that wasn’t your decision to make.”

“Of course not,” he said. “I don’t bribe people. I bought the coffee shop.”

“You what?” I asked unbelieving.

“I bought the coffee shop. Now your job will be there when you’re done working for me.”

“You can’t be serious? You can’t just go and buy a business because you want me to have the next couple months off.”

“Who says?”

“The real world?” I sputtered my response, my emotions leaping from shocked too impressed to shocked again. Once again, I was met with the vast expanse of his world. It wasn’t the same as mine. Hell, we lived on different planets.

“Aspen, I didn’t do this as some form of control. I did this so that you would have options without any worries. Now, if you’re that objective to going on last-minute trips with me, that’s another story. And we’ll need to talk about it to see how we can find some middle ground. But if feeling guilty for taking time off work and worrying about not having a job when we’re done was the main reason behind it, then I’ve solved that problem. The owner was more than happy to sell to me, and your manager—who was an absolute delight by the way—completely supported my inquiry when I asked if you would be able to take some time off. They love you over there, not surprisingly. But when it comes down to it, I’m now the owner and I have final say on if you have a job or not when we’re done, which obviously you do. So which is it?”

I sat on my bed, gaping at my phone and shaking my head as I tried to gather my thoughts. It was like Crossland had a direct insight into my over-analyzing brain. He’d just as easily erased the concerns of control and intention in a few sentences as he had when handling other things about me.

Where did he come from? And how did he understand me so damn well already?

“I’ve never had any hesitation about traveling with you, Cross,” I said on a released breath. “But I feel like I should be angry with you on principle.”

Crossland laughed, and the rich sound of it loosened the tension in my chest. “I respect that,” he said. “It’s okay if you’re angry with me, kitten. I’ll have fun making it up to you.”

Heat spiraled down my core at the seductive tone his voice dipped into, easily switching from businessman to playboy in a matter of seconds.

I could barely bite back my smile, and I was thankful he couldn’t see me grinning at the phone. Though he could likely hear it in my voice. “Fine,” I said, doing my best to sound as aggravated as possible. “Then I’m angry with you. The next time you decide to buy one of my places of business, you should consult me first.”

Crossland laughed again, and I shook my head, chiding myself for how much I enjoyed the sound.

“Okay, kitten,” he said. “I’ll be sure to do that next time. In the meantime? Can you be ready to fly out tomorrow at eight a.m.?”

“I don’t know,” I said playfully. “I guess you’ll just have to show up and see.”

“One thing about me you should know by now, Aspen,” he said. “I always show up.”

“Goodnight, Crossland,” I said.

“Goodnight, Aspen,” he echoed back before we hung up.

I fell back against my pillows, still in a state of shock as I set my alarm for a totally different reason.

He’d altered my world in a matter of hours, taking off the undue stress that had been weighing on me since we entered our agreement. Hell, I was certain that if I’d told him three weeks ago he would’ve rushed to solve it then. And it wasn’t in a malicious way or a controlling way, but in a genuinely helpful and healthy way.

It was something I was entirely unused to.

I’d been used to doing things on my own and only depending on myself for years. Allowing somebody else to take some of the burden? That was unheard of for me. And I wasn’t exactly sure how to handle it.

Luckily, I didn’t have to sink too deep into it. Because Crossland and I were held together by a string of ruses and games and banter. Sure, we had some electrical chemistry, but that was it. His eagerness to help was absolutely and understandably also for his benefit.

All I needed to do was remember that and not fall into whatever fairy-tale world he lived in on a daily basis.

Because I only had a temporary pass, and the last thing I needed was to pretend like this was going to be my forever.