She grinned at him and he chuckled again.
“Have a great day, Emma,” he said, casually strolling to the pickup window and taking his coffee. She loved that he knew her name. He came in every morning and they always had a fun, easy banter that left a smile on her face.
He dropped a twenty in her tip jar and sauntered out of the coffee shop and into the building lobby. She could watch that man walk anywhere. The way he moved was sexy and confident. It was no surprise to her that he was a billionaire CEO with the world at his feet.
“Emma, clean up the spill by the trash and you can go on break,” her boss called to her.
She shook herself from watching Mr. Weathers walk away and picked up a cleaning towel. One day, she was going to get out of here. She had dreams and plans, and none of them revolved around cleaning up spilled coffee.
The mess by the trash can required a mop. She sighed and wondered just how she got here. Her dream job was never to be a barista. She had dreams of being something more, but her debt was out of control. She had a bachelor’s degree, but no experience. No experience meant no career. No career meant no money, so she was stuck here selling coffee. She had to pay off those student loans somehow. No matter how hard she worked, it felt like she was barely treading water. Something needed to change.
Emma quickly mopped up, washed her hands, and went to go play with the baby.
Sam reached for her as soon as he saw her coming to their table. She loved the way his chubby little arms stretched out and the way his smile lit up. She wanted to be a mother, but with no boyfriend and no money, she didn’t see it in the cards for a long time.
Yet one more thing life didn’t seem to want to give her.
“Sammy,” she cooed, pulling him in for a hug. She breathed in the sweet scent of baby shampoo, milk, and applesauce. He smelled like heaven.
“So, what are we going to do tonight?” she asked Sam.
He babbled something and gnawed on his cookie.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Emma agreed.
“I can’t thank you enough for taking him,” Grace said, sipping on her coffee. “I love this kid, but I need a break.”
“I’m excited to watch him,” Emma admitted. “I feel like all I do is work and pay off bills. Playing with him will be a welcome break.”
She grinned and made faces at the baby. Sammy laughed like she was the funniest thing he’d ever seen. Emma giggled and snuggled him closer to her.
“You’re going to make an awesome mom someday,” Grace said, watching her with a smile. “We just have to find you the right guy.”
“I can’t see it happening anytime soon,” Emma warned her.
Grace shrugged. “I guess we can always dream. Sammy needs a buddy.”
Chapter 2
Jackson
* * *
“What in the hell were you thinking?”
The sound of the newspaper hitting Jackson Weathers’ desk was almost as loud as Jane’s question. Jackson looked up from
his work to see a very angry woman glaring at him.
“Just what in the hell were you thinking?” Jane repeated, her voice low and dangerous. She motioned to the newspaper. “Do you know how hard I have been working to change your image? And then you go and pull this shit?”
Jackson glanced down at the paper to see the headline: “BILLIONAIRE PUBLIC SEX SCANDAL.” He had made front page news. Again.
“I don’t remember doing that,” he said, frowning and looking closer at the picture. The picture was censored, but it was clearly him balls deep in some blonde chick at a bar. “It’s not really a flattering angle.”
“You bastard,” Jane whispered. She shook her head. Her normally neat bun was coming undone and gray wisps of hair framed her face. “I can’t believe you’d do this.”
“Do what?” Jackson scoffed. “The woman was of age and very consenting.”