“Alexandra?” my best friend returns, just as surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Grabbing breakfast and growing gray hairs thanks to these two monsters.”
With a laugh, he offers his hand to the two little girls for them to shake. “You must be Faith and Hope. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Their eyes are the size of saucers as they stare at Levi’s extended hand as if it were an octopus’ tentacle. The reaction only encourages Levi’s amusement.
“How ‘bout a high five?” I interject, watching the train wreck in front of me that’s destined for failure with a giant grin.
In response to my suggestion, the kids slap Levi’s hand one after the other like they were born to do it.
“Is this your first time trying Get Baked?” he asks Alexandra.
“It is! The cute cupcake sign grabbed Faith’s attention, and the name made me laugh, so we decided to stop by. What brings you here?”
“My best friend works here.” He lifts his head at me, his eyes crinkling in the corners when they connect with mine. “I hope she took good care of you.”
Stepping forward, Levi’s friend shifts the pink box from one hand to the other before offering her hand for me to shake. When I take it, she says, “She did great. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Alexandra. I work with Levi at Montague Enterprises.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I reply. “I’m Charlie. I hope Levi’s been pulling his weight at work,” I add with a teasing smirk.
She returns it with one of her own. “He’s been doing really well. Although, I might be offended that he hasn’t bribed the partners with a box of pastries yet. Or maybe he has, and I didn’t get one.” Eyes narrowing, she turns to Levi.
“Well, apparently, I have some brownnosing to do,” he returns with a wink. “I’d purchase an extra for you, but it looks like you have your hands full today.”
“You have no idea,” she groans, though it’s quickly followed by a light laugh that’s contagious.
We all join in before Levi mentions, “If you need any help with anything, let me know. I know the grand opening of the Jelani Okiro Arts and Cultural Center has been a lot to deal with.”
“That’s kind of you to offer. Especially when I know how hard they push the interns, but I think we’ve got it under control. If that changes, I’ll definitely reach out. We should probably get going, though. It was nice to meet you, Charlie. Have a good day!” With that, Alexandra ushers the kids out the door, though it looks more like she’s herding cats with how easily the twins get distracted.
“Good luck!” I call out. “And thanks for coming in!”
The bell on the door chimes before she gives me an over-the-top look of desperation then disappears down the street, which leaves me with my favorite customer.
“Small world,” I note.
“No kidding,” Levi replies with a crooked grin. “She rubs shoulders with Dexter Truitt.”
“The head honcho?”
“Yeah.”
“And she knows your name.”
His eyes widen in disbelief. “I know. She’s friendly like that though, so I shouldn’t be surprised. It doesn’t really mean anything.”
“Bullshit,” I call him out. “You’re rocking your internship, and you should give yourself more credit. How’s it going, though? Are you feeling burned-out?”
Ever since he moved back from college and landed the internship at Montague Enterprises, he’s been working like crazy. It’s cut into our friend time, but we’ve still tried to sneak in a run, or a trip to the batting cages, or sometimes a movie here or there. Even so, I’m excited for this summer to end so he can get back to a more stable routine. He needs it.
“I’m doing good,” Levi answers. “But it’s competitive as hell. They’ve already weeded out four of the other interns. It’s only me and Conner left.”
“Conner? As in your roommate from college who hooked you up with the internship in the first place? Who also happens to be the asshole from elementary school who used to call me a boy and would never let me play kickball with him?”
“That’s the one,” Levi acknowledges.
“I still don’t understand how you guys graduated at the same time. Wasn’t he like…two years younger than you or something?”
“Yeah, but he had a private tutor and endless resources, so he graduated from high school with his Associate’s. It worked out, though. We were both looking for a roommate our junior year. And if I hadn’t known him, I wouldn’t have been able to use his connections with Montague Enterprises.”