Romance: Edge of Desire

Romance:

Edge of Desire

Kelli Sloan

Romance: Edge of Desire

Kelli Sloan

Copyright © 2015

Published by Run Free Publishing

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction.  Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. 

Other titles by bestselling author Kelli Sloan:

Romance: Housekeeper for the Billionaire

Romance: The Billionaire’s Lust

Romance: The Billionaire’s Secrets

Romance: The Billionaire’s Desire

Romance: Working for the Billionaire’s Pleasure

Romance: Her Billionaire Boss

Romance: Her Billionaire

Romance: Her Boss

Edge of Desire

Kelli Sloan

Chapter 1

“Stop drooling.”

Nicole nudges me in the ribs as she whispers into my ear.

“Uh?” I respond in a daze.

“Harper, stop drooling over that man, and go and take his order,” she winks at me with a smile.

Damn.

She right. I have to talk to him – that’s my job.

The man with a tightly fitted suit, long legs and elegant stride has been sitting at the window table in our coffee shop for the last five minutes and I have not been able to take my eyes off him. As a coffee shop waitress in the heartbeat of Wall St in New York City, I am used to seeing well-dressed, rich stunners walk into my shop. I am used to seeing the world’s most powerful bankers and investment brokers stroll past me on the street. I even saw the President drive past last week.

But this man…

Oh wow.

He has taken my breath away.

After I walk to his table, I stand still for ten seconds before I am even able to say a word, “Excuse me sir,” I manage to squeak out. “Would you like to order anything?”

His eyes slowly pull themselves away from his phone and they look at me…

Wow…

His enchanting green eyes cut right through me.

They are the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

“A long black coffee, please.”

I nod, forget to write his order down and scurry back to Nicole at the coffee machine. What the hell just happened to me?

I am not the sort-of-girl to dream about being swept off her feet. No way. There are no Princes in my dreams. My dreams tend to be about defending myself against male attackers – like punching a man in the balls because he thought I was a poor, defenseless woman.

That’s what my dreams are made of.

“What would he like?” Nicole asks.

“Uh?”

“To drink?” she smiles.

“Oh, um… I’m not sure… he…”

Nicole bursts out laughing, “Girl, get your focus on. You are a beautiful, strong independent woman – no man is too good for you. Focus. What did he want to drink?”

“A long black coffee,” I remember.

Nicole quickly makes the coffee and hands it to me. “Now, go and talk to him again. This time, remember that you are amazing.”

I nod, almost in a daze.

“Hi,” I say as I return to the man’s table.

He looks up from his work, “Hi.”

His voice is seductively smooth and like a fool, I freeze in the moment. I don’t know what to say. What do you say to a man that takes your breath away?

“Is that my coffee?”

“Uh?”

He nods towards the cup I am holding in my hands.

“Um… of course it is. Here.”

In a sea of nervousness, I almost slam the coffee down on his table. With utter embarrassment, I turn around.

“Wait,” his smooth voice stops me. “Why don’t you join me for a few minutes?”

“Now?” I question.

He nods towards the seat opposite him, “It has been a rough morning for me. I could do with some company.”

“I’ve got work to do, sorry.”

What? What am I saying? The sexiest man I have ever seen has just asked me to sit down for a coffee and I just said no?!

Damn.

His eyes glance around the coffee shop, “There’s nobody else here. And by the looks of the time, you have at least ten minutes until the morning rush begins.”

He’s right.

Things are quiet in the shop this morning, and like clockwork, all the workers tend to arrive at once. I turn around and look to Nicole, who has obviously been listening to the conversation, and she cheekily nods towards the chair.

Nervously, I sit down.

“I’m Brad,” he smiles.

“Harper,” my voice squeaks.

“This is a nice coffee shop. How long have you worked here?” he asks looking straight into my eyes.

Damn. How is a girl supposed to think when those beautiful green eyes are staring straight at her?

“Um… two years.”

“Two years? And you plan on staying here for a while longer?”

“Yes.”

My one word answers are the most I can manage while staring at those eyes.

“Then I might have to start coming to this coffee shop every day…”

Chapter 2

One month later…

I can see it.

My heart is pounding as I look at the single envelope.

It might just be a piece of paper, but the piece of paper tells my future.

I stare into the mailbox of my apartment number wanting the piece of paper to disappear. I want it to vanish into thin air.

It is the bill.

The final bill.

The one I cannot afford to pay.

I knew it coming but I tried to forget about it. I tried to leave it in the back of my head and somehow, I wished it would never come. I wanted there to be an administration error at the bank, and the letter demanding the loan repayment wouldn’t arrive.

But it has.

And now I am staring at it – just hoping for some help.

But I don’t receive any.

I never have in my life.

Gym memberships, healthy eating and yoga classes all cost money. I feel the best I have ever felt in my life, but I am still broke.

Dead broke.

I’m so broke that I’m going to have to turn back to the person I never thought I would ask for help again – my mother.

We never got along as I grew up. We clashed right from day one. Arguments were the norm for us – it was the only way we knew how to converse. And so when I turned twenty-one years old and finished my degree in Sociology, I left home and moved to New York City.

The Big Apple.

A city full of hopes, ambitions… and failed dreams.

I worked so hard to get a good job. I put in application after application after application, but they all came back saying the same thing - ‘
Not enough experience
.’

Well, how am I supposed to get experience if nobody will employ me?

Swallowing my pride, I started applying for any job that paid above the minimum wage. Eventually, I landed a job at a small, but busy, café in Wall St.

I loved it.

Even two years later, I still love it.

I feel like I am at the center of the action. I am part of the buzz and adrenalin of world markets. If the markets go up, then people are walking into my coffee shop with massive smiles on their faces and high-fiving each other. But if the markets go down… so does the mood of the whole place.

I work hard, party a lot and smile all day.

The tips I make from the workers is good but not enough to get me past the line.

I came to New York City looking for something… but I still don’t know what that is. I have always been sure that when I find it, I will know.

Am I looking for success? Not really…

A career? Maybe….

A man? I don’t know.

But now, after this bill breaks me financially, I won’t get the chance to find it.

“Excuse Miss, can I get into that mailbox?” a voice asks over my shoulder.

“Oh?” I realize that I have been staring at the envelope for a long time now. “Of course.”

I grab the envelope and walk back to the elevator. Despite it being only a single piece of paper, it weighs a lot. The tension is pulling inside my head. I don’t want to hold onto this envelope any more.

The elevator doesn’t come and I can’t hold onto this bill anymore - I run up the stairs, desperate to let go of this poisonous piece of paper.

This bill is going to destroy me.

As I run into my apartment, I throw the envelope onto the bench and stare at it some more.

Damn.

My adventure in New York City is over.

Chapter 3

“Good morning Harper,” Nicole sings from behind the coffee shop counter. She has obviously already had two cups of coffee before we have opened up.

“Morning,” I reply quietly.

My quiet reply stops Nicole in her tracks.

That’s what I love about this woman. She seems to know me better than I know myself. She can read me like a book and can tell me how I am going to feel before I’ve even thought about it.

“It arrived.”

“The bill?”

I nod.

“That bill?” she asks again.

“It’s the final bill, Nicole. The last one. The one I can’t afford to pay.”

“Maybe you can…”

“No,” I interrupt her, squashing any hope. I don’t want to go down that path again. “I’m so broke Nicole, that I can’t even afford hope. There’ll be none of that. Today has to be my final day here. Today has to be the day when I put up the white flag and admit that the city has beaten me.”

Nicole stops preparing her next cup of coffee and runs over to embrace me into a large, tight hug. It is a hug full of friendship and love.

As she pulls away from the hug, I can see the tears in her eyes.

“We knew this was going to happen,” I try to confront her. “We knew this was coming. We’ve had time to prepare for it.”

“It still hurts, Harper. I don’t want to lose you. Work won’t be the same without your beautiful smiling face around here anymore.”

This time I embrace her into a hug and hold on tight.

As we pull away from the hug, and we both wipe the tears from our eyes, I say, “No more tears today, Nicole. If this is going to be my last day then we have to promise to make it a good one. I want my memories about this place to all positive – I don’t want to spoil it with one last sad day.”

Nicole nods, “Of course. I can save my crying for tomorrow when you’re not here.”

“That’s my girl,” I force a smile. “Now let’s open up the store and get these New Yorkers their coffee fix.”

Nicole and I have had an amazing time in New York. From the first day that I worked here, I knew we were going to be friends. It was obvious from the first time she smiled at me.

This coffee shop, this job, has been the foundation for my city adventure. Nicole, the main barista here, has taken me under her wing and showed me all of the city’s great sights and nightlife.

When I discovered that she was living in an apartment just across the road from mine, I knew that we would be close.

We have danced, partied, laughed, cried and rescued each other from disastrous dates.

Then we laughed some more.

These last two years have held some of my greatest memories. I have had a lifetime of memories jammed into two short years.

What an adventure.

Quietly, I told her that I was broke a month ago. 

I knew it was building up to this moment. I had planned ahead and I could see all the bills that were due to arrive over the upcoming months, but I wanted every last minute out of my experience.

I was going down fighting.

“Something exciting better happen today,” I mention as I make my first coffee for the day, “Today has to be a day I never forget.”

The usually very chatty mouth of Nicole hasn’t said another word.

Luckily, I don’t have to wait long for the excitement to arrive.