"What- How did you know?" Gaven glared at the youth before him.
The young man couldn't be a day older than 20 and had handsome Caucasian facial features, with blonde hair dyed with black at the tips. His alluring emerald eyes were extremely attractive to anyone who caught themselves looking at them. The boy was tall and lanky; nearly as tall as Gaven but nowhere near as intimidating. The cafe uniform's short sleeves revealed his subtle yet well-defined forearms and his large hands felt like they could choke a lion to death. His overall posture gave him an aura of European nobility.
"Isn't it obvious? He's the only one who can make you sweat like that" the youth teased playfully, curling his lips up into a devilish smile directed at Gaven.
"Stop playing around Angelo. Boss wants a hot cup of matcha latte and a serving of the chocolate ice cream. I'll go get the ice cream, seeing how you aren't too familiar with the use of our special freezer yet. Go make the latte for me. Don't say that I, Gaven, don't give newcomers any chances!"
"You're sending me to my death you know" Angelo grumbled. Working at the cafe, he naturally came to know the boss's weird temper and ruthlessness from Gaven.
"Use our best matcha powder and the Hawaiian coffee beans. Don't mess it up, I can't save you if you do."
"Alright, alright big guy, I'm on it." Angelo flashed another playful smirk, then turned around and began selecting the coffee beans from the shelf behind him. After a glance at the different varieties, he casually chose one from the bottom of the shelf and stepped out of the kitchen door, snatching up a bag of fragrant match powder on the way. Taking his place behind the counter, he began brewing the coffee with the large machine.
The countless mason jars filled with coffee beans on the counter were mostly for decoration. All the good quality beans were actually stored within the climate controlled kitchen to maintain the freshness of the beans.
Looking at Angelo's back through the kitchen door window, Gaven gave a nod of satisfaction. Despite working here for only two months, Angelo had proved himself to be a valued member of the team. His coffee making skills were excellent, much better than any other barista Gaven had hired. Despite his playfulness, he had an extraordinary work ethic, working overtime every weekend and helping to do unnecessary tasks like installing new surveillance cameras in the cafe and lazer tripwires in case of burglaries. Both of these security measures were linked to the cafe's central database.
At first everyone thought that there was no need for such intense security equipment but Angelo had somehow convinced them otherwise in less than a day of discussion. They all felt doubtful at the start after the installation, but after several burglary attempts were foiled by the new security systems, everyone felt relieved at their decision to trust Angelo.
"I should end the probation period soon, the kid has proven himself again and again" Gaven thought as he headed towards the basement stairs to retrieve the ice cream they had made that morning.
"Everyone, leave the building! Boss's here!" he commanded before disappearing down the stairs.
Those words were like a bolt of lightning striking every single staff member, who all hurriedly rushed out through the back door. While in the cafe, Gaven almost never referred to Ling Dang as "Third Young Master Gao", opting for the less eye-catching title of "Boss".
A minute later, Gaven came out into the cafe with a bowl of chocolate ice cream drizzled with vanilla sauce, to find Angelo staring intently at Ling Dang and Hazel's booth. A cup of perfectly made matcha latte was beside the machine on the counter.
"Oh oh, who's that pretty girl beside him?" Angelo asked in a quiet whisper that only he and Gaven could hear.
"That girl is Hazel, Boss's friend" Gaven sighed helplessly as he took out a china saucer from the drawers and carefully placed the coffee on top.
"Third Young Master has friends?" Angelo gasped with a shocked expression.
"You should stop calling him that, he hates when people call him Third Young Master."
Angelo had once overheard Gaven speaking with Ling Dang on the phone once, referring to the latter as Third Young Master. Since then, he has called Ling Dang that as well, whenever he was alone with Gaven.
"Seriously, I don't know how she befriended him. Best to watch yourself around her if you wanna continue working around here; she's not someone we can afford to offend" Gaven warned.
Then, without waiting for Angelo's reaction, Gaven strode towards Ling Dang's booth with the hot matcha latte in one hand and a bowl of enormous ice cream scoop in the other.
"One Chocolate Nirvana Scoop for Miss Hazel and a freshly made latte topped with Japanese matcha for you Boss."
"You may leave now" Ling Dang replied impatiently, annoyed that his conversation with Hazel was interrupted.
After nervously setting down the desserts, he quietly snuck back behind the counter headed for the back door. However, he noticed Angelo still standing there, staring at the two.
"What are you still standing around for! Leave right now before the boss finds you spying on him!" Gaven hurriedly shouted, disappearing through the kitchen doors.
Angelo didn't react, still staring at the booth next to the window.
He quietly observed the relaxed and casual atmosphere within the booth from behind the counter, watching the two enjoy their food and drink comfortably.
"Let's go Angelo!" Gaven demanded angrily as he popped his head back into the cafe.
"Relax, big guy. I'm leaving, I'm leaving!" Angelo snapped out of his daze and met Gaven's worried expression with a relaxed and playful smirk.
He then swiftly followed Gaven out through the back doors, into a different small alleyway than the one Ling Dang and Hazel came in from. Everyone else was huddled in a group, some taking a well deserved cigarette break while others chatted about their private life.
Angelo mingled with the crowd for a while then made an excuse to go smoke. Striding away from the cafe leisurely, he made a right turn, then stopped. He reached his large right hand into his deep trousers' pocket and took out a black smartphone, dialling the only number on the phone's contact list.
"Hazel..." a malicious glint momentarily flashed across Angelo's green eyes before they returned to their normal tranquility.
"Ring. Ring" With a click, the call went through.
"Madam."