Atiya met his gaze and stopped. Something was wrong with the depth of his eyes that made her lose herself for a moment. Then she shook her head. Billionaires had no depth. Her they rushed at her with her thick purse and her arrogance and robbed her of everything that came. The image of his father's face flashed through his mind, sending shivers down his spine. He wouldn't want her near this man. It was people like Aquila Scott who put her father out of business. This forced him to work for low wages. It crushed her father's dreams. She didn't want someone like him in her life. She reached out her hand to bring his bag closer to him, then nodded in that direction. "Well, Mr. Scott , that spell won't work on me. If you don't buy anything else right now, have a great day." She turned to him with a polite smile. She didn't have much to do, but she didn't want to turn around, so she picked up a few items on the shelf in front of her and dusted them off. She stood up to hear his footsteps and prayed for him to go away. She never wanted to meet his eyes again. Every time she did that she lost all her rational thinking. And every time she lost her rational thought, she felt like she was always betraying her father. "MS. 'Williams' Aquila ' soft voice sent chills down my spine. She cleared her throat. "I thought you left."
His gentle laughter filled the "Ir. "No," they said, "as long as you don't buy anything else, you can go."
Her shoulders drooped. Why did he try to hang out in front of the counter? Was she the only girl who rejected him and that bothered him? What did she have to do to get him out of the store? Floated. He examined the glass case. "What can I do?" she asked. He straightened her back and turned to face her. "How do you handle bulk orders?"
Atiya adjusted the apron around his waist. Her first thought that crossed her mind was despair. Things didn't go as fast as she expected. Thankfully April owned the building, but we still had taxes, supplies and utilities. They just passed by. But she didn't want him to know. So she loosened her shoulders and shrugged her shoulders. "what's on your mind?"
He raised an eyebrow. ``I have a business meeting tomorrow, and I want to eat this nice-looking donut to boost my morale.''
Atiya cursed her trembling hands as she reached for a piece of paper and pen by the cash register. "How many do you want?"
He was silent for some time. "I don't know. Fifteen dozen?"
She wrote down her number as she held her breath. "I think you can."
He described each species to her, and she wrote them down, suppressing her excitement. When he finished writing, she closed the lid of her pen. For the first time since opening, she had hope. He leaned against the glass counter and smiled at her. "I'll let other people in my building know about you. I'm sure I'm not the only one taking orders."
She wanted to exclaim that it was wonderful. She wanted to raise her fist to the sky and celebrate. She wanted to hug him What are you waiting for? She suppressed and swallowed all her excited emotions. "That's all?" she asked. He reached into her back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "What do you owe me?"
Atiya shook his head. "I will send an invoice with the goods."
He looked up at her. "Can't you deliver?"
It was as if she had caught a hint of her disappointment in his voice. "You'll probably need help," she said. He put his wallet back in his pocket. "Good. I wanted to make it a condition. You're the delivery man."
"oh."
He raised his hand. "Just having fun."
They stood there for some time. Looking around, he realizes that Atiya was so busy talking to Aquila that she didn't realize the store was empty. Movement on the windowsill drew her attention outward. April was standing in front of it, addressing the crowd. She suppressed a groan and turned back to Aquila . Hopefully he was unaware of April 's ludicrous attempts to piece them together. Leave it to her aunt to embarrass her. Once again. But Aquila didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he seemed completely relaxed. He folded her arms and leaned against the counter, staring at her. His gaze made her uneasy. Exposed and raw. She straightened her spine. "Can I get you anything else?"
He looked around the store. "I would like a cup of coffee."
Atiya nodded and thanked him for the work. She went to the other side of the cupboard and picked up a coffee pot. She came back and grabbed a takeaway cup as she passed the chimney. She looked up at him as she filled it. "Do you use sugar or cream?"
He shook his head. "I'm a heterosexual black man."