Emily's POV
After about thirty minutes the rest of the staff starts to arrive, including the inept keyholder. Once the shelves are organized, the tables cleared and the inventory rectified the doors finally open at nine o'clock in the morning.
Many people used to frequent this place for breakfast before going to their jobs, as it was something of a landmark on this side of town. Therefore we were always all busy with our duties, as the flow of people hardly ever slowed down.
"Mrs. Margot" I call out to one of the most loyal customers of this place. The lady in her 70's appears, with a smile on her face: "Here is your low sugar coffee, and your bagel."
"What an attentive young lady." She flatters as she smiles at me. She takes my hand between hers squeezing it, leaving a rolled-up bill in her grip: "Just for you my dear." She whispers as she gives me what would be her tip.
"Thank you very much." I return his thanks in a whisper. She pats my hand and walks away.
Then without warning and scaring me to death Jordan rushes to my side, invading my personal space and positioning his face very close to mine.
"I saw that." He murmurs in my ear, pretending to sound threatening: "Why is it that lady always tips only you Emily?"
"I don't know Jordan, just walk away" I push him amused but he refuses to resist.
Then the situation turns into a game, however, we are quickly interrupted.
"Who of the two of us is going to take my order?" Asks someone right in front of us, with an unmistakable tone of voice and gravity. I raise my gaze and meet once again those hazel eyes that had me disturbed since the day before. "Hello Emily."
It was him, it was Nathan.
I heard my co-worker curse under his breath, stunned by what his eyes saw: a six-foot-two-inch charmer with a wool cap and a puffy jacket. At this point in the situation, I could deduce that Nathan was used to causing that kind of reaction in people, as he looked unperturbed by the awkward silence that had settled between the three of us since his sudden arrival.
"Nathan" I return his greeting, trying to sound as distant and cool as possible. I turn around, and gaze at my colleague who doesn't take his eyes off Nathan: "Can you please cover for me for a moment?" I ask him in a measured manner.
The people here were quite communicative with my boss so I didn't want it to get back to her that I had abandoned my job to go bluffing with a perfect stranger.
"Anything you want, Em" he replies with unusual kindness. He smiles at me from corner to corner and gently strokes my hair, whispering in my ear: "We have a coffee pending, or two."
I nod, step out from behind the shelf and walk to a lonely table with Nathan at my heels. Once there, we sit across from each other.
"Why are you here?" I question him in a somewhat aggressively tinged whisper: "For starters, how do you know what I work here?"
He shrugs and then I remember: "Ah, the super effective private investigator. Are you still investigating me, Nathan?"
He quickly shakes his head, preventing a reaction from me.
"This is the last thing, Emily, I swear. I just needed to talk to you urgently."
I remain silent for a few moments, staring at him.
"I told you to give me time Nathan." I repeated.
"Time is what I don't have Emily, the family committee is evaluating me every day and I still haven't introduced them to the mysterious bride they are asking me to meet." He says, with an evident nervous voice: "What have you been thinking?"
"It hasn't even been a day, I can't think less than a day Nathan."
Ha, if only he knew I was already thinking of accepting him.
He exhales grumpily, analyzes the situation for a few moments, and from one moment to the next tilts his torso getting dangerously close to me.
"Six thousand euros Emily. I offer you six thousand euros" He suddenly blurts out, leaving my ears ringing at the thunderous proposal: "One thousand euros for every month you cooperate with me. I need you, you need me, there is no other here."
I swallow dryly, thinking about how much money that would mean in my life. I could free my parents from all their debts, I could even give them some money to start buying a house of their own. All in all, six thousand euros was a relief for my problems, but it still seemed to be an excessive amount for this situation, but of course, how could I forget, this was their millionaire's dilemma.
I look away from him, inhale deeply and in a whisper, I say what the young man in front of me had wanted to hear since the day before.
"I accept." I respond.
As he hears me, his eyes widen like saucers and his face lights up with excitement.
"Please say it again." He implores without being able to hide the smile that is planted on his face from one end to the other: "Just once."
Like a little child he begs, and without being able to resist I grant his wish.
"I accept Nathan, let's do it" When he hears me repeat it, looking into his eyes, he jumps out of his seat and starts celebrating as if he had scored the decisive goal in a World Cup final. Of course, he attracted the attention of everyone in the room. "Nathan, listen to me, shh..."
I try to get his attention, but the man is overwhelmed by his excitement and joy. During his celebration, he looks at me with his hazel eyes brimming with joy, quickly approaches me, and without even questioning it for a moment wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me off the ground in a hug.