Coffee Wars - Excerpt # 14

Coffee Wars - Chapter Five, Part Two

Even though Adam was still a teenager, he was a big guy, tall and fit. From their talks, Christina knew he was the goalie on his school’s varsity soccer team and had been since his freshman year. When he crossed his arms, he completely blocked the entranceway to the hall leading to the back patio.

“The back is for customers only,” Adam informed Keith.

Keith reached into his back pocket. “Then I’ll buy something.”

“I already told you,” Christina said. “We don’t want you as a customer. Go slither back across the street, you snake.”

“But I have money.” Keith waved his wallet at her.

Adam stepped out of the doorway. “Put your wallet away.”

Robert let out a squeak. “Let’s just go, boss.”

“Yeah, boss.” Adam walked toward them. “You should go. And don’t come back.”

Robert scurried out the door, but Keith continued to stand there. Adam had stopped a mere two feet from him.

“I know you’re up to something over here,” Keith said, jabbing his wallet toward Adam’s chest. “Enjoy your business boom. It’s not going to last.”

Without picking up his briefcase, Keith followed Robert. Christina didn’t bother calling after them. Instead, she watched as they crossed the street and entered Expresso’s. Then she pounced.

“What are you doing?” Adam said.

“This is Keith’s briefcase. I’m going to search through it.”

Adam studied her for a moment before giving her a slight nod. “Just hurry before he comes back for it. I’ll stand guard.”

“Thanks. I’ll be quick.” Christina snapped the clasps and flipped up the top. Inside was a legal pad with a bunch of scribbles on the first page. She picked it up and read. “It’s notes from a meeting he had this morning.”

“What do they say?” Adam asked over his shoulder, one eye still on the front windows.

“He wrote down ‘Put May’s out of business.’ Underneath that he wrote ‘bonus and new car.’ Jesus.” Christina flipped to the next page and read some more. “Then he wrote some notes about Robert and April.”

“Who are they?”

“Robert is the one who kept calling him boss. He’s the store manager across the street. And April is my sister. She used to work here, but now she works at Expresso. You should hear what he says about them.”

“I don’t see him coming back yet, so read it to me.”

“Okay. He says, ‘Robert, the manager, is a dip shit, but whether on purpose or by accident, I haven’t determined yet.’ Then he writes, ‘April is fast and efficient but sort of has an attitude. She also took a bathroom break during the morning rush.’ I remember that. I was there visiting her, and I covered for her while she went to the bathroom. What a douche this guy is.”

“Is that all he says?”

“He has something about the others being inexperienced or scared enough that he’s certain he can keep them in line. ‘But I’ll have to watch Robert and April. They could turn into troublemakers if I let them get out of hand, which I definitely will not.’ And he underlined troublemakers.”

Adam shuffled behind her. “Close it down. He’s on his way back over here.”

Christina dropped the legal pad inside the briefcase, slammed the top, and slapped at the clasps. Then she took two huge steps away from the table. She was already wiping down another table when she heard May’s front door open.

© 2025 Beth Pontorno