Coffee Wars - Excerpt # 17

Coffee Wars - Chapter Six, Part Two

Around her straw, April said, “What bonus?”

Christina sat and leaned closer, not wanting anyone else to hear. “Keith left his briefcase here when he stormed in the other day, and Adam and I looked through it. I found some notes about a bonus and a new car under the heading put May’s out of business.”

April rolled her eyes. “He’s such a greedy bastard. Corporate must’ve promised him some kind of incentive to shut May’s down.”

“They really don’t like competition, do they?”

“Nope.”

“What are you going to tell Keith when you go back?”

“That I didn’t see anything suspicious.” April pushed back from the table and stood. “I’m going to use the restroom before I go just so I can honestly say I checked out the hallway.”

She headed that way, passing Buddy in the hall.

When Buddy approached Christina, he had his thumb pointed over his shoulder. “I just saw April go into the ladies’ room. What’s she doing here?”

Uncomfortable with Buddy towering over her, Christina stood. “You’re not going to like this, but her boss at Expresso told her to come over and try to find out what’s going on down the hallway.”

Christina was right. Buddy looked both taken aback and angry.

“Why the fuck would her boss tell her to do that?”

Christina filled him in on Keith’s visit the other day and how he tried to get a peek down the hall. “Don’t worry, though. Adam blocked him.”

Buddy ran a hand over his face. “Christ. What a buzz kill.”

“Yeah. April says all he talks about it putting May’s out of business.”

Too busy biting at a hangnail and pacing, Buddy didn’t speak again until April returned from the restroom.

“Hey, Buddy,” she said, picking up her cup.

Instead of returning the greeting, Buddy crowded her, accidentally knocking the cup out of her hand. Not even that stopped him, though. “You can’t tell your boss about the back patio. Please, April. I know you hate me, but please don’t tell him.”

April brought her hands up to Buddy’s shoulders and nudged him out of her personal space. “Relax, Buddy. I’m not going to rat you out to Keith. But you must know he’s not going to stop.”

“Son of a bitch.” Buddy kicked at cup, sending it and its contents flying across the floor.

“Stop. You’re making a mess.” Christina grabbed a towel and began cleaning the spill.

Buddy rubbed at his face again. “I can’t handle this.” Then he eyed the hallway. “I’m gonna go smoke some weed.” And he hightailed it down the hall.

April did another eye roll but kept her mouth shut.

“Off to the smoking section for the twentieth time today,” Christina told her as she finished cleaning up.

“He doesn’t need Keith’s help to run this place into the ground.”

Christina stood and tossed the cup in the trash. “No, he doesn’t. Do you want another drink before you go?”

“Definitely.”

As Christina worked on the drink, April leaned her elbows on the pick-up counter. “What do you think I should tell Keith about the hallway.”

Christina shrugged. “Tell him the truth, it goes to a back patio. Just don’t tell him people smoke weed out there.”

“Duh. Of course not.”

“Maybe he’ll give up,” Christina said as she handed April her drink.

April took a long sip and then said, “Nah. He’ll never give up. He’s nutso whacko. My advice is to get Buddy to shut down the patio for good.”

Christina doubted that would ever happen, no matter how hard she tried to convince him.

© 2025 Beth Pontorno