Pepper frowns when the figure turns around to reveal a woman. One with surprisingly good bone structure, no less and there’s a momentary tinge of guilt in the pit of her stomach because there’s really nothing old or manly about her, but Pepper’s quick to brush it off – if this very lazy barista didn’t want to be confused for an old man, she shouldn’t have dressed like one.
But even her faux pas is no excuse for this blatant dismissal of her patronage, thank you very much. Pepper may be a lot of things, but easily ignored isn’t one of them. Clearing her throat, she reaches across the counter, fingers tugging on soft flannel intent on getting the other woman’s attention.
“Hi, I know we got off on the wrong foot – my bad – but I like really need a caffeine fix.”
Giving up on her book, and honestly she’s lost her focus anyway, Frankie glances at the long slender fingers tugging on her shirt. She’s seen plenty of pushy customers, she owns a coffee shop in LA after all, but can honestly say this is a first. Wondering if it’s due to her manly side that seems to be showing today, or some other thing she won’t, and doesn’t care to, understand, Frankie sees this is something she can’t ignore into going away.
“Oh, okay. I didn’t know you really needed it. That changes everything.”
Shutting her book and leaning onto the counter to give the annoyingly attractive woman her undivided attention, she adopts her sarcastic customer service voice.
“Please tell me, how can I serve you?”
