The radio jolted her as she started her car. She spun the volume knob, checked her mirrors, and rolled out of her driveway. She was nearing the end of a long week, and today was a big day with a new seasonal brew being released. She was going in even earlier than usual to set up the display because her store's last seasonal debut was a disaster. Everything took way longer than expected and she got stuck having to set everything up just as the store was opening, so avoiding a repeat disaster would be a big plus.
"I need coffee."
Her store had been plagued with staffing issues and she barely kept afloat during her much of the week. Luckily, things were finally getting sorted out and by late Wednesday operations were almost normal. She was focused on keeping the momentum going and finishing the week smoothly and quietly. Two shifts remained between her and the weekend; an opening shift and a closing shift. She was tired and struggling but could feel the pull of the finish line.
Tomorrow the company would be announcing the winners of the International Management Competition. Running a café was chaotic and demanding, but she enjoyed it; she excelled in her role and was well-liked by senior leadership. Having been recently promoted and already in line for another advancement, she received encouraging feedback regarding her changes to win the competition this year.
She was hopeful yet anxious and tried not to get her hopes up. The top performers from each store in the state would be going to a national conference in Seattle. It had been a long time since she took a vacation and the thought of the trip was enticing. Trying to think back to the last time she took time for herself she thought, *I haven't had a chance to take 5 minutes for myself in years, much less a trip.*
Seemingly on auto-pilot, she made it to work.
*Ugh, here already?!*
The feelings of dread were quickly pushed aside at the promise of a deliciously fresh brew. She exited her car and walked leisurely towards the store entrance, enjoying the cool morning air. The forecasts called for beautiful weather the next few days, a welcome break from the dreary, rainy days that had been going on for what seemed like months. She pictured herself on her patio having a cocktail.
"Why, yes, I believe I will," she told herself as she reached for her building keys.
The front door was already unlocked and she saw the maintenance and cleaning crews finishing up for the day.
"I haven't been here this early in a while!"
Someone had already started a pot of coffee.
"Even better," she whispered to herself as she poured a cup.
She opened her laptop and as it woke up she took her first sip of the day.
"Mmm that's good. That's real good."
She spun her office chair out, took a seat, and leaned back as far as she could. Her eyes closed and she let her mind slowly drift, letting her eyelids get heavy. The chime of the computer brought her back to reality, she stared at the screen as her desktop loaded. She opened her usual programs and began her reports, hoping to get a head-start before the morning rush. The cleaning contractor popped her head in.
"Ok, we're all done, señora, thank you."
"Thank you guys so much, you have a great day!"
The lady handed her a bag with "Miss Amy" written on it in black marker.
"Vegan tamales, for you, señora."
"Again?! You guys are too sweet to me, thank you so much! I really can't thank you enough!"
She spun out of her chair. "Come on, I'll walk you out."
She walked to the exit, and on her way grabbed two bags of coffee beans. She quickly swiped her card at the terminal and entered her comp code.
"Have a great weekend and have some coffee for your family on us, it's the least I can do, you all are so good to us and do such a great job."
The lady took the bags of coffee, "Oh thank you, señora Amy, thank you," she waved and made a prayer-hands gesture as she got in the van with the rest of the workers and drove off. She heard the noise of maintenance workers.
*What are they even doing here?*
The sound of clanging metal and power tools made her fear for her machines. After a few minutes, the noises stopped they began taking tools back to their truck.
*Thank God, they're leaving.*
She hurried to the door and opened it for them. "Thanks guys, have a good one!"
"Out you go," she whispered to herself as the door shut.
It was still dark outside and the store was now quiet again. She lazily stared outside, taking a moment to compose herself until the sound of footsteps interrupted.
"Jesus, now what?!"
She could see the reflection in the glass door; it was another maintenance worker walking towards her with a clipboard. She spun around, ready to ask what they were doing and what time they would be done.
"Good morning..." he greeted her before she could say anything.
He glanced at her nametag, "...Amy? We're just finishing up here."
"Hi, good morning," she replied, losing her train of thought completely. "I..you guys were...." she closed her eyes and brought her hand up to her face, "I'm sorry, it's been a hell of a week, you guys are—"
"No worries, actually the reason we came in is for a recall on one of the coffee machines."
"Oh! Makes sense, I was wondering..." His eyes were dark, yet inviting and warm.
"We're actually in town doing some safety recalls for a couple of other stores that use these same types of machines. My boss called me and asked me to try and get some of these other accounts done while I'm we're in the area because we're from out of state and we fly home tomorrow."
"I see, yeah I remember seeing an email about it now that you mention that."
"Yeah, turns out one of the drive motors for the grinders has a possible defect. It could have excessive resistance in the wiring, which can cause the motor to work twice as hard and overheat, potentially leading to a fire."
"That doesn't sound good!"
He went on about the machine and she began to lose interest in what he was saying. It wasn't the meaningless technical details that distracted her but rather the tone of his voice. He smiled as he spoke and seemed to take joy in what he was saying. She was oddly comforted by his description of the machine's circuitry. His eyes were dark and mysterious, yet inviting; every time she tried to focus on what he was saying, she would get lost in his comforting demeanor.
Reaching towards the top of a machine, he continued explaining the scope of his repairs. She was nowhere near tall enough to see where he was pointing but she stood closer to him and made an effort to see. She quickly took her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to focus herself. As she inhaled she noticed how good he smelled; clean yet woodsy and masculine. He finished his commentary and looked at her, smiling. As her mind continued to drift she realized he was waiting on her to respond. Her eyes opened wide.
"Well!" she shook her head. "Again, thanks for going out of your way, it's one less thing to worry about."
"Any time, it's my pleasure. Here's your copy of the invoice, just give us a call if you need anything else."
"Ok, thanks again! You have a great day!"
He grinned, "You do the same."
Chapter II
Her mouth dropped as she heard her name called. Everything went into slow motion and everyone was muted temporarily as she processed what just happened. She snapped back to reality and heard her store applauding and cheering, everyone looking directly at her. She had won the International Management Competition!. She walked hurriedly to her boss and shook her hand.
"Congratulations! You have done a wonderful job for our organization and you have an amazing store and staff." She was overwhelmed and in shock, she knew she had been working hard but never fully considered that she could win. She gathered her focus and spoke into the microphone.
"Thank you so much! I'm honored to even be considered for this and I'm just floored and can't believe it! I'm very much looking forward to representing the company in Seattle, thank you again."
Her boss gave her a big hug and handed her a gift basket.
"We can't wait to see you there, Amy, congratulations again!"
Her heart was pounding as she tried to take it all in. She would be taking a trip on the company dime! Even though it was a work conference, she had heard from previous attendees that it was more like a paid vacation. Her mind switched between excitement and panic, as she would now have to pack and prepare to travel for the first time in years.
She exited the conference area and went inside her office, placing the gift basket on her desk. Peeking inside, she noticed a bottle of champagne. "Oooh, I know what I'll be drinking tonight!" Just then, one of her baristas popped in.
"Congratulations! We heard the great news!" She ran up and hugged her.
"Thank you so much! I really couldn't have done it without you and your hard work day-in and day-out, all of you, really." She loved her staff and was always glad to see them. Exhausted as she was, her adrenaline was pumping and her mood was lifted.
"Five hours to go, let's do this!"
The rush of customers came and the shift was underway. The flow of customers remained steady through the evening and everyone was worked together efficiently as usual. Occasionally she'd look across her store and smile, feeling thankful yet still in disbelief.
Before she knew it, the crew began their pre-closing cleaning duties.
"That time already?!" She slipped into her office, ran her reports from her computer, and began to print. As the printer ran, she checked on her employees.
"We're just about done here," her closer handed her a clipboard with a sign-off sheet.
"Great, let me just do the walkthrough and I'll get you guys out of here!"
