I inched closer. ”Did that lady–”
“The managers send out weekly reviews.” He shrugged.
Cinnamon twist lady probably said something mean.
“I’m sorry. I got distracted. And the consequences fornotleaving one didn’t really occur to me.” I twisted the bottom of my jacket. “Will there be consequences?”
He snorted. “What, like I spit in your coffee?”
“No, I–” Heat flooded my face and I looked away, rubbing my thighs together. “I mean, did you get in trouble with your boss?”Will you not want to talk to me?
“No.”
“Good.” I rested my arms on the counter and leaned closer for a whiff of cinnamon. “Because you’re amazing.”
Harvey fixed me with a shrewd look. “You don’t even know me.”
Jerking upright, I pushed my hair behind my ear and let out a nervous laugh. “Amazing at your job, I mean. I saw the snowflake. Very neat.”
“Thanks. I don’t do it for to-go orders.” He hesitated, then put the lid on a coffee cup. “If you stayed, you’d get one, too.”
Was that an invitation? I drummed my fingers on the counter. “It’d be like a reward for forcing myself to drink coffee.”
“You don’t like coffee?” He held up the cup and wiggled it slightly, clearly baffled why I’d be ordering it regularly.
“Oh, this isn’t for me. It’s for a coworker. Chestnut. Um, his real name is Charlie.” I toyed with a nearby reindeer sleeve. “I’d love the caffeine, but it’s kind of bitter to me. I was experimenting with candy canes.”
He grunted. “That sounds nasty.”
“It was.” I laughed.
His lip ticked up on one side. “You could add regular sugar or cream. We also sell lemonade and tea.”
“But those won’t have art on them.”
“I can draw something on the cup. Might not be pretty.” He approached the counter and flicked his fingers in a come-hithermotion that nearly yanked my heart out of its chest. “Give me the sleeve. You’re not supposed to play with those until your coffee is on the counter.”
“Sorry.” That didn’t feel like scolding. More like guidance. Our fingers brushed in the handoff, sending a tingle all the way down to my kneecaps.
He gripped the order and fixed me with a look that simmered my blood. “If you break the rules again, you’re getting punished.”
“B-by you?”
Mistletoe have mercy.
Harvey furrowed his brow and let go. “The worst I’d do is withhold your drink an extra thirty seconds.”
My shoulders slumped. “Oh, that’s it?”
He chuckled. “Are you disappointed?”
“Nope.” That would be ridiculous.“Anyways, I should get back. Happy holidays and have a great day.” I ran to the break room before I embarrassed myself with a semi-kinky request.
The girl in the green ornament-esque Fancee's tee was sitting by herself again, scrolling her phone and eating. “You okay?” she asked, almost like we were friends and not people who randomly sat together in relative silence. “You’re all flushed.”
“Yeah,” I panted, “I just had to run across the mall.”
“That sucks.” She nudged the chair next to her out with her knee.
