When the morning rush finally died down, Katherine made it a point to talk to Talia about her weekend. She had noticed that because she was with her when Ben first came around, Talia always asked about Katherine’s life and tended to dominate their conversations.
“What did you do over the weekend?” Katherine asked her, as Talia organized the freshly baked tray of pastry.
“I went to a friend’s showcase in Oakland. He does a lot of spoken word, and he invited some of his artistic friends who got up and read poems, or rapped. It was cool. Then we had a kick back at one of their houses—you know, just hanging out,” Talia shrugged, like it was nothing special, but to Katherine it was.
She hadn’t been able to continue her friendships when she got married to Tim. He said her friends were a distraction to their marriage, so one by one they faded away. The idea of hanging out with friends seemed like an everyday occurrence to Talia, but to Katherine it was a big deal. She only wished to have that many people she was close to one day.
Katherine was working on a mocha when she heard Talia great a customer.
“Hi, can I help you?” Talia asked. Katherine couldn’t hear the order over the noise from her machine, but did hear Talia confirm it.
She had just finished making the caramel macchiato when she looked up to see Talia smiling so broadly she knew something had to be up. Turning around, she saw the reason her friend was blushing. Dressed in his regular white button up shirt and blue jeans, Ben stood there looking more refreshed than ever.
“Hi,” Katherine smiled, hoping her face revealed just how happy she was to see him. Something about Ben just put her as ease. He was so calm and peaceful. It seemed like nothing ever bothered him, until he saw what Tim had done to her, of course.
“Hi, sweetheart.” He returned the smile, unleashing a flurry of butterflies in Katherine’s belly.
“I forgot you were coming by today,” she admitted. After waking up so late and rushing to work, she had forgotten he had said he’d stop by. And once they were swamped with customers, Katherine didn’t have time to think about anything other than not messing up an order.
“I was hoping I could see you later,” Ben said, his gray eyes narrowing in a way that made Katherine’s pelvic muscles clench with lust.
“Is that so?” She asked, and now she was the one that was blushing.
“It is. I would love to get dinner together,” he offered.
“Tonight?” Katherine clarified.
“If you’re available.”
Katherine thought about it, wondering if it was a good idea. She knew that things with Tim had complicated everything, but it hadn’t stopped the way she felt about Ben. If anything, the opposite was true. She really enjoyed spending time with him, he was fun and relaxed, and he made her feel safe. Besides, if she didn’t go out with him she would be forced to sit in her apartment alone, worrying about Tim and what he would do next.
“We can go as friends if you want, I just want to spend some time with you. If that’s something you would like, that is,?
?? Ben added, after her delayed response.
“I would love to,” she replied, excited to spend the evening with Ben.
Chapter Twelve
Ben
“DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN? You just need to find a way to alter the design for less than your inventory cost,” Ben explained, as he pointed to the statistical report in front of him.
Glancing at the sheet, Jim nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but Ben, these aren’t the same type of costumes as the new designs.”
“That’s why I suggested just scrapping them altogether. Donate them to a charity or find a better use for them, but the cost of storing them has made them too expensive to continue to carry over,” Ben said.
Jim nodded again before telling Ben he would draw up some solutions and send them over to his office. It was another meeting that Ben insisted on scheduling. After his morning reign of terror, he wanted to correct the relationships he might have damaged, or at least altered.
Jim was one of his oldest employees, joining the company when they first bought commercial space, so he didn’t want to offend or ostracize such an integral part of his organization. When his mind was focused on Katherine’s safety, it was nearly impossible for him to be a good leader, so after he checked on her, he wanted to circle back to anyone he might have rubbed the wrong way.
It was shocking to him how much his attitude had shifted since he returned from paying her a visit at work. Always a bright spot in his day, Katherine had put his worries to rest when she agreed to go to dinner with him. In addition to looking much better physically, Ben thought Katherine appeared to be less stressed and fearful as well.
He did take notice of the bruising on her arm, but there was nothing he could do about that. He would always be infuriated when he thought of Tim and how he had chosen to hurt her so viciously.
No matter how hard he racked his brain, Tim could not come to a reasonable conclusion as to why Tim would ever want to hurt Katherine. She was the sweetest woman he had ever met, always willing to help others and she did everything with a smile on her face.
When he finished his meeting with Jim, Ben headed back to his office, stopping at Rachel’s desk just as she ended a call. Rachel was one of his hardest working employees, and Ben knew he could never maintain his level of success without her. She handled everything in his professional life and still somehow found the time to advise him on his personal dilemmas.