Coffee & (Explicit Version)

~Coffee & Work~

It was a normal day in Hatchetfield. If you asked Paul Matthews, he'd say it was nothing out of the ordinary. The printers were still printing where they wanted to, Melissa was asking him if he wanted to be in the company softball league, Bill was telling him about Alice, and Ted was still just being a pain in the ass.
"Hey, Paul, do you want to come get coffee with all of us?" Mr. Davidson asked. Upon a further glance, he was leaning against Paul's cubicle. Paul hoped it wouldn't break.
"Maybe. What time is it?" He asked.
"At around noon. Extended lunch break," Mr. Davidson said, "I'll give you a day long extension on your statistical analysis."
"I'll see you then. Can we meet on the first floor lobby?" Paul asked.
"Of course," Mr. Davidson said, asking Bill the same question.
They did appear to be a motley crew, the whole CCRP gang. Paul, a normal guy. Bill, a dad just trying his best. Charlotte, trying her best to salvage a broken marriage. Mr. Davidson, the most loving husband. Silvia, a receptionist dropping hints to Bill. Ted, an asshole. And sweet Melissa, the one always planning company outings. It was a short walk to the local coffeeshop.
"Hi, welcome to Beanie's, how can I help you today?" The barista asked. Her name tag read Zoey.
"Hi, I'll have a latte," Mr. Davidson said, "Just write K as the name."
"Okay," the barista said, "I'm assuming there are more."
"Um, yes!" Melissa exclaimed. Come to think of it, she looked a little bit like Zoey. "Bill over here will have a coffee with milk, Charlotte will have a strawberry latte, Silvia will have a hot tea, I'll have a caramel frappe, and Paul—?"
"Oh, just a black coffee. No milk, no sugar," Paul said hurriedly.
"I think that's it," Melissa said.
"Melissa, you bitch, you forgot about me," Ted said. In his hand, he had the company card, meaning he'd be last in line.
"Charming. And your name?" Zoey asked.
"Ted. I'll have a chai iced tea, beautiful" Ted said, handing over the card.
"Gross," Zoey noted, swiping the card and letting Ted choose his tip and sign. While that was happening, Zoey called to the back. "Emma! Get another pot of coffee started!"
A smaller barista quietly did as she was told. "Fucking bitch," she whispered under her breath. Only Paul heard.
"Thank you for choosing Beanie's today," Zoey said.
"Anytime, pretty girl," Ted said, giving Zoey double finger guns and a wink.
"If you call me anything besides Zoey again, I'll break your kneecaps," she said with a smile as she got started on the drinks. Since no one was looking and Ted had undoubtedly given a terrible tip, Paul quietly put his five dollar bill in the tip jar and joined everyone at the table.
"This seems like a great time to mention the company softball league. We'll meet this Saturday and just have a great time playing softball," Melissa said, her voice hopeful and cheeks slightly flushed when she looked at Paul.
"I can't this weekend, Melissa. I have Al this weekend," Bill said.
"Can I bring Sam?" Charlotte asked.
"Of course! The more the merrier!" Melissa exclaimed with a smile.
"I'll come with Carol," Mr. Davidson said.
"Yeah, I'll be there," Silvia said.
"Will there be hotties there?" Ted asked.
"What? We're playing softball," Melissa said, somehow shocked by Ted's reaction.
"And?" He added.
"Come and find out for yourself," Melissa replied, "Paul?"
"No," he said, his answer short.
"It might be fun," she said.
"Yeah. I don't want to though," Paul said. He heard a soft laugh. Upon a further look, he saw it was from Zoey.
"Orders for K, Bill, Charlotte, Silvia, Melissa, Paul, and Ted," a voice called. This was a third barista. Her name tag said her name was Nora. The group kept talking for about half an hour before they left.
The office closed at around five. Everyone was packing up their things. "So, Paul, Beanie's has a hot barista, eh?" Ted asked.
"Sure," Paul said, "I was focused on my coffee more than anything."
"Maybe we can go tomorrow during lunch. See which one's the hottest," Ted added.
"If it'll make you shut up, yes, I'll join you," Paul said.
The next day, Paul was regretting his decision to go with Ted- of all people!- to get coffee during lunch. Paul insisted on ordering first so he could leave if Ted decided to lack all human decency.
"I'll have a plain black coffee. No milk, no cream, no sugar," Paul said to the barista manning the register, who was Zoey.
"And the name?" She asked.
"Paul. P-A-U-L," he said aloud.
"Thank you," she said, leaving Paul to leave a tip and sign. He finished and moved out of line.
"Hey," Ted said, leaning against the counter.
"Ugh. You again. Better leave a good tip to prove you're not an asshole," Zoey said.
"I'll have a chai iced tea. The name's Ted," he said.
"We will get right on that," Zoey said, leaving Ted to pay. Paul noticed Ted hadn't bothered with a tip, so the former snuck a five dollar bill into the tip jar.
"So, uh, Zoey, you have plans tonight?" Ted asked.
"No," Zoey said simply.
"Well, I may have a—"
"No."
"I haven't even tol—"
"You're an asshole. I have no interest in spending time with you."
"I was going to suggest maybe giving me a call?" Ted asked, sliding a piece of paper towards Zoey. She slid it back to him.
"I have a girlfriend," she said.
"A what?"
"A girlfriend."
"What?"
"Honestly, do I need to spell it out for you? I have a fucking bisexual pride pin on my apron. I like girls and guys. Unfortunately, I have no preference and I hate assholes. So I suggest you leave as soon as you get your drink," Zoey explained.
"Which no one has started," Ted pointe out.
"Because you're keeping me captive. It's just me today," Zoey said, warming up the coffee pot after realizing it was cold. The door opened, bells jingling.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, Zoey. A biology professor with Broadway dreams really likes to keep classes late," another barista said, slipping to the back.
"It's fine, Emma. I just have a special order," Zoey said, whispering to Emma.
"I may hate you Zoey, but this is not one of those moments," Emma said. Within a minute, Ted got his drink and left with a pout.
"I'm so sorry about him," Paul said.
"Eh, it happens all the time," Zoey said, wiping down the counter.
"I'm sorry about that," Paul said, slipping an extra dollar into the tip jar and leaving. He caught up to Ted quickly.
"Why the hell did she reject me?" Ted asked.
"Because she has a girlfriend?" Paul suggested.
"It's bullshit, Paul!" Ted exclaimed.
"Let's just get back to work," Paul said, letting Ted angrily walk ahead. The former laughed softly. He heard fast footsteps behind himself.
"Paul, was it?" Zoey asked, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Yeah. Hello," Paul responded.
"You, uh, you left your phone," Zoey said, handing it to Paul.
"Oh, thank you. Again, I'm so sorry about Ted," he said.
"Don't even worry about it. We have our ways," she said with a mysterious smile, running back to Beanie's.
"Huh. That was nice," Paul said. He decided to return to Beanie's the next day. They had decent coffee and it was pretty cheap.
The next day, Paul was kept captive in the office all day. They were doing all of their presentations and Mr. Davidson specified that they wouldn't get an extra lunch break, even if a presentation ran late (which would definitely happen). They were expected to be halfway done, break for lunch, and finish the second half.
"And that is why we need to keep our sales up. Any questions?" Ted asked. Melissa raised her hand and started talking without waiting for Ted to call on her.
"We have five minutes until our lunch break ends. Were you aware?" Melissa asked.
"Yes, of course I was. I don't want Paul sneaking off to Beanie's," Ted said. Everyone glared at Paul.
"I wasn't going to 'sneak off.' Ted's just an asshole. I'm going to eat what I can of my lunch and I'll be back," Paul said, leaving the room.
"Paul!" Bill exclaimed as he ran out of the room.
"Yeah, Bill?"
"Ted is the worst. I'm really sorry about that. We'll just eat fast. We can get through today," Bill said.
"Alice is coming into town, isn't she?" Paul asked, "That's why you're so eager to be done."
"Yeah, you're right, Paul," Bill added.
The afternoon went really well and they were all ready to leave at six. Paul offered to go with Bill to pick up Alice, as a favor for the afternoon comfort. Bill was especially excited and Paul was also a little excited. He hadn't seen Alice in a long time.

Hey, y'all! I know this is out much later than intended, but I figured Black Friday would be an appropriate day! Hope yall enjoyed this! See y'all next week and hopefully I'll remember (MCAT prep semester......)
—  Luna :D