Chapter 4

It didn't take long for a routine to form.

On the days that I had classes I would wake up relatively early with Abbie, giving me enough time to make breakfast for the two of us, and Emily on occasion, before getting the two of us ready. I'd leave the house just after Emily, first heading in the direction to drop Abbie off at day care, and then switching course to campus.

The UCLA campus was huge, and even after my first week I still didn't know exactly where all my classes were. I was taking six lecture courses and a lab this term, and even though my schedule seemed full, it wasn't something I minded. Going off how the classes were so far, I enjoyed most of them as they greatly prepared me for next year when I'd be out in the real world.

Thursdays, however, were a different story.

I had managed to clear my schedule for Thursdays with only one goal in mind; spend quality time with my daughter. So when Thursday rolled around, I was gifted with not only a lie in, but also a day full of cartoons, dolls, and laughs with my little princess. I had laid out all her toys that had just been stuffed in the corner, letting her place them where she chose, and by the time lunch rolled around, we met up with Emily in town at a small diner.

The day had been success; a relaxed day spent with my daughter, and the thought of it becoming a weekly occurrence put a smile on my face.

It was in a blink of an eye that my first week in Los Angeles had come and gone, and now, as I awoke Saturday morning, I was left to get ready my first shift at Corner Café.

Just as Colette had mentioned, my first shift was scheduled from ten to four so that the café wasn't extremely busy while I was still getting used to everything. After having gotten up around eight, thanks to an energetic three year old, I had busied myself with breakfast and tiding up a bit before getting ready.

When I had texted Colette to ask what type of clothes I should wear she simply said casual. With that in my mind I had pulled on a pair of black leggings and a white scoop neck t-shirt, dusting on a minimal amount of make-up so that I looked somewhat presentable.

Checking the time to see that it was almost 9:30, I quickly turned to the mirror, pulling my brown hair into a tamed ponytail on the top of my head. "This'll have to do," I thought as I grabbed my handbag, tossing in both my apron and nametag, along with the papers I had signed and a few other miscellaneous items before heading downstairs to see Emily and Abbie sitting on the couch watching a cartoon.

Emily, who must've heard me coming down the stairs, turned around and smiled at me. "Well, somebody looks ready to go to work," she said, nudging Abbie. "What do you think Abbie, how does your mom look?"

Abbie's small innocent eyes turned to look at me as I walked over to her. "You look pwetty momma!" she said, smiling widely.

My heart squeezed at my daughter's words as I leant down to hug her, her small arms stretching to reach over my shoulders. "Thanks baby," I returned, pulling back to plant a small kiss on her forehead.

Abbie's attention quickly returned to the television as Emily told her to sit tight, following me to the door.

"Are you sure you're okay watching her for the day?" I asked cautiously. I knew she was my sister and that she loved her niece, but I didn't want it to feel like I was pushing her to watch Abbie when I had to work.

Emily nodded. "I'm sure," she replied, stepping forward to give me a quick hug. "You've got enough to worry about today, what with starting a new job, so stop worrying about Abbie. She'll be happy spending some quality time with her favourite aunt."

"You're her only aunt."

"Favourite, only, same thing."

Laughing, I smiled, thankful to have been given at least one family member that I didn't despise. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I repeated, pulling on a pair of black running shoes.

"No thanks needed," Emily replied, "Now go, before you're late."

I couldn't help myself as I thanked her once more before heading out the door and down the street, on route to my new job at Corner Café.

Twenty minutes later, after having walked down the crowded downtown streets of Los Angeles, I opened the front door to the café and was hit with the sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee and mouth-watering treats.

"Hey, you're early." Colette said, having noticed me from behind the counter as she worked on a customers order.

"Not that early." I pointed out, gesturing to the clock that showed the time as five to ten.

Passing the coffee she had just made to the customer, she gestured for me to come behind the counter. "So, are you ready for today?" Colette asked, abandoning the cashier as she led me to the back of the café.

"Nervous," I admitted, "But I think I'll be okay. Isn't somebody supposed to watch the front?"

"My parents know I'm showing you around, and if a customer comes they'll just ring the bell on the counter," she replied, waving off my question as we walked through another door into a room that seemed to be a small break room

"Now, through here are a few lockers where you can leave your things. When you're on your break you can either come chill out in here or head out for something to eat, just remember to clock in and out on time, which reminds me..." she trailed, motioning to a small pin pad near the door. "You're pin number is 0040, so just punch that number in and click enter when you need to, which is at the beginning and end of every shift, along with every break you take."

Nodding in understanding, she motioned me forward to punch in. When the pin pad lit up, accepting the number I had punched in, Colette spoke. "Now, seeing as your punched in for work, just throw your apron and nametag on and meet me up front; I'll give you a basic run down of the place."

Following her instructions, I pulled the apron on over my clothes, letting it sit comfortably as I tied the middle around my stomach. After pinning my nametag onto my shirt, I grabbed the paperwork I'd filled out, stuffed my bag into an empty locker, and headed out to see where Colette had gone off.

"Hey, do you want me to put these anywhere?" I asked, looking down at the papers in my hand as I reentered the chatter at front of the restaurant. Looking up, I saw Colette talking to a woman I assumed was her mother while her father finished taking an order. "Oh, hello."

"Hi, you must be Zoe. I'm Angela and that's my husband Adam," her mom said, holding her hand out as I stepped forward and shook it.

"It's good to meet you."

"Hopefully Colette here will be able to show you the ropes," she said, gesturing to her daughter, "And welcome to the team."

"Well thank you for hiring me." I replied gratefully, smiling as I passed her the papers I still held onto. "And I think these are for you."

"Thank you," she said as her husband finished with the orders.

Although Adam didn't appear as extroverted as his wife did, he still shook my hand and introduced himself, welcoming me to the café before he retreated to the back of the café.

"We'll be in the back if you need any help out here honey," Angela said, directing her words towards Colette before turning to me once more. "I hope you find yourself liking it here, and if Colette isn't clear about anything, I'm always happy to help."

"Mom," Colette complained, rolling her eyes at her mother's teasing words.

"Oh hush up and get to training." she replied, wishing us luck as she followed the path to the back of the café that her husband had taken.

"So, those are my parents," Colette started, "And as you can see, my mom still seems to think it's cool to try and embarrass me."

I cracked a smile, as I could tell that, even with the teasing from both sides, her and her mom had a great relationship. "I like them, they seem cool," I shrugged. "Plus, they're probably a lot better than my parents."

My guess was that she heard something in my tone or saw something in my eyes, but whatever the reason, she let the comment about my parents drop, choosing instead to start showing me around.

While no new customers entered the café, Colette took the opportunity to show me the back of the café. "So you won't exactly be working back here, unless we're in dire need of help, but this is where everything gets made before it's set up out front." she explained, nodding to the multiple ovens, cooling trays, and ingredients splayed out over the vast amount of counter space. "My mom and dad run this for the most part, but in the mornings we get two workers in here to prepare most things and make sure that everything's set up for the day."

Nodding along, I took in what Colette was saying as she directed me around the room. It didn't take long for the tour to move back to the main area of the café.

"Now where you'll mostly be working is behind the counter," she started, knocking on the hardwood counter. "You'll start off taking orders, packaging the pastries, and cleaning up the main area, but eventually you'll have shifts where it's strictly making drinks so if you learn as you go it'll be easier in the end."

Her tips and tricks continued as she showed me the multiple machines they had equipped the café with, trying to briefly explain what each one did and what drinks were made with each one. The coffee machines were, luckily, simple to understand as they simply brewed fresh blends of their own coffee every half hour or whenever they were running low.

When it came to learning the till, there wasn't much that surprised me. I had worked a few customer service jobs in the past, and although each till varied, they generally had the same layout. The only thing slightly confusing about there's was that, with all the different variations and add-ons available for drinks, they had quite a few buttons. The touchscreen looked intimidating to say the least, but when Colette promised me that it wasn't actually as confusing as it seemed to be, I breathed easier.

As Colette finished her spiel, the ringing of a familiar bell, signaling a customer, was heard throughout the building. Looking up, I saw two middle-aged women entering the café and heading towards the counter.

Glancing at Colette nervously, I wasn't reassured in the slightest as I saw a cheshire grin on her face. Raising her eyebrows, she nodded towards the till.

"Looks like it's your time to shine." she teased, standing beside me as the pair of women approached.

Taking a deep breath, I put a smile on my face as I tried to push my nerves aside. "Hi, welcome to Corner Café, what can I get for you two ladies today?"

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Luckily, the first couple of orders I took were simple coffees and pastries and after locating the correct buttons, all I had to do was punch them in before accepting the cash and handing back change. However, when the more complicated orders started coming in around lunchtime, Colette took over, letting me watch as she pressed multiple buttons just to punch in one drink.

It would definitely take a while to get used to, that was for sure.

By the time my lunch break rolled around, Colette, who informed me that I was allowed free food during a shift, punched my order of a small sandwich and drink into the till while I went around the back to clock out for twenty minutes. When my break was over I happily took a step back from the counter, heading instead for the main area of the café where I cleaned up the various messes' customers had left behind.

All in all, as the clock ticked forward and my shift started to wind down, I found myself enjoying my day. Sure, I might not have picked up the till right away, and I might not have been born to be a barista, but I wasn't horrible and that was a good thing.

"So, one more hour until you're done," Colette commented as she wiped down one of the coffee machines, "How are you liking it so far?"

"I think once I get everything down it'll be easier, but I'm liking it." I replied as I heard the bell by the door go off again, "Thanks for helping me get the job."

"No problem, I like working with someone around my age instead of being the only young one around here," she replied, her voice dropping as she nodded to the other side of the counter. "Customer."

"Welcome to the Corner Café," I greeted before looking up at the customer, and let me tell you; I was shocked when I did.

There, standing right in front of me, was Ryan Adams.

Not surprisingly, he was once again wearing a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap. What made my breath catch, however, was the tight white t-shirt that was adorning the top half of his body, giving me a perfect view of his sculpted muscles.

Clearing my throat, quickly tearing my eyes away from his body, I looked up to his face. "Umm, what can I get for you?"

When he didn't respond immediately I had a feeling that he was staring at me, and with the sunglasses completely shielding his eyes, I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I said," I cleared my throat, speaking quite timidly, "What can I..."

I didn't get to finish my question again though, as Ryan's voice cut me off. "You're that girl from last weekend," he pointed out.

Shit.

It didn't seem as though he wanted me to reply as he continued, his deep voice incredibly sexy as he spoke. "When did you start working here?"

His question wasn't meant to be rude, but more curious as, I assumed, his eyes stayed trained on me.

"Umm... today's my first day." I replied hesitantly, drumming my fingers nervously against the edges of the cash register.

My heart skipped a beat when a small smile grew on his lips as he pulled his glass up to rest on his head. "I told you I'd see you around," he commented, "So, do you have a break soon, or..."

His question trailed off as he looked at me expectantly. "I don't... I umm,"

Colette, with a smirk on her face, cut off my embarrassing stuttering early. "Actually, since you're working six hours, you still have a twenty minute break to take," she pointed out.

"Great," Ryan said, dropping his sunglasses back to hide his face. "Do you want to sit down and talk?"

Looking between him and Colette, who had an expectant grin on her face, I sighed. "Sure," I replied softly, "Let me just take your order and I'll bring it out to you."

"Don't worry about it, I'll get the order while you go clock out," Colette said, butting in as she nudged me sideways with her hip.

Rolling my eyes with amusement, I turned and headed to the back, clocking out quickly before coming back out to the front to see that Ryan had taken a seat in one of the back booths.

"Zoe, here's the drink you're looking for," Colette said teasingly as I approached her, handing me the cup that was seemingly Ryan's.

"You are so going to get it," I whispered, taking the cup with a smile as I headed over to where Ryan had taken a seat.

"Your drink," I stated softly, sliding into the other side of the booth slowly. I noticed that he had taken his sunglasses off, placing them on the table next to a chocolate chip muffin.

"Thanks Zoe," he said smiling, pushing the chocolate chip muffin towards me slightly, "For you."

"I never told you my name," I pointed out, raising an eyebrow at him.

He nodded to my chest. "Nametag."

"Oh, right," I mumbled, "And thanks by the way, for the muffin."

His lips lifted up slightly at my nervousness. "No problem," he replied, "But I probably should tell you that I didn't pay for it. Colette over there told me that she punched it in as part of your break meal."

Letting loose a short laugh, I was surprised that he was admitting that. "Still, thanks." I said, popping a piece of it into my mouth.

"I'm Ryan by the way."

"I know," I replied, only noticing my mistake when he raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I mean, uh..."

"You know who I am?"

"Yeah," I admitted sheepishly, "I mean at first I didn't, but my sister and I were watching a movie last weekend and I recognized you, so, yeah."

"Oh really, which movie?"

"Umm... the spy one that's like a year old," I explained, not really sure of what the movie was actually called.

"You mean Agent Prector?" he asked, and assuming that was the title I nodded. When a smirk appeared on his face however, I suddenly wished I hadn't. "So what, were you so distracted by my muscles and my abilities that you couldn't even remember the name of the movie?"

"Get over yourself," I replied with an eye roll, hoping that he couldn't see the blush rising on my neck at his slightly true statement.

I could tell, as his eyes briefly dropped to my neck, that he had noticed my blush, but I was thankful that he didn't press on the subject. "So," he started, taking a drink from his coffee before continuing, "Why did you decide to start working here? It wasn't just so you could start stalking me at my favourite coffee shop, was it?"

"This is your favourite coffee shop?" I asked, rolling off his teasing accusation.

He nodded with a smile. "With all the expensive stores around here, no paparazzi ever really come around this café, hence, I don't need much of a disguise to come here without a body guard," he explained. "But, you never answered my question."

"No surprisingly enough, you weren't the reason I got a job here," I replied in amusement. "I actually just moved here, and when I came in last week I saw that they were hiring here, so, I applied."

"You just moved here?" he asked, and I nodded. "Where'd you move from?"

"I lived near the border of Arizona and New Mexico, and hour or so east of Flagstaff, Arizona." I explained, not wanting to give too much of my past away.

"So, you cheer for the Diamondbacks and the Coyotes I'm assuming?"

"When I was younger I did," I replied, smiling as a few memories of my dad taking my sister and I to games flashed through my mind.

"You don't anymore?" he asked, his eyebrows crunching in confusion.

I shrugged. "Eventually I stopped going to games and following the seasons. I still enjoy watching a game here and there, I'm just not a die hard fan like I was when I was little."

He nodded, and maybe he could tell I was omitting things, like how my dad suddenly had no time to bring his daughters to games, and how my mother didn't want me acting like such a tomboy, but he veered off the subject. "And you just decided to move to Los Angeles?"

"Well my sister's lived here for a couple of years, and I just needed a change," I replied. "I helped my sister find a new house, transferred universities, and now voilà, here I am."

"So now you go to..."

"UCLA for journalism," I finished, earning a hearty laugh from Ryan. "What?" I asked with a smile.

"Nothing," he replied, shaking his head. "It's just funny how the first girl I've met in a long time that doesn't freak out about me being an actor is studying to be part of the people who I despise."

Suddenly seeing the humour in the situation, I let loose a laugh. "What? Are you scared?" I asked teasingly.

"Not really," he responded simply, "You don't seem like the type of person who spills people's secrets."

Smiling softly, I replied. "That's because I'm not. I'm more interested in political and national news than what's new in Hollywood. No offense."

"Non-taken," he said. "But, since your break is almost over, I still have one very important question to ask you."

His eyes met mine, and with the serious look they held, I didn't know if I wanted to hear what he was about to say. "And what is that?" I asked softly as I squirmed slightly in my seat.

He was silent for a second; staring at me intensely, before his exterior cracked and a smile appeared. "What's your favourite colour?"

Laughing as the words processed in my head, my whole body relaxed as I realized it was nothing serious. "That's your question?" I asked with amusement as I stopped laughing, and when he nodded, my smile grew. "Purple."

"Really?"

"Really," I affirmed.

Just as I was about to continue I heard the bell by the door go off, and when I took a glance, I was surprised to see Emily with a smiling Abbie in her arms. I didn't have to say anything as Emily's eyes swept the café, catching mine briefly as she smiled.

"There you are," she said as she walked over, "What are you doing back here? Slacking off already?"

I assumed that she hadn't seen Ryan yet, so as I stood up, I walked slightly away from the table as I reached out to grab Abbie from her hold. "I'm just finishing up my break," I replied before turning and poking Abbie lightly on the nose, "And how are you doing little princess?"

She giggled in my arms. "I hungry, Aunty Emily pwomised me food."

"And you couldn't have waited until I finished my shift?" I asked, directing my question at Emily.

"We were getting bored at home, and Abbie was missing you so I decided to treat her. It's not like you're hiding anything from me," she shrugged, but that was the exact moment that Ryan stood up from where he'd been sitting in the booth. Emily definitely took notice of this as her eyes widened. "Or maybe you are."

A sheepish smile appeared on my face as Ryan took a step towards us, his sunglasses now back on his face as he held out his hand to Emily. "Hey, I'm Ryan."

Emily's eyebrows shot to the roof in surprise, and I realized that she definitely remembered our conversation about me meeting him. I saw as she tried to contain her excitement, holding out her hand to shake Ryan's. "Emily, I'm this one's younger sister," she greeted, however, when she smirked at me, a glint in her eye, a glint of worry passed through me.

And for good reason it seemed.

"So you're the guy that Zoe mentioned."

I wished, at that moment, that the world would swallow me whole as I scowled at my sister, only to see Ryan turning to me with a grin plastered on his face. "You've mentioned me?"

"I told you I recognized you when we watched a movie together last week." I mumbled as I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"You sure you weren't gossiping about how hot you thought I was when I bumped into you?"

"I'm sure," I snapped quickly, sending a glare at my sister as I realized I only had one minute left of my break. "Anyways, my break's over so I have to get back to work."

"Yeah, I had better get going to," Ryan mentioned, nodding towards the door as he picked up his empty coffee mug and my leftovers from the table, tossing them into the nearby trash. "It was good meeting you Emily, and I'll see you around Zoe."

He smiled at me, which I returned as he turned and headed out the front door.

"You are so spilling everything after you're done your shift," Emily pressed as she took Abbie back off me and stood her on the ground, clasping Abbie's small hand within her own.

"Yea, yea," I blushed, shooing them towards where Colette was taking an order. "Just go order. I'll be done in a half an hour or so."

Heading right for the back room to clock back in, I leaned against the cold wall and blew out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding.

'Since when did my life get so interesting?' I thought, shaking my head as I headed back to work.

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I hoped you enjoyed this Ryan filled chapter, and got a better look at what the dynamic between him and Zoe is starting off as.

Question of the Chapter: In heat of Zoe getting a new job, and me currently looking for a summer job, I thought I'd ask you guys what your favourite/most memorable job was? Did you like it? Hate it? What's a funny work story from your past?

Anyways, hopefully you guys are enjoying the quicker updates; I'm just excited about this story that I really enjoy writing it! Press the vote button if you enjoyed it, and drop a comment down below to tell me what you think :)

Until next time xxx