I'm assisting a customer when I hear the door of the coffee shop chime open. I glance over to see Juniper walking in. Unlike her usual attire with bright colors, she's dressed casually today, wearing a white tank top and incredibly short jean shorts. In fact, they're so short that I can't help but let my gaze linger. I'm not really used to seeing her in clothes like this at work, especially with so much skin on display.

So much skin.

The customer in front of me clears their throat, and I realize I've been staring too long. I pull my attention away from Juniper.

"I'm sorry, what kind of pastry did you say?" I ask the customer, refocusing on them.

"I asked for a cappuccino," they say, their annoyance clear. I can hear Nora stifling a laugh behind me.

"Oh, right," I say, maintaining a polite smile and resisting the urge to steal a glance back at Juniper. "Coming right up." I take the customer's card and begin processing their payment, while Nora starts preparing their coffee.

Juniper steps forward in line as the next customer. "Back so soon," I tease.

Her eyes narrow slightly as she explains, "My internet isn't working. I didn't really have a choice."

I nod slowly, a smirk pulling at the edges of my lips. "Or you could just admit you missed me."

She sighs, exasperated. "Can I just have a black coffee, Wells?"

Okay, so not in the best mood today. Her response catches me off guard; she refrains from her usual grunt or a snarky comeback.

I pause for a moment, watching her closely as she avoids making eye contact. "Sure," I finally respond.

Turning away, I grab a clean mug and fill it with freshly brewed drip coffee. With the steaming mug in hand, I slide it over to her. She gives me her card to pay.

"Thanks," she says, her honey-brown eyes briefly meeting mine before she takes the coffee. She walks over to a table by the window, quickly setting her cup down, and pulls out her laptop.

The morning slips by quietly, with only a few scattering of customers, likely due to how nice the weather is outside. Most of my work for the day is already completed, with only a meeting scheduled later with Andrew. I stand behind the counter with my laptop open, attempting to focus on emails, but I find myself stealing glances at Juniper every so often as she sits at the nearby table.

At the office, our desks aren't close together, so I've never really seen her work. I've read her work, of course, but I've never seen her actually write.

I try my best not to glance over, but it's nearly impossible not to notice the way she can't stop fidgeting and moving her foot as she sits there or the near-silent rhythm of her typing. And especially the way she bites down on her bottom lip when deep in thought.

"I can take over now; it's pretty slow," Nora says as she walks over to me. I quickly look away from Juniper and back down at my computer.

"Yeah, okay," I say, turning to pour myself a cup of coffee. "I just have a meeting at 1:30, and then I can close tonight."

"Sounds good." Nora nods.

I walk over and slide into the table beside Juniper. She glances at me with a puzzled expression just as her phone begins to buzz on the table. Without hesitation, she checks her phone but ignores the call.

"What are you doing?" she asks, her attention now fixed on me as I open my laptop.

"I have a meeting with Mitchell right now. I can sit here, right?" I say, looking over at her.

"Wait, you have a meeting with Mitchell?" she asks, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Right now?"

"Yeah, right now."

"No, I have a meeting with Mitchell," she responds, her confusion deepening as she gives me an inquisitive look and shakes her head.

"He sent me an email this morning, mentioning a meeting at..."

"1:30," we both say simultaneously. As we do, our computers chime with a video call notification.

She buries her face in her hands, mumbling to herself. At the same time, her phone begins ringing again, and this time, I can see that it's her boyfriend, Beckett, on the caller ID.

She quickly looks at it and then declines the call before she directs her attention to her computer.

I promptly answer the video call, and Juniper does the same. The video call connects.

"Wells, Juni—" Andrew begins, but there's suddenly a jarring screech echoing between my laptop and Juniper's.

"I think there's something wrong with the call," Andrew attempts to say through the echoing, but I know exactly what the problem is – Juniper and I are sitting too close together for a video call.

Without hesitation, I shut my laptop, and the echoing immediately ceases.

"What? What are you doing?" Juniper whispers, her voice hushed, as I slide onto the bench seat next to her.

"The audio isn't working because we are in the same place," I explain, coming into view of the camera, my right arm and leg brushing up against hers. "The computers are too close together. We need to share."

"Well then, go over there!" She gestures toward the back room of the coffee shop.

"Sorry, are you both at the office today?" Andrew asks, his tone tinged with confusion as he looks at us through the screen.

"Oh no, we are both still at the lake," I clarify.

"Together?" Andrew says hesitantly.

"Ye–" I begin to respond, but Juniper quickly interjects, shaking her head vigorously.

"No!" she exclaims, her eyes darting to me. "Not in that way! No! I'm not here with Wells. I'm staying at a friend's house. He's here..." she gestures toward me, "I don't know. Why are you here again?"

I smirk at her. "We're here for different reasons. We just happen to be working in the same place today," I explain, glancing at Andrew's image on the screen and then adjusting myself to fit better into the frame.

I place my right arm around the back of the bench behind Juniper, catching a waft of her peachy shampoo. I can't help but steal a quick glance at her brown hair. She looks over at me briefly with her light brown eyes before returning her focus to the computer.

Okay, Wells, let's not dwell on how it makes you feel sitting so close to Juniper. Ignore the fact that her bare leg is touching yours, or that her peachy scent makes you a little lightheaded. She has a boyfriend.

"Mmhmm," he says, nodding his head at us with a hint of skepticism. It seems like he's not entirely convinced.

"Well, Juniper, Wells, I called this meeting because we finally got an in for that piece about Kaitlyn McClure, the woman who died years ago, and then years later, they found she had stolen another person's identity. You both remember?"

"Uh yeah, I think so," I respond, and as Juniper shifts in her seat, her leg accidentally brushes against mine again, causing me to glance at her once more.

"June, you remember too, yeah?" Andrew asks, but she doesn't respond.

"June?" He says again, and I nudge her with my knee gently, causing her to jump a bit.

"Hmm?" She says, and I look over. Her brown eyes quickly make eye contact with mine before looking back at the screen.

"Kaitlyn McClure. You remember her?" Andrew asks, a hint of impatience in his tone.

"Oh yeah, of course. The stolen identity," she replies, her gaze finally settling on the screen.

"June, I know we talked about this being your article at the time, but I want Wells to help you with it."

She lets out a nervous laugh, shaking her head at the screen. "Mr. Mitchell–"

"Andrew," he interjects.

"Andrew," she corrects herself, closing her eyes briefly before continuing, "I am more than capable of doing it myself. I definitely do not need help from–"

"Juniper, the last four articles you turned in have all been late," he says, interrupting her. I can see her visibly deflate as he continues, "It's a big piece. Let Wells help you with it, okay?"

She takes a deep breath, as if she wants to argue but then chooses not to, exhaling slowly. "Okay."

"Okay, good. I'll have Sarah send you both the information and notes on it right away. I guess it will be easier with you two being in the same place to work together," Andrew says, still wearing a skeptical expression as he studies us through the screen. "It's going to be in the first week of July's issue, so you have a bit of time."

"Sounds good. We'll get right on it," I say, and Juniper nods in agreement.

The video call ends with a beep, and Juniper is silent. I glance over at her and try to lighten the mood, saying, "At least he didn't just give me the whole piece."

She looks over at me, visibly angry. I know she thinks I'm trying to steal her article again.

Her phone buzzes once more, causing us both to look down at it on the table. It's Beckett calling again, she quickly grabs it and hits the decline. She puts her hands to her forehead, gripping her head with her elbows resting on the table.

I can't help but comment as I stand from my seat, leaving Juniper's side, "Do you always ignore your boyfriend's calls?"

She looks up at me, a puzzled expression on her face. "How do you know who my boyfriend is?"

"Everyone knows who your boyfriend is," I say with a casual shrug. "Beckett Moore, the beloved quarterback for the Huskies, defied all expectations by going undrafted, leaving the entire state of Washington in astonishment," I recite, referring to an article I had written about him.

She just stares at me, her expression unreadable. I continue after a few beats, "I wrote an article when it happened."

"Of course you did," she responds, her tone tinged with sarcasm, as she looks back down at the computer screen.

I can't help but saw my lower lip in between my teeth as I study her. My curiosity gets the best of me. "So, what did he do? Forget an anniversary? Talk too much about football? Stay out at the bar too late with the boys?"

She lets out a small, bitter laugh. Her laptop snaps shut and all of a sudden she stands on the other side of the table, grabbing her bag.

"Come on, it had to be something bad enough for you to ignore him all afternoon," I press.

"Is finding him sleeping with another woman bad enough for you?" she says, her wobbly at the edge's as she shoves her things into her bag.

My eyes widen slightly, and I immediately regret prying into her personal life. "Shit, Junip–"

"God, Wells, can you please, for once, just mind your own business?" she snaps as she walks past me.

"Juniper," I call after her as she exits the door, but she only looks back at me briefly before disappearing.

"Shit," I mutter to myself, rubbing a hand over my face.

"You know, when I said 'woo her,'" Nora says from behind the counter, startling me, "I didn't mean like scare her away."

I turn around to look at her, finding her with her elbows resting against the counter, hands under her chin. How long has she been watching like that?

"Shut up," I mutter, turning to grab my computer. "I didn't know."

"Well, at least you know she's siinngle noow," she teases with a singing tone.

Notes

How are you all liking this chapter? What are your thoughts on Wells? Do you think he'll make a move or show more interest?

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting, and voting! ❤️