By the time Friday morning arrived, I was starting to actually enjoy being a barista. I had learned how to make most of the drinks on the menu, and Joe said that my espresso was now at an acceptable level. I was even beginning to feel more confident dealing with the customers.

Fortunately, it turned out that most of the customers were not as bad as I had first thought they were going to be. The neighbourhood might be impoverished and rough, and even borderline disgusting in places, but the people who lived here were not all like that. Some I would actually go so far as to say were quite nice and friendly. I had even started to get on first name terms with a few of the regular customers.

Joe seemed to be quite happy with my work too, judging by how much time he spent watching me closely. Especially as he now seemed to spend more time chatting with people rather than having to make coffee. This morning he was chatting with Mary, while I made her latte.

It turned out I had been kind of right about her when I had first seen her, Mary was a lawyer. She had lived in this part of Brooklyn for her whole life. And she had even chosen to stay after she had trained to be a lawyer, which had seemed odd to me. But after a few more days of working here, it started to make more sense.

There seemed to be more of a sense of community around here, compared to the more affluent neighbourhood that I lived in. I knew the Jones', who lived across from my house, but I had never actually spoken to any of my other neighbours. But around here, it seemed like everyone knew each other.

As I moved over to start washing some of the used coffee cups, I heard the front door opening behind me. I turned around to greet the customer, then froze at what I saw.

It was Lucas Salvatore who had just entered.

I felt a flash of anger that was quickly replaced by fear. There in front of me was the person who had killed my parents. I hated him, but I also feared him. He was obviously a very dangerous man.

Well, I said "man", but when I looked at him more closely, perhaps I should have said "boy". He looked so much younger in person compared to his photos. And so much cuter too.

Urgh, no. What the heck was wrong with me? He was a murderer, he wasn't cute! Well no, he was totally cute, but I just shouldn't be finding him attractive. That was not part of the plan.

Lucas came over to the counter and smiled at me. Then his eyes flicked down to look at my chest. Urgh, what a pig. I quickly went back to hating him again.

"Good morning, Olivia," said Lucas, with a grin. "Are you new here?"

That confused me. How did he know my name? Did he recognise me somehow? Then my brain suddenly clicked and I remembered the name tag that was pinned to the front of my uniform. That must have been what he was looking at, not my breasts. So maybe he wasn't such a pig after all?

"Err, yeah. Hi," I said, when my brain had regained focus. "I started here on Monday."

"Ah, that would be why I didn't recognise you then," said Lucas, with another impossibly cute smile. "I've not been working in the club since last week."

I could feel myself start to blush when he smiled at me like that. The quick flash of heat that burned my cheeks and turned them red. That then made me feel a little disappointed with myself. This was a guy I hated and wanted revenge on, and he was making me act like a hormonal teenager. Well, technically I was a hormonal teenager, but that's not the point! My body was betraying me.

I tried to focus myself back on coffee. "What can I get you?" I asked, though I already knew what he was going to order after all the time I spent stalking him on Instagram.

"Can I get a cappuccino?" he said.

"Yes, of course," I said, my hand already holding the correct cup from underneath the counter.

I turned around to start making his coffee, while Lucas went to sit down at the small table in front of the window. That table didn't have the most comfortable chairs, but it did have the most daylight coming through the large window.

That's when I remembered how his photos always seemed to be so well lit. At this time of day, the sunlight streamed directly through the window and onto the table. It must mean he always sat at the same table because the lighting was so good. That was pretty clever and showed he must have a really good artistic brain.

Urgh, no, stop it! I kicked myself in the ankle as a punishment. He wasn't clever or artistic, he was a ruthless villain and a killer.

As I poured the shot of espresso into the cup, I tried to quickly think what the next step in the plan would be. I know that I probably should have already planned ahead for what I was doing. But my strengths were in action and decisiveness, not thinking or planning. I decided to try chatting to him as I gave him his drink.

As I placed the cup of cappuccino on the table, I smiled at Lucas. "So do you work at the strip club then?" I asked.

Lucas looked up with a frown. "It's a gentlemen's social club, not a strip club," he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry ," I said, quickly. "I just assumed, from the sign out front saying there's nude girls inside."

Lucas opened his mouth to respond, but then paused for a moment before speaking more calmly. "We do have girls inside who take their clothes off and dance, but it's not a strip club," he said. "It's more of an upmarket place for guys to relax and socialise."

"Okay, I understand," I said. But obviously, I didn't understand the difference.

Lucas kept quiet for a moment and looked at me thoughtfully. It made me feel a little uncomfortable as I wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"Would you like to see what it is like inside?" he asked. "I could take you over there and show you."

That did not sound like a good idea. But then, it could be an opportunity to get closer to Lucas. And maybe then if I got to know him better I would find some kind of way of getting revenge.

"I'm working now, but I finish at 3pm. So I guess I could come over then, if that's okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Lucas, enthusiastically. "I will come back over later to get you."

"Okay," I said, with a little apprehension. I wasn't sure why he seemed so enthusiastic about me going to the club. Was it some kind of trap?

"Well, I should, umm, get back to work," I said.

"Okay, well I'll see you later," said Lucas, as he gave me another smile.

I was confused as I walked back around the counter. Lucas was different than I had expected him to be. He seemed sweet, and charming. He was nothing like the ruthless criminal I had pictured in my mind.

Lucas was just finishing his coffee, when I looked back over towards him. He put the cup down, then wiped the small blob of froth from his upper lip with a napkin. Then he gave me a quick smile when he noticed I was watching him.

I couldn't help myself, and blushed slightly as I waved goodbye to him. Whatever happened next, I was going to need to regain my focus before Lucas came back later that afternoon.