Read Online What's Done in Darkness by Kayla Perrin - Free Book Online Page B

into. It struck me that I hadn’t asked Katrina if there was a specific dress code, but I noticed that the staff yesterday had each been wearing dark pants and a T-shirt, so I opted for a similar look. My clothes in hand, I headed to the bathroom.
    A couple of minutes later, I was in the shower. As the warm water sluiced over my body, Wesley popped into my mind. When I’d gotten up, I’d checked my cell phone and seen that he hadn’t responded to me. Which only made me feel stupid for having texted him. He wanted space, and it was becoming clearer to me that if I wanted things to work out between us I needed to give him that.
    Then I thought of Michelle, her betrayal of our friendship, and the whole ugly incident at grad. My stomach tightened as I began to feel angry. Why couldn’t I just turn off my feelings for Wesley and forget him once and for all?
    If only I could wash him from my heart the way I was washing the grime from my body. But I knew that was wishful thinking.
    I took my time in the shower, washing my hair and generally luxuriating beneath the warm stream of water. So when I exited, I figured that I had to be alone in the apartment.
    Until I thought I heard the sound of a voice.
    I eased closer to the bathroom door. “No, no. It has to be sooner than that.”
    That was Christian. Were he and Katrina still in the apartment?
    â€œAre you kidding me? Why would it possibly take that long?”
    I didn’t hear anyone else speaking and assumed that Christian was on the phone.
    â€œUnacceptable,” he said after a moment. “I’ve already told you, this needs to be taken care of. Now.” Pause. “You don’t need to be concerned. You just need to do it.”
    Silence ensued, and I kept my ear to the door, listening for more of Christian’s conversation. Instead, about a minute later, I heard the distinct sound of a door closing.
    I waited a beat, then opened the bathroom door and peeked my head out. I looked around, saw no one. Christian was gone.
    I slipped out of the bathroom and headed to my room, wondering whom Christian had been talking to.
    And I also wondered why I had the feeling that I couldn’t trust him.
    *   *   *
    Downstairs, I was pretty much thrown into work with minimal instruction. Katrina told me that I should take orders and she would help me put them into the computer. This wasn’t the kind of coffee shop where people went to the counter to place their orders and pay there. It was more of a sit-down café and restaurant, because she also had a liquor license. Patrons sitting inside could go up to the counter and pay if they wished, but not those sitting outside.
    I was surprised at how many people were already here at nine in the morning. Most were sitting out on the patio, friends and family members soaking up the morning sun. Those with laptops were inside, headphones on and lost in their own world as they did their work and got their java fix. I imagined some were working on the next Great American Novel.
    Mostly, I cleaned tables and took orders only if I was beckoned. By the end of the morning, I was figuring out how to use the computer system. Alexis, the woman I’d first met yesterday, was working the busy patio. She also helped Katrina make the various coffee drinks and smoothies.
    There was a small kitchen, where extra pastries and desserts were kept and the sandwiches and French fries made. Christian was the one who prepared the sandwiches and fries, while the desserts and pastries came from a bakery a block away.
    Lunch was hectic, with noon marking the start of when alcohol was served. Many people from local businesses stopped in for coffee and a sandwich to go, and I helped take the orders while Katrina filled them. Alexis was busy on the patio, with more people wanting to sit outside and enjoy a beer or a coffee beverage.
    â€œThe place is busier than I thought,” I said to Katrina when I