There were not many people who drank coffee in the evening, and even fewer who demanded it immediately because they were in a hurry to go somewhere. Today, however, the event space next to the café was hosting a corporate presentation, as the barista had learned, and apparently they were serving only one type of coffee there, which led to dissatisfied guests who during the break began running into the neighboring café. On the very day when Avery was alone to handle everything.

At one point, thirty people swarmed inside all at once. It wouldn't have been such a rush if they hadn't all ordered time-consuming coffees. Whether it was a latte, cappuccino, flat white, or mocha, the machine was running at full tilt, and Avery truly did his best not to overwork it, as the espresso machine was designed for a steady pace, not for a surge like this.

On top of that, there was not much time left until closing, and so the blond man needed to serve everyone and clean up before he had to move on to his second job. Today, however, was certainly not in his favor, and he quickly realized that it would not be so easy.

All the coffee at once eventually led to the coffee machine becoming overloaded. It began to overheat, and although Avery changed the filters, refilled the milk, and cleaned the steam nozzle, in the end the pressure inside the machine became its downfall. When the coffee started flowing more slowly, he knew it was not a good sign. He slowed down, but it was not enough.

After another twenty minutes of constant strain, the safety valve began releasing steam, and although the barista managed to serve the last few customers, the moment the coffee machine tripped the circuit breakers, he knew he had a huge problem in his hands.

He tried to keep a neutral expression so the customers would not panic. Fortunately, everyone had already paid, but in part of the café the lights were out, and some people were sitting almost in the dark. Avery immediately went to deal with it, and although that meant leaving the cash register, he had no choice.

After seeing the circuit breaker in the technical cabinet downstairs, he quickly switched it back on, and when he succeeded and saw light returning to the café, he thought the worst was behind him. When he returned to the coffee machine, however, the blinking lights assured him that he still had things to solve. He decided not to panic and tried to turn the machine off, wait, and turn it on again, but when he tried, he found that none of the buttons were responding.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath so the customers could not hear.

He had no choice but to call Joshua, but since it was only a few minutes before closing, he first waited until all the people left. Only then did he take out his phone and disturb his boss on the only day he was not working.

“I am really sorry.”

His tone was guilty, and although Joshua tried to calm him down, Avery still blamed himself for the situation.

“This is not the first nor the last time,” his boss reassured him. “I will call a technician and see what can be done about it.”

“Okay.”

Avery breathed a sigh of relief, but it was far too early for that. He hadn't yet realized what a problem this meant for him personally, rather than for the café.

“I would wait for him myself, but I can’t leave Sara and Ellie alone.”

“I’ll stay,” Avery immediately promised, though he knew he had an unpleasant phone call ahead with Stanley. He had no idea how long it would take for the technician to arrive and fix the machine, but he had no doubt he would not make it to the club on time.

“Thank you. I owe you one.”

“Not at all,” the barista immediately objected. “My problem, my responsibility. Seriously, Joshua.”

“Just don’t be too hard on yourself. I’m sure you didn’t do anything on purpose.” His boss knew exactly how to talk to him, and how much his blond employee was blaming himself for the whole situation. It practically radiated from his voice, and inside he felt even worse.

“I’ll pay for any damages,” Avery promised.

“Nonsense,” Joshua responded immediately. “We’ll talk about it when we know what’s wrong, okay? For now, stay calm, clean up, and wait for the technician. I’ll let you know when he arrives.”

“Okay.”

The moment their call ended, Avery began cleaning up to clear his head and not think only about guilt. However, when he received a message that it would take the technician approximately 90 minutes to arrive, he knew that while Joshua had taken the bad news calmly, his boss at Burning Temptation would not be so forgiving.

He was right.

Stanley was irritated, but since Diablo was his main attraction, thankfully this delay did not endanger his work. However, he had to promise that he would come today, no matter how long it took, and since the customers lost time with him this way, on Stanley’s orders he had to make it up by performing on stage with the strippers next week.

Avery disliked dancing on stage in front of everyone, but he had no choice but to agree. Fortunately, he did not have to undress, and for him it meant only short leather shorts. The only problem was that he usually had more time to practice and learn the choreography.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

All that was left then was to wait for the technician. He arrived shortly before 10 pm, and though Avery had been nervous from the waiting, the reason for his nerves had now shifted. He needed to know if the damage he’d caused to the machine was permanent or if it could be easily fixed.

“It looks like thermal protection. The machine locked itself.”

“What does that mean?” the barista asked anxiously.

“The machine was overloaded, but it is nothing that cannot be repaired.”

The tension that fell from Avery’s shoulders after those words metaphorically crashed to the ground with such a roar that it could probably be heard in the neighboring shops. However, he did not care, since the only thing he focused on was that he had not caused major damage to Joshua’s café and had not destroyed his business.

The technician managed to turn off the coffee machine, manually reset whatever was necessary, and after checking everything—boiler, thermostat, and steam nozzle—he turned the machine on again and began testing it.

Avery stood beside him, shifting his gaze from the coffee machine to the clock and back again. It was truly late now, and although he was paid more at Burning Temptation, Joshua mattered more to him, so he stayed firmly grounded, not rushing.

After the technician tested the coffee machine and managed to make coffee without any problems, the blond man could finally breathe out fully. After that, he only had to wait until the man with the briefcase filled out the papers Avery had to sign, and then it was time to go.

It was 11:15 pm when the blonde finally saw the club’s sign lights in the distance.

He quickened his pace, trying to arrive even earlier, though now it did not really matter. At least, that was what he thought. Because when he got even closer, he realized that his most loyal customer had just arrived as well.

Avery put on his hood in an attempt to blend into the darkness and pass by unnoticed, but his plan was quickly ruined.

“Hey, Angel!”

Johnny had seen him every week, and over those months he had seen him in various states. It was no surprise that he recognized him even in the dark and while he was trying to hide. The problem, though, was not that Johnny had seen him.

David turned the moment he heard that nickname, even though he was more or less already one foot inside the club. His gaze automatically settled on the blond barista, and although they were still far apart, it was not hard to read his expression. He looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Avery did not even realize he had stopped moving until the CEO began approaching him.

In the companion’s mind, thousands of thoughts were racing, including fears in the back of his mind suggesting that the CEO had put two and two together and discovered his double life. However, when the man simply walked past him without a word, he realized it was something else. David was acting as if he had been caught committing a crime, and since Avery was not actually supposed to know about his sexuality or his hobby, he had to have felt that his secret had been exposed. And since he was a CEO, it was a dangerous secret.

Avery did not have time to think about it, since while the dark haired man fled from the scene of the crime, the companion had to move on to work and stop lingering. He could think later.