Las Vistas Episode #2

Java Jolt Coffee Shop - Downtown Las Vistas




Sienna flipped the pages of her newspaper quietly, scanning the ads in the employment section trying not to draw attention to herself. The darkest corner of the most out of the way coffee shop she could think of still didn’t feel covert enough to hide the fact that she was dead broke, and wearing the same outfit for the second time in a week. Selling off most of her jewelry, a few handbags, and her favorite pair of Gucci boots had only given her enough to settle the last of her outstanding credit card bills, but without any steady income how was she supposed to live? How did regular people do this all the time? Having to plan and figure out how to pay for the most basic necessities like food, shelter, and valet parking. What was the world coming to when she couldn’t even scrounge up a few bucks to have someone else park her damn car?



Her hopes continued to drop as she perused add after crappy add. She had been holed up there for the better part of an hour trying to find something to do that didn't involve too much effort on her part, having already decided against trying for a retail position again, and at this point she wasn’t holding out much hope for getting the hostess job at Giovanni's. Anything that involved heavy lifting, working with animals, or dealing with children was out and she knew any job that required computer skills beyond web surfing and texting was way over her head.



All of a sudden the top corner of the newspaper began to flop down removing the barrier she had between herself and the other patrons. She snapped it straight and pulled it closer to shield her face. The only thing worse than stooping to looking for a job in a place like this was to have someone she knew see her doing it. "Can I get you anything else?" the server startled her, causing her to nearly knock over her coffee. She grabbed the mug and shoved it in his direction. "You can start by bringing some coffee that doesn't taste like dish water. When did you make this, last week?”



"If you think you can do a better job why don't you come behind the counter and give it a shot." Sienna put down the paper and glared at the man incredulously, her anger casting away her need to be anonymous. “What did you just say to me? Does your boss know that you’re out here serving poison to his customers and treating them like shit?”



“I’d say it’s fair considering how you just treated me and at this point I don’t think he’d have a problem with it. So what’s it going to be princess? You want me to get you another one or are going make it yourself?” Sienna grabbed the newspaper, stood up and pushed past him toward the door. "I don't do manual labor and I certainly don't take orders from assholes like you."



"Hey, I just thought you might need the work since you had the employment section wide open. I guess you're looking for that cushy vice president position you've been holding out for." She stopped in her tracks, exposed, embarrassed, and shot him a look that should have killed him on the spot. The satisfied smirk he gave her in return infuriated her all the more. “Go to hell,” she hissed over her shoulder as she covered her face with her hand and stormed out the door.

********************************************************

Bolthouse Beach House - Azura Beach



"Who doesn't have measuring cups?" Blair mumbled to herself as she fumbled through the half empty cabinets and drawers in Blake's kitchen. She came up empty again after looking through another drawer and officially called off her search. "Blake, where are your measuring cups? Blake!" she shouted when he didn't answer. A duet of yelling and cat calling suddenly erupted from the living room and a few moments later Blake walked backwards into the kitchen, nearly running into the island; his eyes still glued on the television.



"What's up?" he asked, still not looking at her. "I'm trying to finish dinner. Where are the measuring cups?" Blake bent down and opened the cabinet under the sink and produced the missing kitchen utensil. Shaking her head in disbelief, she snatched it from him and went to the sink to fill it up. "This isn’t' what I had in mind when I agreed to come over for dinner; me cooking while you and A.J. watch football. The least you could do is set the table or make the salad or something." Finally giving her his full attention, he flashed a smile, grabbed a bag of lettuce from the refrigerator, and dumped it into a large glass bowl that was already on the counter. "There. Salad made. Come over next weekend and I'll do all the cooking, okay?"



She rolled her eyes and shoved the casserole she'd been working on in the oven. "As tasty as mini egg rolls and hot pockets would be, I won't be here next weekend. I'm going to visit mom and dad." She paused before she continued, her voice lowered to a near whisper. "You should come with me." Blake narrowed his eyes and looked away from her and back at the television as A.J. jumped up shouting obscenities when his team missed another touchdown. He remained silent for a few moments before giving her the answer she already knew was coming.

"You know I can't do that."

"You can't or you won't?"

"Both. Just drop it Blair, please."

"Fine", she said, turning back to the sink to wash her hands.



More silence passed between them before Blake spoke again. "Why are you going now; is something wrong?" "No, but I didn’t get a chance to see them over the holidays. And, Isabella doesn't have anything major going on next week and since I passed most of my other cases off to work on hers I have some free time." Blake took a breath. There it was again, the tight knotting of his stomach, the increase of his heart rate, even with just the mention of her name. That same unexplainable reaction he had whenever he even thought about her; which he had done almost non-stop since seeing her at the boutique. What the hell was it about that woman that put everything off balance for him?



He shifted his position, looked away, trying not to look as affected as he actually was. “I thought things had calmed down with all that,” he said casually. “They have but there’s still so much work to do. It’s taken a long time for all that crap about her father, and Nico DeSantos to die down and clean up the mess that Thad made of everything. I’m just now getting call backs for potential contracts that I need to nail down. I need a break before it gets crazy again.”



“So she’s not with that guy anymore; she’s not with anyone right?” Blair folded her arms and scrutinized him closely. “You know, I was going to thank you for staying out of the way and dropping this fixation you have on her but I guess I was wrong. I don’t know who she’s seeing, if she’s seeing anyone at all; not that it would stop you if she was. Do I have to remind you of my previous threat? I will kill you if you screw this up for me. I mean it, Blake!”



“What?! I didn’t even do anything,” he said with a laugh. “Not yet, but that doesn’t mean you won’t and your track record speaks volumes.” He feigned injury when she playfully punched him on the shoulder. “My record isn’t all bad and you know it. I haven’t always been a ‘womanizer,’ he said, making quote marks with his fingers. “I know,” she said, her voice growing somber again. “You just choose the wrong women to be faithful to and that’s what worries me.” She moved closer and reached out to put her hand on top of the one he had resting on the counter, but he pulled away as if she’d wounded him with the gesture. “Don’t worry; I won’t make that mistake again.” She drew her hand back and let out a sigh, knowing that she had touched a very sensitive nerve. “Call me when dinner’s ready,” he said as he turned his back on her and walked away.

******************************************************

The Next Day



Sienna hurried down the sidewalk, trying to escape the chilly morning air. She kept her head down, maintaining a low profile. Generally no one she knew was ever out and about this early, but she could never be too careful. It was the end of the holiday season and the clearance sales tended to draw a crowd. She hated the holidays, hated winter, hated this side of town, but most of all, she hated the fact that she had to show her face in that two bit coffee shop again. She could have kicked herself for leaving her purse there, though it was understandable. The fact that she didn’t have any money in it had rendered it useless. It wasn’t until she had gotten home later that night that she realized it was gone and a quick mental track back left only one place that it could be; stranded in all of its designer beauty in the dark hollows of that beatnik java joint with the rude hippie who had accosted her.



Of all the people she didn’t want to run into today, it was him. Hopefully the fact that he had been working the afternoon shift meant that he wouldn’t be there this morning. When she finally reached the shop she opened the door and took a tentative step inside. The place was empty except for the waitress standing behind the counter. Sienna approached her quickly hoping to get her bag and get the hell out of there. “Good morning,” the waitress said in a tiny voice. “Hi. I was in here yesterday and I think I left my purse. It’s silver with black accents. A Louis Vuitton.” “Yes, someone did turn that in. It’s in the back; I’ll go get it for you.”



Sienna managed to the return the girl’s smile as she watched her disappear behind a large wooden door that made a loud thud when it closed. She took a seat on the one of the stools and leaned against the bar. How had things come to this? Not long ago she was a free spirit, going where she wanted, when she wanted, buying whatever she wanted; not a care in the world. Now she was sitting in a rundown coffee joint for the second time in a week contemplating how she was going to make it through the rest of her life on only a few hundred dollars. Everything had been so easy before. She had taken it all for granted, and why wouldn’t she? Her family was rich, had been rich for several generations. Why, all of a sudden, did she have be the sacrificial lamb to atone for their wealth?

Just because she wasn’t a successful business owner like her brothers didn’t mean that she deserved to be cut off indefinitely. Yes, maybe she could’ve finished college, maybe she could’ve gotten a job with Thad, but she didn’t want to do any of that and since no one had come up with a better option she opted to enjoy what was her birthright. Was that really so awful? She crossed her arms in protest and let out a sigh. Thinking about all of this made her head swim but she had no choice. Whatever twisted road she had taken to get here, she was here and she had to do something about it.



The loud thud of the door closing again startled her, but not as much as the sight of the person coming through it. “Hey Sienna, I figured you’d be back for this. Maybe another cup of coffee too?” he said sarcastically. “How the hell do you know my name? Did you go through my purse?”

“I had to know who it belonged to. Trust me I wasn’t thrilled about having to see you again either, but I knew you’d be back for your little pet here,” he said carelessly dropping her purse on the bar. Sienna grabbed it up quickly, as if any contact it had had with him would’ve tainted it, and began rifling through it. “Get over yourself, all your stuff is still in there. I’m not a thief, but I did collect the five bucks you owed me for the coffee you “forgot” to pay for yesterday.”



“And you don’t call that stealing?! I don’t know what they call coffee under that rock you crawled out from under but that wasn’t it, so no, I didn’t bother paying for something I didn’t get. But feel free to keep the change, I don’t need it” she said as she headed for the door. “From those overdue credit card bills you have in there, I’d say you do. Hope that new Vice President gig works out for you.”



Sienna turned around and walked back towards him. “Since you didn’t take my advice yesterday I’ll say it again. Go to HELL!!” He laughed despite the fact that he was clearly irritated. “I’d say that I’ll see you there but I doubt you’d have the cost of admission. But we could change that if you stop being stubborn and take me up on my offer. Six dollars an hour plus tips? I’ll even throw in two 15 minute breaks free and clear.”



Sienna almost choked. Six dollars and hour? Her maids got paid more than that; when she had a maid that is. The man must have been insane if he thought she would accept that pittance or his attitude. “You really are unstable aren’t you? Why in the world do you think I would ever spend another second in this dump with the likes of you for that chump change?” she replied. “Because I need the help and you need a job and right now neither one of us has a better option. It’s as simple as that princess. Are you in or are you out?