Breaking The Boss: A Lesbian/Sapphic Romance

Breaking The Boss A Lesbian/Sapphic Romance Grace Parkes Contents 1. Charlotte 2. Anya 3. Charlotte 4. Anya 5. Charlotte 6. Anya 7. Charlotte 8. Anya 9. Charlotte 10. Anya 11. Charlotte Epilogue Thank you for reading! 1 Charlotte “Ow!” Charlotte exclaimed, pulling her hand back in surprise. In her attempt to take mental stock of their syrup flavors, her hand had drifted down to the burning pitcher of milk she was steaming. That was the thing with her, though; she was always trying to do too many things at once. She cut the steam and looked down at the milk, checking the frothy cup of betrayal. Despite all her orders being to-go, she always did a sweet little design with the foam, a holdover habit from their days with the storefront. While Charlotte appreciated the coffee truck’s ability to keep the bills paid, she did still miss the open floorplan and her big cappuccino mugs. Then again, she told herself, she was probably just feeling more nostalgic than usual because the pickup window on the truck was jammed again, leaving them sharing the order window. Neither her, not Margaret, her business partner, were especially handy, so their small truck had numerous small repairs that needed tending to at any given time. She sighed to herself, thankful at least to have someone to share the burden. The two of them traded off working the bar or working the register. Unlike some business owners, their coffee shop was a true passion of theirs, so they weren’t afraid of the work. Even at the height of their success, they had never had more than two employees on the books, so they realized the need for flexibility quickly. Charlotte was the shorter of the two, and she struggled to attain the conservative look that older coffee patrons seemed to love so much. Her body had always been on the curvy side, so low cut tops were a hard no-go, but anything tight enough to keep her from looking frumpy seemed just as scandalous. She had opted for a cutesy take on business casual, keeping with billowy blouses and knee length skirts. She always kept her blonde waves in a neat bun, keeping with food regulations standards, of course. Margaret was the taller and leaner of the two. With her sharp eyeliner and deeply dyed red hair, she kept more of a college academic look. Despite the both of them being almost 30, many people asked what jobs they would get when they were done with school. Charlotte often wondered if that was more of a commentary on how young they looked or on how long people were taking to graduate these days, but she usually opted for the compliment. “Skinny vanilla for Joy!” she called out as she hit the window. Knowing she would only have a quick second to hand over the cup without disrupting the transaction in progress. The businesspeople at the truck’s current permitted stop were very generous with their money but not their patience. Even the smallest slight could cost them sales with this precaffeinated crowd. From their promises to never come back, to the occasional paper cup being whipped at the side of the truck, the client-facing side of the morning rush was more than a little exhausting. Charlotte made her way back to the espresso bar and tapped the mounted screen for the next order. She smiled to herself seeing the familiar name and grabbed the piping hot cup that she had made with the last order. At the slow two o’clock hour, she could experiment with the newest social media trending drinks, but in this seven-to-ten o’clock rush, her regulars had her absolute attention. She tapped the fulfilled button, letting it queue up the next order while she passed the drink off through the window. They didn’t need to see each other for the regular to call up a groggy, “Thanks!” and move on with their day. It was this well-oiled machine that had kept their doors open so long, even when the world got scary and closed up. They tried to stay afloat as their regulars flooded them with orders and online campaigns, but when everyone was forced to close their stores, the two of them had to make the difficult decision to walk away. While not enough for rent, they were able to make lemonade out of lemons and use the fundraised money to buy this food truck. The lockdown time was just long enough to convert an old taco truck into a social-media-worthy mobile coffee bar. Keeping the name “Brew-tiful Morning” and their signature bright pink coloring, they were soon chugging away at their business. It wasn’t quite the dream they had imagined, but they still found joy in what it was now. With this, and a once-a-month city pop up, they were slowly but surely making their way back. “Incoming,” Margaret shouted back at her. She hadn’t been watching the time, but the last forty-five minutes of their morning rush was always the worst, because all of the executives came in around the same time. There were only two or three friendly faces, and the rest were curt at the best of times and overly demanding at the worst. Typically, they had at least one person try to skip the line because “they have a meeting in a few.” She loved her job, but people without their morning coffee were a whole different breed. Shifting into second gear, Charlotte began churning out drink after drink, trying to stay as coordinated as possible with Margaret. She forewent any cutesy designs and focused on speed. Luckily, most of the executives weren’t looking for lattes, but for their flavored americanos. Their truck may have been social media cute, but the two of them took pride in their espresso, with their perfectly roasted, grinded, and tamped pucks that left everyone content with the smooth finish. Charlotte could feel herself hitting her stride, in the dance that was