Free Love Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy by K E Osborn

We each take a tray and proceed to the boardroom; I try not to spill it. Brielle walks into the boardroom backward, opening the door with her ass; she's done that before, I can tell. I follow, trying to do the same thing, spilling one of the coffees; luckily, it's Aiden's. I awkwardly enter the room and place the tray on the table next to Bree's. We start to hand them out, one by one. I place the first one in front of a larger man; he's probably in his fifties and definitely looks grumpy, a bit like Alistair. I place the next one in front of the lady, who is frantically taking notes. Alistair is talking in what sounds like a foreign language because I can't understand any of it. The next coffee is placed in front of a young and scrawny, but good-looking, guy, who looks totally out of place. Maybe he's an apprentice or something. He smiles at me, and I smile back at him.
    The first man takes a sip of his coffee and nearly spits it out.
    "There's no sugar in this."
    "There's sugar in this one. I think ours might have gotten mixed up, hun," the young apprentice says.
    Immediately when he speaks, I realize that I've mixed up Mr. Anderson's coffee, the client leading this meeting. Oh no . I look at Brielle, not knowing what to do.
    "Sorry, Mr. Anderson, we'll make you a fresh cup immediately."
    "No need, Brielle. James is my son. I don't mind swapping coffee with him."
    I can't help but feel a sense of relief when he says it; maybe he isn't as grumpy as he looks. I hand Aiden his coffee and mouth, sorry, while handing it to him. He mouths, its okay, and rubs his fingers against mine when he takes the coffee cup from my hand. I take in a deep breath and walk out of the room, followed by Brielle.
    We walk back to our desks. I collapse into my chair and look over at her, horrified. "Oh my god, Bree, I'm so sorry."
    "It's your first meeting. I did the same thing when I started. Don't worry about it. Mr. Anderson didn't seem to mind, so no harm done. It's fine, don't stress." She tries to reassure me unsuccessfully.
    I look into the boardroom and see Aiden sipping his coffee, looking at me. He smiles, and I frown in return. He shakes his head and smiles again, and this time, I smile back. He winks and turns his attention back to the smart board. Even though he can't actually talk to me to make me feel better, a smile and a wink says it all.
    The meeting finishes, and the Anderson clan all walk out of the boardroom, laughing, joking, and looking like the deal may have been struck.
    "Thanks, Alistair and Aiden, we'll be in touch." Mr. Anderson shakes Alistair's and then Aiden's hand.
    Mr. Anderson's son strides over to me, gives me a wink, and offers his hand while thanking me for the coffee. I shake his hand, smile, and turn back to my desk while he rejoins the group. The Andersons leave the office using the elevator, and Alistair turns to look at me and huffs. He storms back to his office; I look down at my keyboard, trying not to look at him. I know he's angry with me. Aiden walks over, and I look up at him with a frown. He gestures a kiss towards me. I exhale and fake a smile back at him.
    " Aiden! " Alistair yells.
    He rolls his eyes, making me giggle as he walks off toward his father's office.

 
    Chapter 5
    Alistair slams the door, making us jump. Instantly, we hear Alistair yelling at him. I wince at the sound, knowing I'm the cause, again.
    " For fuck's sake, Aiden, how hard is it to hand out coffee? That's twice she's fucked up today ! You say you're in love with her? Well, your standards must be pretty fucking low, son, if you've fallen for that . If she doesn't clean up her act, she's gone; do you understand me? I swear to God, if you don't sort her out, then I will. The Andersons have the potential to be one of our biggest clients, and she chose to screw up Robert Anderson's coffee. She may very well have fucked this up for us today. It's on you. If we lose the Andersons, it's your fault. Do you understand me, boy?"
    I sit