2 Ethan Smith

Madeline suddenly bursted into laughter, and Avery, knowing how Madeline's laughter could get so uncontrollable, quickly covered Madeline's mouth with her hand.

"What's so funny? Do you want to get us both in trouble with Mr. Ben?" Avery warned, while her eyes were on the door which was behind them. The door was the only thing standing between them, and Mr. Ben's office.

Madeline quickly suppressed her laughter, and said, "I'm so sorry, I just thought of something crazily funny. I imagined Ethan trying to woo your brother."

Avery could only open her mouth in surprise at how wild Madeline's imagination could get. "You are really crazy, Madeline." She shook her head, and that was when her eyes caught sight of a man that was making his way to the counter.

Her attention was immediately caught by the impeccably stylish suit he was wearing. He had a slim, and tall figure, and could easily pass as a professional model. Even the way he was walking towards the counter was nothing short of graceful.

His nose mask which was hiding half of his face was also stylish as well, adding a air of mystery around him, which piqued Avery's curiosity about who he could be.

Avery's heart skipped a beat when she noticed the man's eyes were fixed on her as he walked towards the counter. His obsidian eyes which were similar to volcanic glasses looked like they were pulling her in, making her subconsciously swallow.

Avery tried her best to maintain her professional demeanor, but her thoughts were consumed by curiosity. She wondered what his voice would sound like, what his interests might be, and if they could possibly have a connection. 'What the hell are you thinking, Avery!!!' She scolded herself mentally as she shook her head to get rid of her thoughts.

At long last the man finally got to the front of the counter, and Avery gave him one of her warmest smile as she said, "Good morning! What can I…" She got interrupted midway by the sound of the man's phone ringing.

The man didn't even bother to acknowledge her, or excuse himself before reaching into his pocket for his phone, and Avery couldn't help but feel a little turned off.

"Hey, what's up?" The man said to the person over the phone. He spoke in a low velvety voice that sounded oddly familiar.

Avery started to think back to where she might have heard that voice before, but she was brought back to the present when she heard the man snap at the person he was talking to on the phone.

"What?! How did this happen? Didn't you say you, and your team already tested everything thoroughly?!"

Avery was taken aback at the ungentlemanly way he had spoke, but she decided not to judge as she didn't know what might have led him to be so furious at the person on the other end.

"Time? Time isn't something we have in our hands right now. We can't afford to lose players over this! Get the tech team on it immediately and prioritize fixing the servers!" The man continued going back, and forth with whoever it was he was speaking to on the phone.

The call went on for a while, and the line of customers standing behind him began to grow longer, so Avery had to intervene before the customers would start to complain, thereby attracting the attention of Mr. Ben, who would then find a way to blame it all on her.

"Hello? Excuse me, could you please step out of the line to finish up with your call, you are holding up the line." Avery managed to keep her tone as gentle as possible, but the man ignored her as he kept on constituting a nuisance with his phone call.

The customers behind him were already starting to complain, and worst of all, Mr. Ben had also come out of his office.

All the thoughts about finding the man alluring, and breathtaking quickly vanished from Avery's head, and it was replaced by a barely suppressed rage.

Madeline who had been silent all these while finally said, "Hey, Mister! if you don't want to order anything, then you can take your call elsewhere, you are holding up the line!"

The man put a little distance between his ear, and his phone before turning to look at Madeline. His face was still hidden behind his mask, but she could tell that he was glaring daggers at her. "Weren't you taught that it is disrespectful to interrupt?" He spoke with disdain in his voice.

Avery was shocked at how uncouth he was, and in defense of her friend, she spat back at him, "Weren't you also taught that it's disrespectful to keep people waiting? You are holding up a line of people, not animals! Do you think you are so special?"

The man seemed to be taken aback by the way she spoke to him, but he later recovered, and said in a mocking tone, "At least I don't work as a barista in a café. What have you done with your life?"

That was the breaking point for Avery. Her blood boiled as anger coursed through her veins, and before she could realize it, she had already picked up a cup of hot coffee, and thrown it at him.

Avery froze in shock as she saw the hot coffee dancing in the air, before landing on the man, drenching his designer suit, and nose mask.

The café became eerily silent as the incident played out. The man just remained fixed to the ground, and didn't even flinch, but simply reached up and removed his drenched nose mask, revealing his face underneath.

Avery's jaw dropped as she took in his features. His strong jawline, piercing eyes which were framed by his dark and long lashes, and his full lips had a natural pink hue, adding to his overall attractiveness.

As she stared at him, a mix of thoughts raced through her mind. She couldn't deny the undeniable handsomeness that stood before her, but she was also disappointed that such a good looking creature had such a disgusting attitude.

Madeline suddenly gasped aloud, while pointing a finger at the man. "A-Avery… H-He is the Ethan we were just talking about. Ethan Smith!" She stammered as she spoke in disbelief.

Madeline's words came as a huge shocker to Avery, it was like a bomb had exploded in her head.

Even the customers that were familiar with him, were shocked to find out that he was the one all these while. The murmurs of the customers began to grow louder, and some of them even pulled out their phones to take pictures, and videos of the scene. Nothing makes one famous faster than posting a story that the whole city would be interested in, right?

Avery on the other hand didn't even have the time to think about all that was going on as she felt herself suddenly being pulled away, and when she looked to see who it was, it turned out to be Mr. Ben, and he wasn't looking too happy.

'Oh lord, help me with this one.' Avery said a prayer in her head as she was pulled into the office.