Monday

The first time it happens Brian doesn’t think much about it. He accepts his large skinny latte with an extra shot of espresso without much fanfare from marker stained fingers. Wrapping a cashmere blue scarf around his neck and tucking the morning post underneath his arm, before swiftly leaving the coffee shop. It’s not until he’s sitting behind his desk at Kinnetik reading over irate emails from clients and shaking his head at his employee’s lazy mistakes, does Brian finally take notice of his coffee container. Written in black sharpie lettering reads, ‘BRAD’.

He pauses. Hands hovering over the keyboard as a frown transcends his face, because Brian hates the idea of having someone’s else’s coffee. He isn’t at all concerned about stealing another customer’s hot beverage. He’s more so worried about consuming unnecessary calories and fat content which he hadn’t planned on today. He seriously doubts he’ll be able to make it to the gym tonight or tomorrow with the growing workload piling up on his desk.

The strange thing about this situation is that his drink taste just like his regular order…. but he quickly displaces these thoughts when he glances loftily down at the computer screen, observing that an hour has passed without his notice. He has a 11:30 am meeting with Bailey’s Burgers and because his staff has proven to be so ridiculously incompetent, they need all the time they can get to prepare and make last minute changes. His time is fleeting. Brian can’t afford to take up precious mental space over accidentally stealing Brad’s coffee.