The Billionaire's Hired Girlfriend

Chapter 5

The aroma of coffee greeted Alex the moment she stepped through the door of SAN Restaurant. It was toasty warm inside compared to the sharp, cold air outside. She headed to the counter and ordered herself the hot chocolate she had been craving since Friday. Then she took a seat facing the door to make sure Peter would be able to spot her.

Alex glanced about her surroundings, noting the busy staff, the happy customers, and cozy decor of the restaurant.

SAN made the best hot chocolate in town, not to mention Cambodian food. She and her friends had always met here for their hot-choc sessions.

She took off her blue coat nervously. In fact, her insides were shuddering with anxiety as she waited for Peter and his friend, whoever he was, to show up.

Peter had called her late last night. After he sang her a happy birthday song loudly, he told her she shouldn't be nervous meeting his friend, supposedly a nice person. She trusted Peter. He would never introduce her to anyone who had a questionable character, except for thatone time with Andrew.

Peter said his name was Jayden, and Jay could help her with her problem. Peter hinted it was about her dad. Again, that anticipation rose in her chest.

A pretty waitress arrived and placed the tall cup of hot chocolate on her table.

"Thanks." Alex nodded her head at the waitress in appreciation.

"No worries. Enjoy," the young woman said sweetly and then went away.

Alone, Alex grinned and inhaled the steamy liquid, her nose almost touching the thick, brown, chocolaty foam. She picked up one pink marshmallow and dropped it into the hot liquid and then picked the white one and popped that into her mouth. She smiled as the light, sugary goodness melted on her tongue. She lifted the cup and took a sip, the warmth and sweetness of the liquid soothing the coldness in her body.

Who could Jayden be? And how can he help me and Dad?

She glanced outside through the cafe's window and saw it was raining again. She watched as people wearing thick jackets with scarves wrapped around their necks rush back and forth in a hurry, even though it was a Sunday. She supposed they wanted to get away from the cold wind and rain.

She glanced at the entrance again. A part of her wanted to see Peter coming through that door, but the other part didn't. She picked up her cell phone to check the time. It said 2:30 p.m. exactly. The tightness in her stomach intensified. Then she felt a breeze of cold air. She glanced up and saw Peter. Her heart skipped a beat. She straightened herself and stood up just a bit to get his attention. That was when she saw him.

Her heart did a triple skip.

It's him. It's Mr. Hot-Choc! So he's Jayden?

Gosh, he looked so—non-Kiwi. Not that she was a full Kiwi herself. She was half-Cambodian. Her mom was a refugee Cambodian who migrated to New Zealand years ago just after the Pol Pot regime. Then her mom married her dad, a real Kiwi bloke to boot, who was one of the many refugees' supporters along with Peter's mom and dad.

Peter saw her after a quick scan around the cafe.

"Hey, Alex," he said as he and Jayden advanced toward her. "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you." She couldn't help noticing her voice was shaking just a bit from nervousness.

"Alex, this is Jayden McCartney," Peter said, nodding his head toward the handsome man.

"Hi." Alex stood slightly, giving him a fleeting smile, avoiding his eyes.

"Hey," Jay said, offering his hand.