Chapter 1: Magic

“You’re late,” a familiar voice croaked.Mary looked up from her phone. “I know,” she sighed. “I barely got any sleep.”

Willie placed his elbows on the counter of the small coffee stand. “For a good reason, I hope,” he said teasingly. “Went on a hot date or something?”

Mary was tucking her phone away and glanced up in surprise. It took her a moment to understand what he was implying.

“No!” she blurted out, a blush creeping up her neck.

Willie laughed and straightened. “I’ll get your coffee going. The usual?”

“Yes, please,” Mary replied, narrowing her eyes at him.

“What kept you awake?” he asked, pulling out the portafilter from the espresso device.

Mary glanced left and right. There was no one in line behind her and most people hurried by, eager to get to the subway.

“I worked late,” she said. “Plus, I need to have a word with one of my team members and I kept thinking about how to handle that.”

Willie wrinkled his nose, sliding the filter with fresh grounds back into the espresso machine. “What did he do?”

Mary readjusted her wool hat so that it covered her ears fully. It was freezing cold. “He forgot to order raspberry syrup,” she said with a shy smile, fully aware it sounded silly. “For the third time.”

“I’d hire him,” Willie snorted. “That stuff doesn’t belong in anything.”

Mary blew out a breath, watching the tiny clouds float up. “Yes, yes, you’re a purist.”

Willie grabbed a cardboard cup from the shelf above his coffee maker. “How are things at the store?”

“Good, actually,” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet to stay warm. “Busy! Especially for this time of the year.”

“So people actually order that raspberry stuff?” he quipped, handing her a small cup of espresso.

Mary accepted her drink and handed him three one dollar bills. “Yeah, the specials are really popular.”

“Huh,” Willie uttered, “People buy the weirdest things.”

“Told you, you should consider expanding your menu,” Mary replied jokingly.

He laughed. “People around here don’t like that stuff.” He pointed at Mary’s cup. “That’s as fancy as it gets.”

Mary smiled and sniffed her espresso. “Best coffee in town,” she admitted. “Don’t tell my boss I said that!”

“I thought you are the boss?” he chuckled, leaning on the counter again. His green scarf dangled from his neck.

“Not the big boss,” Mary explained after a sip of the piping hot coffee. “That would be Hannah ….”

She stopped when a man stepped next to her, asking for an espresso rather rudely.

Willie’s eyebrows shot up. “But of course,” he responded in a fake English accent. “Will get to your order straight away, sir.”

He glanced at Mary and winked. Mary rolled her eyes to let Willie know she agreed with him. This guy was an ass. Willie waved goodbye and went to work.

Mary glanced at her watch and cursed inwardly. If she wanted to get to the store in time, she would have to take the subway.

She had been looking forward to a brisk morning walk. After a long night of crushing numbers at home, Mary needed the fresh air to kickstart her brain.

“Fuck it,” she thought. “I’ll still be there before anyone else.”

She stepped up the pace, struggling to sip her espresso while walking so fast. She avoided bumping into other people, who were in an even bigger hurry, on autopilot.

Mary loved the morning hustle. She cherished her early adventures in the urban jungle of pedestrians, cyclists and honking taxies. It didn’t matter she hadn’t grown up here, this was definitely her home.

She could already see the Central Park entrance at the corner. Some runners, in bright outfits, were stretching by the gate, but fewer than usual.

She crossed the street and threw the empty espresso cup in a trash can. Mary had once seen her boss’s girlfriend walking out of the park here.

The memory kept popping up in her mind whenever she saw the gate. She blushed every time, feeling a bit guilty. She hated gossip and her boss’s love life provided plenty.

Everyone at Leroy Chocolates knew their CEO was dating an opera diva. It was hard to miss the pictures in the tabloids after all.

Mary didn’t like that some Leroy employees giggled and gossiped about it. She certainly did not put up with it at her own store.

That’s why she hadn’t told a soul about seeing Mildred North here early one morning. She didn’t want to add fuel to the office gossip fire. But the moment was hard to forget.

The dark-haired singer had walked past Mary, clearly catching her breath after a run. Her cheeks had been flushed, her forehead glistening with sweat.

The only reason Mary had recognized the diva was that, even in freakin fitness tights, she had an unmistakable air of grace around her. Mary had been a bit starstruck, to be honest.

She pushed the thought away. A grey squirrel ran in front of her over the dirt path. She hoped the little guy had a nice pile of nuts somewhere.

Thinking about piles of acorns reminded her, oddly, of the raspberry syrup problem at work. Mary really needed to address the stocking issue today.

Yesterday, the store had run out of crucial ingredients for the specials at the café again. Steven was in charge of ordering supplies and he had been failing miserably at anticipating what was needed.

She would call him into her office first thing, Mary decided. She hated having these conversations, but that didn’t mean she avoided them. Better to get it over with.

Mary hurried past the large pond. The place with the silly electronic boats for rent was still closed. The water had been frozen for weeks now.

Her own nose seemed to be heading in that direction as well. Her mind was clear, though. She was ready for another day at the chocolate store.

Once out of the park, Mary waved at the woman who unlocked the gate in front of the fancy purse store. She got a wave back, but not a very enthusiastic one.

“Someone’s grumpy today,” Mary murmured.

She started feeling around in her pocket for her store key when she remembered she no longer had it. HQ had installed a new system. She had to enter a code now.

“Alright,” Mary thought, excited to arrive at what she saw as her store. She knew it wasn’t really hers, of course. But, to Mary, the Leroy Chocolates store in New York City was her turf and her turf alone.