A/N: I've had this idea of an AU story for a while - hope you enjoy it) R&R please)
x. A.
Chapter 1: The coffee intro.
"Good Morning, Sir, what would you like to drink?" Anne smiled wholeheartedly. Being undercover didn't mean doing her fake job wrong. Especially since it was a beautiful morning indeed.
"The usual" A male voice grumbled, said male not bothering to look up at her.
Anne sighed. "It's my first day here, Sir. Could you please specify?" She flashed him her best smile.
The "Sir's" in question eyes shot up at the sound of her voice and he stared at her for a second, his glare extremely disapproving, her smile fading slowly. "Erm… I'll have to call my assistant." He said, looking at her like it was her fault he didn't know his own order. A second later he was already speaking into the phone. "Hello, Mary, I need to know my usual Starbucks order." He frowned a the reply. "Find it then!"
Anne shared a small understanding smile with the young woman in line just behind him - it was quite obvious he was holding the whole queue up but nothing was to be done - the Starbucks code of honour explicitly forbade being cross with the customers.
"A tall, triple-shot whole-milk, dry cappuccino." He said after several gruelling seconds, hanging up on the poor Mary without as much as thanking her. His undivided attention belonged to his Blackberry once again as he began typing something quickly. "Make it extra hot." He added and Anne realised it was meant for her.
She scribbled his order down on the cup, annoyed but his lack of regard and the very tone of his voice. It was like he was… entitled. Funny, how people look at you when you're a plain barista. No man would use this tone with her when she played the duchess in York last year.
"And your name?" She enquired, her tone several degrees colder as she eyed the man. He was engrossed in his phone and for some reason she thought he could have treated her the same had she been in a duchess attire. He surely looked like someone too full of himself to care about others' opinion of him. Just the type Anne abhorred.
Finally he looked up from his blackberry, realising he was being watched. "I'm sorry?" he asked and it was obvious he was not sorry one bit, just bewildered by the fact she'd dare ask him questions.
Anne smiled once again, but this time her expression was fake and she didn't try to hide it. "Your name, Sir?"
"Olivier." She hurried to scribble it down on the cup and hurried off to make the coffee.
"Asshole" she thought.
"I apologise for holding you all up this morning." She heard his voice once again as he adressed the queue. "Make sure all their orders are on me."
"Yes, Mister Athos." The cashier smiled at him and Anne poured the scorching hot milk into his coffee, annoyed all over again.
A couple of gruelling minutes later she checked her work: she was sure there wasn't quite enough foam and it didn't seem as hot anymore, but it should do.
"It's easy to be generous when you have enough money to throw about." She muttered at Mister Athos, who was waiting patiently by the counter, still typing restlessly on his phone. His eyes met hers, and she could swear it was amusement she saw in there. "Your coffee, sir." Anne smiled brightly, pretending she hadn't said anything just now.
"Thank you, milady." He answered, pretending she hadn't said anything just now either.