Day 7

"We need to do something about Alan." Grell muttered after paying for her morning coffee, "He can't go on like this."

Ronald frowned in confusion, "Is something wrong with him?"

"Of course something is wrong!" Grell leaned forward with both hands up to shield her mouth, " The whole point of hiring you is so that he can get more time to mingle! And now you are doing a fine job, he should get out more often but he isn't." She groaned as her mocha was handed to her, "We need to think of something."

"Maybe he wants to stay single…" Ronald suggested, "I mean, no prejudice against the bachelor." he almost bit his tongue in the end, maybe because of how relatable that statement is.

Grell rolled her eyes, "He should at least try something before he decides it's not right for him. We used to go out more often before he got caught up with this coffee shop. Maybe he needs time to get his mind off this place a bit…" her eyes suddenly lit up, "I have an idea." she pulled Ronald's collar and whispered into his ear.

Ronald's eyes widened as a feigned grin emerged on his face, "Are you sure this is appropriate?"

"If he doesn't like it, we'll just stop and nothing will change."

Ronald nodded skeptically, "You sure this won't get me fired?"

"Of course not, he needs you here."

"No, this would make things awkward between us."

"I'll take full responsibility if he got mad."

Ronald still seemed unconvinced, "I don't know, there must be another way to-"

"No, there isn't!" Grell exclaimed, "If he won't go out into the world, we will bring the world to him!"

Not wanting to argue with Grell, Ronald finally surrendered, "Fine, but promise to cover for me, alright?"

"I'm a lady of my words."

And so they did it. (archadianskies tumblr com/post/122156253487/brolininthetardis-this-is-a-coffeeshop-au)

"What in the world…" Alan murmured to himself as the third man sneaked his number under the note handed to him, mouthing "call me" with a smug grin.

Grell sat at her usual table, unable to hide her amusement as Alan struggled to maintain a calm smile.

Ronald married himself to the coffee machine for the day, not moving an inch away to risk facing Alan upfront.

At some point this will blow up and he was certain there will be collateral damage, and by collateral damage he meant just him.

Another man entered the shop and approached the counter, "I'd like a cappuccino please and-"

"Please," Alan sighed, "don't tell me you are going to give me your number too."

The man's hand stopped half-way into his pocket as he stared at the grumpy barista, "Wait, I thought…" he slightly gestured towards the door.

Alan's eyes widened, with a loud "bang" he walked out the door and almost immediately came back in with another violent "bang". Instead of the counter, he walked straight up to Grell, who was giggling behind her sketchbook, "What do you think you are doing?!" he tried his best to sound angry but his reddened face made him nowhere near intimidating.

"Well it's not like you've got anything to lose, m'dear."

"I just spent an entire morning giving people weird looks, having no idea this is taking place! They must think I'm playing hard-to-get or flirting with them and-" he covered his face with his hands, "I hate you, Grell."

"Oh don't…" Grell chuckled before draping her arms around the poor barista, "Ronnie conspired with me."

"Holy…" Ronald cursed under his breath - so much about taking all responsibility - before realizing that the baffled customer was still waiting for his drink. "Sorry sir, what was your order again?"

The man turned to the boy, also just remembering what he was here for, "Um, cappuccino please." he tapped on the counter, "So…this is a prank?"

"A well-intended one, however unseemly it appears." Ronald explained as he prepared the drink, "Sorry, man, I guess it's bad timing."

The taller man shrugged as he watched Alan return to his post with his head down. "Hey, don't worry about it."

Alan groaned again without saying a word.

The man seemed genuinely concerned about his state of mind, so he continued, "No hard feelings, I swear. It's my first time coming to this place anyway, I wasn't expecting anything other than…"

"It's fine." Alan muttered as he brushed his bangs aside and looked at the man, "I apologize for my attitude. I hope it didn't offend you."

"No, not at all." the man scratched his chin, laughing, "I guess I can always go to the club by myself tonight."

Their eyes met for a split second and both instantly fell into an awkward silence.

Ronald just stood by, not knowing when would be the appropriate time to give the man his coffee.

The man quickly noticed the boy's dilemma, so he extended his arm and took the cup, "Thank you, lad" he then saluted to Alan with the cup, "And thank you as well. Have a nice day."

Alan bit his lower lip, not knowing what to say until the man's hand was on the door knob, "Wait a second!"

The man swiftly turned around, as if he was pre-programmed to respond to that very call.

"You forgot something." Alan said, trying not to break down in embarrassment again.

The man reach for his wallet, "I thought you already gave me the changes."

"No, it's not that…" Alan explained as the man quietly walked back to him, "You…" his voice was so low it was almost inaudible even to himself, "you forgot to give me your number."

Ronald was deafened by Grell's internal screams vividly displayed on her face.

The man blinked for a second before pulling the prepared note from his pocket, "It's, um, Eric." he let out a small laughter.

Alan pinned a finger on the note, furiously blushing as he whispered, "Thanks."

"Call me maybe." Eric winked at the brunette and left.

Ronald heard him whistle gleefully as he walked down the street.

Grell finally exploded into a joyful mess, "I TOLD YOU!" she ran up to Alan, shaking in excitement, "I was sitting at the back and didn't get a good look at him but he seems hot, is he hot? You have to tell me ALL about it!"

Alan clutched the note in his hand, as if fearing that Grell would get so excited that she might accidentally eat it, "Calm down. I haven't even called him yet…"

Just then, a stern figure entered the coffee shop.

"William!" Grell threw her arms around the man, "Don't you just LOVE to see romance in the air?"

William just stood there, not shrugging Grell off, and frowned, "I…didn't see anything?"

"What a spoilsport." Grell grinned as she backed away to pull at William's askewed tie, "Do you have plans tonight, Darling?"

Still frowning, the bespectacled man answered, "I don't think so."

"Wanna go grab a drink?"

Skillfully holding her wrist up to keep her hand from going further down his neck, William turned to Ronald and said, "You know my regular order."

"Yessir…" Ronald obediently started preparing an espresso as Alan silently sneaked back to his office. Luckily, Grell's attention has been diverted so no one bothered to point out his absence.

"How about we hit the clubs tonight, Will?"

"If only you would refrain yourself from messing with my clothes in public." but he immediately regretted saying that.

Ronald could see remorse pouring down the man's face.

"Oh?" Grell raised an eyebrow, "Does that mean you wouldn't mind it so much if this happened in pri-"

"I get off work at six." William abruptly cut off her sentence, obviously flustered for some reason, "You can find me in my office."

"Great!" Grell pecked her companion on the cheek and dashed out the door, "Got a meeting in 5 minutes. Laters, boys!"

William watched the redhead disappear before letting out a long sigh, "Honestly…"

Ronald bit his lower lip to keep himself from laughing, but the moment he opened his mouth to say "Sir, your espresso is ready" he couldn't hold it anymore and burst out into laughter, almost knocking the freshly made coffee over.

Ever since that day, William has been looking at the youngster in a way that made him break into cold sweat every single time.

T.B.C.