The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 507

"Mr. Horton?"

The hesitant voice pulled James from his thoughts.

Turning, he found the store manager standing nearby.

She glanced toward the entrance where Damien had disappeared moments earlier.

"Has Mr. Blackwood left?"

James closed his eyes briefly.

"Yes."

Before she could say anything else, he handed her the leather folio Damien had practically thrown at him. "Please add this to the order and have everything packed as quickly as possible."

The manager accepted it immediately.

"Of course, Mr. Horton."

"There's a bit of a time constraint."

Understanding immediately dawned on her.

"I'll personally oversee it."

"Thank you."

With that, the manager hurried toward the counter where several associates were already organizing the steadily growing mountain of purchases.

James watched her go before pulling out his phone and dialing the number listed on Bean & Barrel's website.

The call connected after only two rings.

"Thank you for calling Bean & Barrel. How may I help you?"

"Good evening," James said smoothly. "My name is James Horton. I was hoping to speak with the manager on duty regarding a small favor."

Several minutes later, after a brief explanation and a considerable amount of polite persuasion, James ended the call.

The café would remain open a little longer.

Just in case.

A sense of relief settled over him. One potential disaster had been successfully avoided.

Now he only needed to survive whatever happened next.

Less than ten minutes later, James emerged from the store.

Behind him, the manager and several associates followed, each carrying multiple shopping bags.

The original order alone had required considerable packaging.

By this point, what the final order had become bore very little resemblance to the original pickup.

Bag after bag was carefully transported toward the waiting vehicle.

The driver popped the trunk open and immediately stepped out to help with the loading.

For the next several minutes, the associates worked alongside him, carefully loading the purchases into the vehicle.

By the time they finished, the trunk was nearly full.

Inside the vehicle, Damien observed the loading process through the tinted window.

Once the final bag had been secured, he lowered the rear passenger window.

"Everything accounted for?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir."

James nodded.

"I personally verified the order before payment was finalized. Every item has been accounted for."

Satisfied, Damien gave a slight nod.

Only then did his attention shift toward the manager.

"Thank you. I am pleased with your store's service."

The manager blinked, looking genuinely surprised for a brief moment before her professional smile quickly returned.

"It was our pleasure, Mr. Blackwood." She inclined her head respectfully. "Thank you for your business. We hope to welcome you again soon."

Damien acknowledged the sentiment with a slight nod before shifting his gaze toward James.

"Let's go."

"Of course, Sir."

James offered the manager a final nod of thanks before turning toward the front passenger door. As he did, Damien pressed the window switch and the glass began sliding upward.

Once everyone was settled inside the vehicle, Damien looked toward James. "Did you inform the café?"

"Yes, Sir," James replied. "They've agreed to remain open a little longer and will wait for your arrival."

"Good."

Damien shifted his attention to the driver.

"Bean & Barrel."

The driver nodded immediately.

"Yes, Sir."

With that, the vehicle pulled away from the curb and merged smoothly into the evening traffic.

The manager remained standing outside, her gaze following the receding taillights of the vehicle.

Several associates gathered nearby.

For a few seconds, nobody spoke.

As though someone had taken part of their home and turned it into a café.

Near the counter, a teenage boy waited patiently to place his order.

Aside from him and a few customers lingering over their drinks, the café was nearly empty.

James glanced toward the line.

"Why don't you have a seat first, Sir? I'll place the order and bring everything over. What did Ms. Maya want again?"

"No. I'll do it."

James blinked.

For a moment, he wondered if he had misheard.

Damien Blackwood waiting in line and placing his own order was not something James had ever expected to witness.

"Sir?" Damien turned his head slightly and fixed him with a look.

"I said I'll do it."

A brief pause followed.

"Perhaps you should have your ears checked."

James immediately straightened.

"My apologies, Sir."

Damien had already taken several steps toward the counter when he suddenly stopped and looked back.

Recognizing the look, James immediately stepped closer.

"What is it, Sir?" he asked in a lowered voice.

"Take a video."

James blinked.

"Excuse me, Sir?"

"Maya wants evidence that I'm doing it myself."

Understanding immediately dawned on James.

That explained it.

"Of course, Sir."

If anyone had told James this morning that his day would end with filming his boss standing in line to satisfy Maya's request for evidence, he would have assumed they had finally lost their minds. Pulling out his phone, James opened the camera application and began recording.

Completely unaware of who had just joined the line behind him, the teenager remained focused on studying the menu board overhead while Damien Blackwood-the multi-billionaire whose signature could move markets and whose companies employed tens of thousands of people-waited patiently for his turn.

Somehow, the sight seemed completely out of place.