A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Time spent at The Iron Clipper was dismal. (F/n) recalled when she had been in the bar with just Anita. Those times seemed far away. Now, she sat with an unwanted arm around her waist and conversation that sounded too fake to her ears. At least when she looked over to the bar a couple of times, she saw Scott, and he gave her a small, reassuring smile. The others didn't notice thankfully, and knowing that she had someone she could rely on in the bar relieved her a little, but she still couldn't wait to run back to the café and tell Lee what she had recorded at the hotel.

Part of her didn't even want to eat any of the ordered food on the table. She enjoyed Lee's cooking or even him just heating up leftovers from Scarlett's cooking. (F/n) would much rather be on a picnic date in the backyard with Lee than at the bar with three current people. But, she ate some of the fries and one of the sliders.

Personally, she could care less about what they were talking about at the table, but she eventually had to listen when she was pulled into the discussion. It was as if Anita knew she was rubbing salt in the wound since Anita wanted to talk about new ideas for boosting the café's popularity even more. Goodness, it was tempting to pour Anita's drink on her head.

Somehow, she managed to seem excited about some of the ideas while others she did give her genuine input on even if it didn't matter. Soon, Café Rose Tea wouldn't be a part of her life anymore. That dream was gone, but she had a replacement, which kept her going. Not to mention that she had a friend to support her truly, and he was even more than that now. A small smile touched her lips.

"I knew that you'd like the idea!" Anita responded, grinning, before she took a sip of her whiskey and ginger ale. Snapping out of her thoughts, (f/n) hummed along and remembered that Anita had been suggesting getting Tristan's ideas on how to dress up the shop for special events to draw in more customers and create stunning pictures online for the café. Well too bad for him, he wasn't ever going to get the chance to do that. "See Tristan," Anita giggled, "I knew that you should've suggested it to her."

"She might be agreeing because you're the one who told her about it," he responded, a small and joking smile on his lips. His light blue optics looked over to (f/n), and she gave him a roll of the eyes and a brief smile.

"That seals it!" Anita giggled. "She does want your help." She winked over to Kaleb. "Now, we just need to convince her of letting you help around the café."

"Good luck with that one, Anita," Kaleb answered, laughing lightly. Anita grinned in response and gave the expression that she'd accept the challenge. The conversation continued to focus on decorating the café, and (f/n) occasionally would throw a point in. Much to her relief, they had finished the food and their beverages.

Annoyingly, Anita was trying to persuade everyone to get another drink, but (f/n) stepped in that time. "I should get going. I haven't worked today, and I should at least check the company's social media to see how things are going, not to mention the usual financial checks."

"Oh come on, (f/n)!" Anita pleaded and pouted. "You can wait a day on that."

"Not really. It's important too." (F/n) wasn't going to budge even if it wasn't evening yet.

"Do you need my help?" Tristan offered, a polite smile on his lips.

"No, but thank you." She gave him a smile and got up. "I'll be heading back to the café." (F/n) glanced to Kaleb, who gave her an understanding nod and smile, and when she looked to Anita, she chuckled a bit at the frown on Anita's lips. "You can stay if you want."

"Well, I guess that I can head to the hotel earlier today." Anita averted her eyes to Kaleb. "Sound good?"

"It does." He placed his arm over her shoulder, and (f/n) only felt disgusted by him. What a cheating pig. "Are you okay if we go on ahead, Tristan?"

"Yeah, I was planning on walking (f/n) back anyway." Oh fantastic. (F/n) nearly rolled her eyes.

"Great. See you later, then." Kaleb got up before he grabbed Anita's right hand in his left. Both of them waved, and they were soon out of the bar. Tristan stood up and held out a hand to (f/n). She let him help her up and followed him out. They crossed the street and headed towards the café. Hopefully, he wouldn't linger.

"You sure that you don't want to come back to the hotel?" Briefly, she glanced up to him as they continued walking. "We didn't get to spend too much time there today." He looked down and gave her an apologetic expression.

"Well, I always can come over another day." Yeah, wasn't going to happen, especially since she had the evidence she needed now. She'd be able to end the charade she had been living recently, and she'd be able to focus on a new business with Lee at her side.

"Yes, that's true." He smiled happily. "I'd like that if you're okay with it." She merely hummed, and he took that to mean that she was okay with going back. In truth, her hum would've been sarcastic if she wasn't keeping up appearances. "We'll plan for that, then." Tristan chuckled. "Without Anita's help."

Laughing, she nodded. "Good idea." (F/n) sighed slowly. "But, she'll probably still try."

"Yes, but we'll work around her." He gave her a reassuring smile, and she returned a smile. When they were in front of the café, she let go of his hand. "Well, you know my number now." She patted her purse, which had the phone in it.

"Right, I'll text you in a bit. You'll be working for a little while, right?" She nodded. "Okay, maybe, I'll send you a message in a few hours." Tristan leaned down and placed a kiss upon her lips. A bath was going to be nice to wash the day off. Slightly, she kissed back and held back gagging in the process. Once he pulled away, he waved to her before he walked off. (F/n) hurried inside the building, not wanting to risk another moment with him that day. In the future, though, she wouldn't mind seeing his expression as she revealed everything.

Locking the door behind her, she smiled brightly when she saw Lee look over to her from the dining room farther from the kitchen. He was researching. The rest of the staff had left and cleaned up awhile ago. Frankly, though, he was curious as to why (f/n) looked so happy. He hoped that it was because she was with him again rather than Tristan, but it looked like she was hiding a secret too.

Of course, he was glad to see her in such a positive mood. He had been worried sick while she had been gone. It had been a nightmare during service since he couldn't stop wondering what was going on in his absence. What if Tristan had tried something at the hotel? Was she hiding that and putting on a fake expression? No, her mood was too genuine; her eyes held a joy in them that couldn't be fake.

Getting up from his seat, he was about to hand her a note, but he never got the chance. As he walked towards her, she raced to him. Her arms flew around him, and he barely caught her. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he stepped back from her a moment. She looked up to him and grinned. The smile on her lips would've warmed his heart if it remained beating in his chest, and he was glad that something good had happened while she had been away.

"I got it!" she practically cheered. Her hands rested on his shoulders. He didn't answer since he could tell that she had more to say. "We got them!" (F/n) slid her hands from his shoulders to his hands. She held them tightly but also lovingly and excitedly.

To his ears, her words made sense, and his heart would be beating faster if it wasn't gone. She let go of his hands and pulled out the phone. Tristan probably had her contact information. How unpleasant. But, he focused soon on what she was pulling up on the phone. (F/n) stepped to stand beside him, and she played a video. The screen was blank, but he could hear sound. And, (f/n) was grateful that the audio was better than what she had been expecting.

Listening, Lee began to smirk. Everything they needed was on there. It proved that Kaleb was cheating. Kaleb even said the other woman's name in the conversation and what his real intentions were with both Anita and her. Excellent! They were going to put a stop to this b*llsh*t.

At the end of the recording, though, he paused when he heard what Tristan said. The recording stopped, and she sighed. "I couldn't listen anymore. It was ..." Lee rested a hand on her right shoulder and shook his head. He kissed her right cheek before he took her hand and led her over to the table.

Picking up his pen and paper, he wrote a new note and passed it to her. I'm glad you stopped it. None of that filth from his mouth should've touched your ears. He rested a hand over hers. You don't have to fake date him anymore, and I'm extremely thankful for that. I hated waiting here. I didn't know how much longer I could go along with our plan. Before she could respond, he moved his chair closer and pulled her into a hug. A smile touched her lips. She was thankful too.