#Cheap business cards printing near me

[alwaqasprinting]

Business Cards Printing in Dubai | Double Sided Design

Make a premium quality business cards for your business from Al Waqas  Printing. You can get high quality, multiple templates, and designs from here in just a few minutes. Then what is the delay, call us today itself. For more details visit us: https://www.alwaqasprinting.com/business-cards-printing-dubai

[blogbeatsever]

Cheap Printing Services Near you in Elizabeth and Woodbridge

Running a small business comes with its unique set of challenges. Among them, finding cost-effective printing services is essential for producing high-quality marketing materials, reports, and other documents. In the bustling areas of Elizabeth and Woodbridge, small enterprises and local businesses are always on the lookout for reliable and affordable printing services to meet their needs. Let's explore how you can find the best printing services near you, why it’s crucial to support local businesses, and some real-life success stories that demonstrate the benefits.

Why Cost-Effective Printing Matters for Small Businesses

Printing costs can quickly add up for small businesses, especially when you need to print in bulk. Whether its flyers, brochures, business cards, or banners, having a go-to printing service that offers affordability without compromising quality can make a significant difference in your budget.

High-quality printed materials help project a professional image to your clients and customers, establishing trust and credibility. Additionally, cost-effective printing solutions allow you to allocate more resources to other critical areas of your business, such as marketing and product development.

Comparing Local Printing Services in Elizabeth and Woodbridge

When looking for "printing services near me in Elizabeth" or "printing services near me in Woodbridge," it’s essential to consider both affordability and quality. Here’s a comparison of a few local print shops that excel in both:

Elizabeth Print Shop A- Elizabeth Print Shop A has been serving the community for over a decade, offering a wide range of printing services from business cards to large banners. They pride themselves on using high-quality inks and paper, ensuring vibrant colors and a professional finish. The shop offers competitive prices, with bulk printing discounts that are perfect for small businesses.

Woodbridge Print Shop B- Woodbridge Print Shop B is another excellent choice, known for its quick turnaround times and exceptional customer service. Their state-of-the-art printing equipment allows them to handle large orders efficiently without sacrificing quality. They also offer design services, so if you need help creating your marketing materials, they’ve got you covered.

Comparing Prices and Services- Both print shops offer similar services, but their pricing structures and additional services can vary. It’s a good idea to request quotes from multiple print shops to compare prices and see which one offers the best value for your specific needs. Don’t forget to ask about any ongoing promotions or bulk order discounts.

Tips for Choosing the Right Printing Service

Selecting the right printing service involves more than just finding the lowest price. Here are some tips to help you make the best choice:

Look for Quality and Consistency- Quality should be your top priority. Ask for samples of their work to ensure that the print quality meets your expectations. Consistency is also crucial, especially if you plan to use their services regularly.

Check Reviews and Ask for Recommendations- Online reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations can provide valuable insights into a print shop’s reliability and customer service. Look for reviews that mention timely delivery, good communication, and satisfaction with the final product.

Evaluate Their Customer Service- Good customer service can make a significant difference in your overall experience. Choose a print shop that is responsive, willing to answer your questions, and eager to help you achieve the best results.

Success Stories from Local Businesses

Several local businesses in Elizabeth and Woodbridge have experienced substantial benefits from using nearby printing services. Here are a few examples:

The Coffee Corner in Elizabeth- the Coffee Corner, a small café in Elizabeth, needed eye-catching menus and promotional flyers to attract new customers. By partnering with Elizabeth Print Shop A, they received high-quality printed materials that helped increase foot traffic and boost sales.

The Boutique in Woodbridge- the Boutique, a trendy clothing store in Woodbridge, wanted to create a series of stylish look books for their new collection. Woodbridge Print Shop B provided them with beautifully printed look books that resonated well with their target audience, leading to increased brand loyalty and sales.

The Benefits of Supporting Local Businesses

Supporting local printing services does more than just help your business; it also strengthens the community’s economy. Here’s how:

Boosting the Local Economy- When you choose local print shops, you’re contributing to the local economy by keeping money within the community. This helps create jobs and supports other local businesses.

Building Stronger Community Ties- Local businesses often form strong relationships with each other, fostering a sense of community. By supporting local print shops, you’re helping to build a network of businesses that can collaborate and support each other.

Encouraging Sustainable Practices- Local print shops are more likely to engage in sustainable practices, such as using eco-friendly inks and recycling materials. By choosing local, you’re not only getting quality service but also contributing to environmental sustainability.

Consider Local Printing Services for Your Business Needs

If you’re a small business owner and looking for “printing services near me in Woodbridge”, finding reliable and affordable printing services is crucial for your success. By choosing local print shops, you’ll benefit from high-quality products, personalized customer service, and the satisfaction of supporting your community.

Start by exploring the options we’ve discussed and see how they can meet your business needs. Together, we can make a positive impact on our local economy while achieving our business goals.

[iwantjobs]

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

On Tue, May 14, 2024 at 2:39 PM, Y@hoo-Mail Manager

<furlycustomerservice@yahoo.com> wrote:

How about this Adam:

I can help you, but you have to do some work on your end for I am using my hard-earned disability check to help you as a recovering semi-homeless to help out my fellow homeless in order to get work experience with the mayor of Saint Joseph City or San Jose city.

If I help you, you gotta redeem the same work to help out another homeless person. Then that homeless person will help another homeless person, etc. If we can solve this homeless epidemic in CA and America, I am sure the government will reward us comfortably.

I can help you with one of these two living arrangements:

1. Remain as a homeless sleeping next to the door of that library while working part-time near by and place the money in banking account to save for your retirement for the street life as an elderly won't be at all fun for our bodies deteriorated as we age:

-I can pay with cash directly to the business once you choose a tiny storage unit at any location. You need an updated driver's license to have the company attach your name to the unit in case they need to sue you if you damage the unit. The unit will be used to store clean working clothes, shoes, undies, and socks which I will buy at Ross across the street or at St. Justin (I'll wash the clothes from St. Justin for your work clothes needs to be impeccably clean and professional). You in the meantime, need to find a place to shower regularly for not everyone likes the au-de-homeless cologne scent at work.

-I'll help you find a job of your dream as a

homeless. Since you like being in that library during the day away from the fire of the heat of the South Bay, I'll talk to the people at the library and Santa Clara mayor to see if they can arrange any work for the homeless since libraries are popular spots for homeless.

2. You find a cheap room but safe somewhere of your desire, and I'll pay for your rental deposit with my cash directly to the landlord for my name will not be attached to this rental in case you destroy it. This is why you need a valid identification card for the landlord to sue you if you destroy the room. Try craigslist.

-You can get cash for homeless to pay for I.D., free cell phones, mediCal through these services below:

a. Santa Clara County Social Services at 1919 Senter Road, San jose, CA 95111, 408-758-3600, benefitscal.com, or

mybenefitscal.org.

b. Santa Clara County Office for filing

retirement 353 W. Julian street, San Jose, 95110 CA, 408-755-7600, or 408-755-7770

-If you dare to go up the mountain of unemployment services, try EDD at 1901 Zanker Road, San Jose CA 95112, 408-216-6200, or in Vietnamese at 800-547-2058.

If you choose neither one of the above, then I'll still pay for your effort myself if you print out this email or forward it to your fellow homeless buds to recruit those who are ready for a dead boring life off the street in a room and work part-time. I'll pay you in cash and if I can meet in person with those who are done with the street life. I don't have much money out of my disability checks so don't expect Silicon Valley salary here.

Thanks Adam,

Trang Nguyen

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

On Tue, May 14, 2024 at 1:19 PM, Y@hoo-Mail Manager

<furlycustomerservice@yahoo.com> wrote:

Adam,

I called Green Cross and they said they selk pot and they don't know anything about this voucher.

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

On Tue, May 14, 2024 at 1:14 PM, Y@hoo-Mail Manager

<furlycustomerservice@yahoo.com> wrote:

Oh, you're the one whose bed is parked next to the library door.

Hi, what do you need me to do to help you off the street and have a job that you want.

Thanks,

Trang

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

On Tue, May 14, 2024 at 1:12 PM, Y@hoo-Mail Manager

<furlycustomerservice@yahoo.com> wrote:

Adam,

Did we meet today?

Thank,

Trang

Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

On Tue, May 14, 2024 at 11:53 AM, Adam Esa

<adammarks2017@outlook.com> wrote:

"Email me if you want to get off the street."

I'm at the Library everyday. not enthused about the fire, it's too "street" if you know what I mean.

If you are someone who can institute this:

come by and meet me, I am usually in that spot after the Library closes and before it opens, and inside during the day. All the Hotel Voucher needs is a certified business with the California Business Bureau, like Heirbloom, for example, to fill it out and give it back to me. It gets faxed or mailed to the California Business Bureau (or Housing Authority) by the Hotel and every one is happy the Homeless Guy is off the streets.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Adam Esa

Adam Esa

Notice to recipient: This communication is intended for the person(s) to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is protected by Federal and/or State law. If you receive this in error, any review, use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction is strictly prohibited. Please notify us immediately by telephone or email and delete the email and any attachment from your system. Thank you for your cooperation.

[voguehomeinvitations]

Vogue Home Invitations

Website: https://www.voguehomeinvitations.com

Address : Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Vogue Home Invitations, a Toronto-based business, specializes in creating beautiful and unique wedding invitations. They offer a wide range of designs, including foil-stamped printing and a variety of templates. Their collection includes modern, eco-friendly, glamorous, and elite designs, catering to diverse tastes and themes. They also provide custom invitation services, accommodating specific design requests and personalization. Vogue Home Invitations is dedicated to making the first impression of your special day memorable with their exquisite invitation designs.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/voguehomeinvitations

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wedding_invitations_byvh/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/weddinginvitationsbyvh/

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[indeko2]

Kokorosa - The Best Cardmaking Paper| Cardstock near me

Cardstock is a material that's popular for crafting and making cards. It has many uses, and it can be used as an alternative to cardboard. Cardstock is a durable material that works well for various purposes, including book covers, magazines, presentations and scrapbooking paper. You can use colored cardstock to make calendars or family trees as well as greeting cards or invitations.

Card stock is a thick paper used in printing. stock paper is made from cotton or linen fibers and can be used for many different things. For example, you can use cardstock paper for invitations, use it as cardmaking paper, or for paper scrapbook.

Cardstock near me: You can purchase cardstock at most office supply stores and craft stores like Walmart or Target. If you prefer to shop online rather than go out into public spaces, it will be a great choice to shop with us, as we provide high-quality but cheap cardstock and scrapbook paper packs in various colors, patterns, textures, and shapes.

Card stock is an ideal paper for a variety of projects like scrapbooking & card making embellishments. It's sturdy enough to hold up in a greeting card or invitation, but not so thick that it feels bulky in your hand when you're reading through your favorite book. You can use card stock for business cards and other forms of identification, as well as calendars and flyers that need to be printed on something sturdier than regular paper.

Cardstock also makes great book covers--and if you have kids at home who love making their own books with markers and crayons (or even just coloring inside the lines), then you know how important it is that they have sturdy covers!

About Kokorosa Kokorosa is a leading company in the crafting industry, providing customers with high-quality paper crafting products since 2019. Their selection includes cutting dies, stamps, embossing folders, and more, all with deliberate designs and excellent quality at an affordable price. Kokorosa's ultimate goal is to inspire and unleash the creativity of every crafter.

[cityprintingnys]

Use Digital Banners For Effective Advertisement

Business cards are especially significant for the owners of organizations. It is one of the strong methods for advancing a business. Yet, it doesn't imply that individuals take and look the business card always. They positively take a look at the cards if it impresses them with its design, color, and look and feel. Business cards permit you to adequately and proficiently convey your brand in a simple to store, compact, and portable form that potential clients promptly approach. Business card design is a basic yet highly effective approach to help your brand picture with a tangible point to provide for clients. If a client has your businesses marked card, they have a simple way to refer to you when they needof products or services in which you practice. They can refer to you and your business with a simple look inside their wallet and in that manner; you generally stay in the periphery of their mind.

While designing signs on a computer system utilizing the latest sign plan software is a viable method to create a plenty of business signage it must be noticed that more traditional, hand-painted signs despite everything have a strong market advance for specific applications.Having said that an exceptionally enormous extent of organizations do profit incredibly from sign printing near me that can be designed utilizing computer software, spared, altered and cut and imprinted on professional signage machinery.

Advertisement assumes an exceptionally pivotal job in the development and success of any business. As the world of business is exceptionally serious, an appropriate advertising strategy and mode is required to common masses and end-clients. The utilization digital banners are increasing wide popularity these days. They are widely utilized by advertisers for outside advertising. As a rule, the vinyl banners are comprised of vinyl materials which are longstanding. These banners are printed digitally and thusly the yield is appealing and brilliant. Digital banner printing is every now and again utilized for on-demand or short-run color printing.

[omidesigns]

Business Cards

[jamesdren321-blog]

ENVELOPE PRINTING

[calgaryeconomy-blog]

Business Cards - Common Mistakes You Should Avoid

Business cards hold a lot of power when it comes to marketing your company’s services. Let Calgary Economy Printers help you avoid these common business card mistakes and turn them into true lead magnets.

This 2 x 3.5 inch rectangle lingers after meetings with potential clients, as a reminder that you offer what they are seeking.

Help them remember by avoiding these common business card mistakes:

Don’t stray from your company’s already existing brand and style. Design your card to reflect the graphics and colors on your website, company letterhead, and other marketing materials. Consistency is most effective.

Don’t use fancy fonts and colors for your name and contact info. You want potential clients to get a hold of you, right? Make sure important information on your business cards Calgary is legible and easy to find.

Don’t forget about the space on the back of the card. This is the perfect space for your company’s one line pitch, or a few bullet points about your services.

Don’t believe that bigger is better. Business card printing near me are meant to be carried in a standard size wallet, or card holder. Getting overly creative will get your card lost. Stick to the common 2 x 3.5 inch size.

Don’t use poor quality thin paper to save on the price. Your business card reflects your business and opting out for cheap paper will imply your own quality of work is cheap, as well. Instead, seek out printing services like, Calgary Economy Printers, where we offer inexpensive printing options along with quality work.

Don’t use 10 different kinds of colors in order to catch attention. You want your business card design to flow by accenting your company’s logo. Stick to no more than four colors.

Don’t use common clip art for your logo. Respectable printing companies such as, Calgary Economy Printers, will help you locate an original design that is all yours.

Don’t place text and logos too close to the edge of your card. Any tearing or folds will make important information warped.Graphic alignment is key to a card that is well balanced, and professional looking.

Calgary Economy Printers is your one stop shop for all your business card design, and printing needs. We know all the dos and dont’s when it comes to creating affordable business cards and marketing materials including full color business cards.

Avoid These Common Business Card Mistakes and Turn Your Business Cards Into Powerful Lead Magnets.

[hawkbucks]

Prompt: AU where everything is the same except Howard wasn’t Uber-rich and Tony built SI ground up, focusing on clean energy and science and tech and Bucky meets him for the first time at the expo. (Nat can be his PA?) (modern setting AU?)

“What the fuck!” Bucky exclaims as he drops the laminated badge on the table. He stares at it in disbelief, ignoring Steve’s snickering. Then, he picks it back up and holds it up to the light coming in through one of the windows, scrutinizing it like a hundred dollar bill. His name is typed neatly in the middle, a string of words underneath declaring him to be a VIP pass holder which, holy shit. General admission tickets are hard enough to come by—they’re surprisingly cheap and, by that virtue, sell out faster than Bucky can recite the Stark Industries motto, but VIP passes? Those are usually reserved for rich tech enthusiasts. Insiders. CEO’s of the damn companies that went to the Expo to do some schmoozing, grandstanding, and bragging. People who are people. Not someone like… him.

“Nat thought you would like it,” Steve says, patting him on the back and picking up the now discarded box the badge came in. “Said that it’s her apology for not being able to celebrate with us today.”

“Natasha got me this?” He waves the badge around, wide-eyed, the laminate making wobbly noises with each pass back and forth. “How the hell did she afford it?”

Steve’s genial smile fades away, replaced by furrowed brows and a small frown. “She’s… Tony Stark’s PA.”

“What? Since fuckin’ when?” Last time Bucky checked, Natasha was still working in that old record store down the street with Sam and definitely not working as the personal assistant of one of the most influential men in the world of technology. Maybe the most influential, if Bucky is allowed to be a fanboy.

“Since 2 weeks ago?” Steve tilts his head to the side like a confused puppy. “Remember when she brought you that mug? She said that she told you right after.”

Bucky ponders for a second. “She might’ve, but honestly, I was distracted by th’ mug,” he admits sheepishly. It was a very good mug, in his opinion. It had Tony Stark’s signature printed on it, along with their signature arc reactor logo (and, given the chance, Bucky could gush all day long about the arc reactor and the sheer brilliance behind it, but so far no one has been willing to sit down and listen to that).

Steve sighs. “Why am I not surprised?”

(As he scrolls through his Twitter feed before bedtime, he’s immediately hit by the memory of him fawning over Stark’s appearance in a video uploaded by Stark Industries a week ago. Natasha was visiting, humming as she listened to his adjective-filled rant.

Natasha heard him say that her boss has killer thighs and pretty lips.

He grabs one of his pillows and slams it down over his face, hoping that if he stays in that position long enough, he’d suffocate.)

“I don’t know what to wear,” he moans, throwing an arm over his eyes.

“It’s a convention,” Sam says, throwing him a sidelong look, “not a date.”

He lifts his arm up just enough to glare at Sam. Judging by Sam’s shit-eating grin, however, it’s not very effective. “Exposition,” he corrects. Blegh, he’s starting to sound like one of those pretentious technobabble YouTubers. “It’s an exposition, and I’d rather not go there lookin’ like I was thrown into a washer with my clothes and came out wearin’ whatever stuck.” He breathes in deeply. “And did you know that Nat is Stark’s PA?”

Sam laughs. “Dude, she told me that before she even went in for the interview. She was confident and, hey—” he shrugs his shoulders— “it worked.”

Bucky grunts. “Unfortunately. Or fortunately.” Without her, he wouldn’t have that pass, even if it is proving to be more of an inducer of anxiety than excitement. “Now are you goin’ to help me pick out an outfit or what?”

“Or what,” Sam snickers.

“No, no, the grey one would be better. It brings out your eyes,” Sam comments, leaning against the doorway and watching as Bucky takes off a dusty mauve long sleeve and replaces it with a dark grey button-up.

Bucky quirks an eyebrow. “What happened to not helpin’ me pick out an outfit?”

“I thought about it, and, man… I can’t let you go out looking like a hot mess ‘cause you didn’t get my advice. I’d feel bad.” Sam crosses his arms. “Especially when you’re gonna meet your crush.” He wiggles his eyebrows and deftly dodges the discarded mauve long sleeve that Bucky launches his way.

“S’not a crush,” Bucky hisses, “and the pass isn’t a guarantee that I’ll meet him.”

Sam snorts. “It’s not a crush, you say, as if I haven’t had to listen to you go on and on about how Stark’s revolutionizing clean tech or how he’s donated, like, 3 gajillion bucks to a water charity. And c’mon, Nat’s his PA. You’d be lucky if she didn’t come up with a plan to keep him near you for every damn second you’re at that expo.”

As much as Bucky hates to admit it, Sam does have a point. Nat is notorious for meddling in their love lives for her own amusement, and she has concrete and definite proof that Bucky finds a modicum of attractiveness in Stark. He covers up a pained groan with one hand. Is it too late to send the badge back?

He is horribly, painfully aware that his expression must resemble a fish out of water as he steps into the admissions line. Double-check, triple-check. He has his ID, the badge, and his debit card just in case. Plus his phone, a portable charger, and its actual charger if he’s able to find the time to sit down. A backpack is slung over his shoulders, decorated with pins of his favorite sci-fi shows and a couple superheroes.

The smile he gives to the woman checking his items in is shaky at best, but he finds himself comforted when she picks up on his nervousness and tells him that there’s nothing to worry about, go and enjoy yourself now.

He clips the badge onto his front pocket and tries not to trip over his own feet as he enters the exhibition hall.

Pym Technologies is too busy showing off some sort of shrinking-slash-enlargening formula and he’s too busy trying to desperately not let his mind wander into the gutter to notice Natasha stepping up behind him.

“James,” she says, hand clamping down on his shoulder.

He does not yelp, thank you very much, but he does whirl around quicker than what should be humanly possible and levels her with one of his frowns.

“Grey looks nice on you,” she comments, ignoring his sour face. “It makes your eyes pop.”

“Sam helped.” His gaze flickers down to the clipboard that she’s cradling in one arm, then to the official-looking nametag that she has hanging from a lanyard around her neck. “An’… thanks for the pass.”

“It’s the least I could do for one of my best friends.”

Bucky narrows his eyes as Natasha’s sparkle. That sentence is so not Natasha that his gut is telling him that either a) Natasha has been replaced with a remarkable lookalike who is still trying to get the hang of it or b) she’s about to pull something devious and amuse herself at his expense. Going off the amount of time that he’s known her for, he’s assuming it’s option b.

She looks down at her watch that Bucky is pretty sure is non-functional and says, “I have to go, but you should come by the Stark Industries presentation area at 2. We’re not due to present until 3:30, but your pass will let you in.” She winks, and Bucky knows that should really means you better come or I will hunt you down and not even Steve could save you from my fury.

Each step he takes towards the Stark Industries presentation area feels like another step towards his demise. He can’t help the pounding in his chest or the way his arms start to turn into jelly. He can’t help the sweat threatening to fall from his brow or his knees valiantly attempting to give out. He has a sneaking suspicion in the back of his mind of what Natasha has planned, and he thinks back to what Sam said earlier about how Natasha would not let a second pass where he and Stark were not in close proximity.

He doesn’t even notice that he’s arrived until an arm clad in a black sleeve collides with his chest. He looks up, startled, at a stocky man with a severe expression. “You’re not allowed back here, buddy,” the man says, a firm crease between his brows.

“Uh.” Bucky fumbles with his badge before holding it up. “My friend said that my pass would let me in.”

“Well, your friend was wrong.” The man crosses his arms. “You should get going before—”

“Let him through, Happy.” In swoops Natasha in all her glory, looking like a fiery-haired angel sent down from the heavens. “I told him to come.”

The man—Happy, which is an unfitting nickname if Bucky’s ever heard one (and he’s heard a lot)—stares at him long enough that he contemplates leaving the exposition and quite possibly the country, before grumbling something unintelligible and stepping to the side.

He steps through, shoulders hunched. He doesn’t relax until he’s face-to-face with Natasha. “M’here. Like you told me to be.”

“Color me impressed. I thought you’d ditch.”

He snorts. “And risk havin’ you hunt me down ‘til I die? No thanks.”

“Smart.” She turns around, nearly whipping him in the face with her hair. “Now follow me. I have someone I want you to meet.”

Oh, god no, he thinks as he trails behind Natasha like a duckling. Her heels clack against the polished floor. People scramble to get out of her way, and, judging by the smirk she gives him over her shoulder, she enjoys it. “Tony!” she calls out as they approach a figure with a turned back and no, no, don’t turn around, don’t turn around, do—

and Stark turns around and he has to fight down a weird sobbing noise because Stark manages to look even better in person. Fierce intelligence glitters in his eyes and there’s an ever present curl to his lips, like he’s thought of a joke that he wouldn’t mind sharing if you asked nicely. “Romanoff!” he calls back. “My favorite PA.” Stark locks eyes with Bucky and he holds that gaze for just a moment before tearing away and focusing on Natasha.

“Please, you say that to all your PA’s.” Natasha pats Bucky’s back a bit harder than necessary. “Do you remember that friend I told you about? The one who is a fan of yours? This is him. His name is James and he is very excited to be here.” She lets her hand wander down to his side and pinches him lightly. You talk to him, he can hear her say in his head, because I do not want you to go home and mope to Steve about how you couldn’t. (Is Natasha actually telepathic or has he hanged around her enough that he has adopted a mini-Natasha in his mind? He doesn’t know and at this point he’s too afraid to ask.)

“And I’m very excited to meet him,” Stark says with a wink. Bucky wonders if he died somewhere along the way, because there is no way that Tony Stark just winked at him. Stark sticks his right hand out for a handshake.

Bucky swallows down his anxious thoughts before clasping his left hand with Stark’s right and giving it one, two, three quick shakes. They withdraw, and Bucky tries not to think about the fact that he already misses the weight of Stark’s hand in his own.

“Firm grip,” Stark whistles, and Bucky feels heat rise up on his cheeks. “Stark-made?”

Bucky rolls his left arm—his prosthetic that he’s been wearing since he’s come home from the military. “Baintronics.” Even if he wanted a Stark Industries prosthetic, Baintronics was the one with the military contract.

“Least it’s not Hammer,” Stark jokes.

Bucky chuckles, and that turns into him biting down on his lower lip when Stark smiles, pleased that he was able to draw a reaction. He really doesn’t need to be blurting out something like your smile is so pretty, please let me buy you lunch or I’ve admired you ever since you were in the newspaper for making an advanced medical drone at the age of 18, you’re so smart, please let me buy you lunch or I appreciate the fact that you donate so much to clean energy coalitions, please let me buy you lunch or anything else that would end in him extending an invitation to Stark for lunch. He might be a bit hungry.

“But you know,” Stark starts, taking Bucky out of all of his lunch-related thoughts, “we are starting a round of clinical trials for a new prosthetic designed by yours truly. It’s supposed to introduce finer motor control—sew some thread through a needle kind of fine, if my prototypes are to be believed—and the touch receptors are a thousands times more sensitive. You should be able to feel the ridges on the side of a penny!” Stark beams, the corner of his eyes crinkling. “The installation, though, would be a lengthy process—hopefully not too painful, I’m trying hard not to make it that way, and we won’t be able to get you fitted with one right away, but if it sounds like something you’re interested in, I can, uh… you can sign up. I can’t guarantee that you’ll be picked, but…” Stark looks at him with something like hope glittering in his eyes. “If you want.”  

Bucky considers Stark’s offer for all of 5 seconds before going, “Yes. Yeah. I know you’re not promisin’ it, but if I do end up gettin’ it, it’d be a hell of a lot better than this weighty thing.” He rolls his left shoulder, wincing as the anchor point tugs at his skin.

Stark hums and nods, a flicker of concern crossing his face when Bucky winces. “Much better.” He turns to look at Natasha. “Mark him down, will you, Nat?”

Natasha smiles graciously, whipping a pen out from god knows where, and scribbles something down on her clipboard. “His name is down, Tony. I took the liberty of adding his number, too. Now if you excuse me, Ms. Potts has just arrived and if I remember correctly, you asked me to escort her here.” She bows out of the conversation, subtly jabbing Bucky with her pen as she does so.

“Don’t forget to give her the slice of cake I saved!” Stark shouts as Natasha walks away.

“I never forget, Mr. Stark,” Natasha replies at a much quieter volume.

“She really doesn’t,” Stark comments to Bucky, shaking his head with a fond look on his face (and no, Bucky is not jealous that it isn’t directed towards him). “A true miracle worker. So, James—” and that bright smile is back on his face— “care to talk a bit longer?”

Bucky still isn’t entirely sure if this is a lucid fever dream that he’s having or not, because out of everyone that Tony can talk to, like Rumiko Fujikawa, the runner of one of the most popular tech-focused YouTube channels on the face of the planet, or Reed Richards, the founder of the ambitious Future Foundation, he chooses to talk to him. Plain James Barnes.

It’s mind-boggling.

And seeing this side of Tony Stark? Where he’s relaxed, his tie loosened with no qualms on questioning whether Anakin’s midi-chlorian count would’ve shrunk due to losing a good chunk of his body or whether his blood would simply make more to make up for it while they lounge on a couch that’s too comfortable for its own good? Well…

Bucky clears his throat, cutting Stark off mid-rant. “In Empire of Dreams, Lucas says that if Anakin didn’t get, uh, cut in half on Mustafar, he would’ve been as twice as powerful as Palpatine, so, yeah, I’d say that he lost some of his midi-chlorians.”

Stark stares at him. He looks down at his lap, unsure if he should’ve said that or if he should’ve just kept his mouth shut. “God,” Stark breathes out, “I could kiss you right now.”

Those words send a jolt of electricity down Bucky’s spine; he’s stunned into silence.

“Sorry. Sorry, that probably made you uncomfortable.” Stark waves a hand, a pink tinge appearing on his cheeks. “I’m just—I’m not used to anyone listening when I talk about this stuff, so having you respond… I don’t have a filter. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Bucky says quickly. “S’flatterin’. Never had anyone want to kiss me after a conversation about Star Wars.” Sam did want to do something to him after he forced him to sit through a marathon of the entire series, but he’s pretty sure that that want was the want to strangle him with a plastic bag as opposed to kissing him.

“Maybe you just hang out with the wrong people,” Stark teases.

“I should tell Natasha you said that.”

“Perish the thought.” Stark grabs a handful of pretzels from the bowl set out in front of them by an intern more than likely wanting to get on Stark’s good side. “Anything you’re particularly looking forward to this Expo?” he asks, popping a pretzel into his mouth.

“Pretty much just SI’s presentation,” Bucky admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, Pym’s formula sounds promisin’, but… god, I must sound like a kiss-ass right now.”

“Keep going,” Stark says around a mouthful of pretzel, “it’s doing wonders for my ego.”

Bucky laughs, shoulders becoming less stiff. “Yeah. SI. I’ve been keeping up with your progress on the miniature arc reactors. S’probably the one thing that I’m real into right now.”

Stark leans forward. “The arc reactors?” he asks, intrigued.

“Yeah. They’re small, but they have so much energy in them, you know? 8 gigajoules per second, man,” Bucky whistles. “That’s pretty damn amazin’. Could probably run Times Square for a couple of weeks.”

“More like a couple of hours,” Stark chuckles. “If you ever want to see them up close, I’m sure I can arrange something.”

Bucky can’t stop his jaw from dropping. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah. We actually have the big one that powers Stark Tower on display for the people that take the tours, but you said you were interested in the minis…” Stark trails off, tapping his chin with his index finger. “Well, Nat… Nat trusts you, so I think it’s fine if I trust you. I wouldn’t mind bringing you down to show you the minis. ‘Course you’d have to sign some NDAs and go through some security, but, honestly? You seem way more excited and into this than the other people I’ve showed them to. Pretty sure they just want to brag about how the Tony Stark gave them the nickel tour as opposed to being genuinely curious about the science behind the reactors.” Stark leans back into the cushions. “You’re a breath of fresh air, James.”

“Bucky.”

“Hm?”

“You can call me Bucky. It’s what my friends call me.”

Stark throws him a pretzel which he thankfully catches. “And are we friends, Bucky?” he asks with that curl to his lips again.

Bucky barely represses a shudder at the way his nickname rolls off Stark’s tongue so casually, like it was meant to be there. “If—If you want to be.”

“Then we are.” Stark rolls his shoulders and allows himself to sink further into the couch. “I’d also have to insist on you calling me Tony, by the way. Stark is too formal. Because we’re friends.”

Bucky smiles. “Okay, Tony.”

“And, since we’re friends, why don’t you come out with us to dinner? Nothing too fancy, I promise, just some burgers and a milkshake. You up for it?”

Oh, god. He’s gonna have to pay Natasha back big time. Buy her some expensive knife that she’s been eyeing or something. Clean her apartment for a week. Grill her those steaks he makes that she likes so much. To have been given the chance to take Tony off of the pedestal that he built for him and be shown that he’s very much human, then to be given another chance to talk to Tony along with being offered a glimpse at the arc reactors, then to be invited out to dinner by the man himself… damn. “Burgers and a milkshake sounds good. Fries?”

“What meal would be complete without it?” Tony looks at his watch. “I’ve gotta head off to makeup now—they’re gonna make me look all pretty—but I’m gonna be looking for you when I present, okay? Ask Happy to bring you to the front row.” He takes his phone out of his pocket, unlocks it, and hands it to Bucky. “If you’re fine with it, can you give me your number? I need a way to contact you for the arc reactor thing.”

Bucky hopes his hands aren’t shaking as he adds himself into Tony Stark’s contact list under “Bucky :)”. He hands it back to Tony, careful not to drop it.

“Thank you,” Tony singsongs and stuffs his phone back into his pocket. “I’ll hopefully see you later, Bucky.” He mock salutes him and ff Tony goes, a woman with a black apron and a brush immediately magnetizing to his side the second he gets more than a few steps away from the couch.

As he watches Tony leave, Bucky suddenly remembers that Natasha had already put his number down.

[moosoobi]

Bon Appetit, darlin’

~T.Jeff : Hamilton the Musical

First time writing lol. I mean don’t be so harsh because my confidence is made of glass but please let me know what you think. Here’s a few things that you can expect while reading:

fluff

good boyfriend Thomas that we wished existed

Y/N lowkey being a top LMAO

word count: 1359 (?) dunno how this works

probably a few spelling errors because now that school is online I resort to autocorrect 

A/N: I do nOT SUPPORT REAL LIFE THOMAS JEFFERSON >:( . Stan Daveed Diggs who plays Thomas in Hamilton the musical.

Y/N sat on the tiny sofa in her grandma’s room. Out of all 6 of her cousins, she was the chosen one to watch over her grandma for a few days. She was surrounded by textbooks which she deemed unimportant, her collection of expensive Japanese stationary placed on top where her last sentence had ended. The room was filled with Christmas music that was a few months too early. Unable to drown out the carols, Y/N crocheted a cozy magenta cardigan for her boyfriend to wear, when the Christmas music WAS appropriate.

Loop by loop, Y/N inserted and pulled her crochet hook to create new loops. Of course she was no where near finished. Every now and then she would feel the remorse for her text books and continue to work on her doomed English work, this was very rare of course. The sound of a car pulling into a drive way seemed to help drown out the cries of winter music, but Y/N thought nothing of it. Perhaps her neighbors went out and about the city of New York, unlike Y/N who hasn’t left the house in what felt like days.

Her hands ached from writing and crocheting. Finally giving up, Y/N set down the labyrinth of yarn and adjusted her position next to her frail grandma, who was fast asleep. She glanced up at the clock. 11:30 pm.

“Great.”

She groaned with annoyance. Bored, scrappy, and hungry, and the pain of guilt for her lonely textbook was just what she needed on a Thursday night.

Sticking one leg out her blanket in attempt to cool down her body, Y/N covered her eyes with her arm in attempt to find her happy place. Exhausted from her long days of school work. Just when Y/N felt like the luxury of sleep was in her grasp, her phones dreadful ding went off.

Ah yes, that sound when you get a text message. It’s either your savior or your worse nightmare, but you’ll never know unless you choose to pick up your phone. If Y/N wasn’t next to her grandma during her slumber, she might’ve screamed in agony when she heard that dreadful tone, but she managed to keep her cool. When she glanced at her screen her annoyance faded away and was replaced with a smile.

1 message from: Tommy 💕😼🥐

Now she had no choice but open it, I mean why wouldn’t she?

Tommy 💕😼🥐: come outside

Y/N tilted her head. Really Thomas? Not a good time

Y/N: excuse me what?

Tommy💕😼🥐: you know I don’t like to repeat myself, sweetheart <3

Y/N: I already told you that I’m on grandma duty tonight

Tommy💕😼🥐: c'mon darlin’ a few minutes won’t hurt

Tommy💕😼🥐 : I promise you won’t regret it ;)

Y/N sighed. Of course she wouldn’t throw away an opportunity to see him. Arising slowly from the firm mattress, Y/N tried her best not to shake the bed in fear of waking up her grandma.

Her hips and knees cracked at the pressure of standing up. She slid on her fuzzy slippers and made her way to the hallway, acting like a spy on a secret mission. Her steps echoed throughout the still house.

 After making it to her living room, she could see a bright rays shining through her window. Y/N couldn’t help but feel the butterflies rise in her stomach when she opened the front door.

Thomas’s black car was idle in her drive way. Her eyes felt relief as his car lights turned off as he exited the car. Thomas was stunning in his striped turtleneck, paired with a coat to accommodate the cold fall weather. He pranced over to the front door with a smile plastered on his face, holding a plastic bag in his left hand, a series of ‘THANK YOU’s printed in red ink covering the front of the bag. 

“So you were the car annoying the neighborhood at 11:30 at night?” Y/N asked sarcastically, a smirk forming on her face. Thomas rolled his eyes while he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “And here I thought you’d be happy to see me, darlin’”. Y/N enlaced her fingers with his as she led him to the table

“Of course I am, but why are you here? I know you didn’t come to help me take my grandma to the bathroom” Y/N pulled a chair for him to sit, pulling an reverse card on Thomas’ chivalry. “I know how busy you are when you’re here, so I just wanted to get something for you” Thomas stuck his hand into the crinkling bag and pulled out two cups. Both were various shades of swirling brown tea accompanied with tiny tapioca pearls that drifted to the bottom of the cup.

“I got you some tea.” Thomas said proudly “never tried it before but I remember you got some with Angie last month so I assumed-” Y/N cut him off with a hug. She smiled into the crook of his neck while he wrapped his arms around her, cups still in hand.

“Have I ever told you that you’re amazing, Jefferson?” Y/N held back her excitement.

“All the time sweetheart.” Thomas smirked as he felt his ego grow just a little bit bigger. Even Y/N wasn’t sure that was possible with how big Thomas’ ego was when they first started talking. Pulling away from the hug, Thomas set the cups on the table.

“I ALSO got you some noodles while I was at the shop” Thomas turned to Y/N as she gazed up at him in amazement. “What? They were cheap, I couldn’t resist seeing your smile” he teased, setting down two boxes of noodles onto the lace table cloth. Thomas finally sat down on his chair and rubbed his hands together. Y/N’s smile remained present on her face as she pulled and sat on her own chair.

“Bon appetite, darlin’”

——————————————————————

After the couple ate, they relaxed on her couch, Thomas laying comfortably in Y/N’s lap, comforted by the warmth of her arms. Y/N’s phone let off a ding. Knowing it wasn’t Thomas texting her, she deemed it unimportant. Thomas was evidently eyeing the phone every time that sound rung, growing more anxious every time. Who would text her at this time? Besides Thomas of course.

“How was work?” Y/N attempted to change the attention, her fingers tangled in Thomas’ majestic hair. Let’s be real, who could resist his hair? Thomas opened his eyes, staring up at Y/N from her lap and shrugged. “ ‘nother argument with Hamilton” he scoffed. Y/N giggled at his response. “Tommy, Hamilton’s not so bad, maybe-” Y/N was cut off by Thomas’ disbelief “I know I did not just come all the way over here Y/N for you to side with that dipshit”

Y/N laughed as she removed her hand from Thomas’ head to retrieve her tea. Whining, Thomas pouted and waited for her hand to come back, but it never did. Thomas shot up to see Y/N’s eyes glued to her phone. “Hello! I’m right here y’know!” Y/N’s gaze landed on Thomas’ for only a moment, and eventually fell back on her phone “Yeah hold on, Lafayette wont stop texting me after he discovered what a GIF is” she laughed, taking sips of the swirling tea in her shiny, plastic cup. Thomas could feel his jealousy begin to rise.  

“c’mon Thomas, you know how close Laf and I are, don’t give me all these jealous vibes from you.” her eyes were piercing straight through Thomas. She could look through him as if he were glass. The pout was still evident on his face, unable to maintain eye contact with her powerful glare. Ironic isn’t it? Y/N huffed out a short laugh and set down her drink. “Fine, let me prove it to you then.” 

5 minutes had passed.

Of course they spent it aggressively teasing each other, who wouldn't? Just when things began to get a little too heated, the baby monitor next to the couch, which she used to listen for her grandma, flashed on. 

“Y/nnnnn, can you help me to the bathroom?” it blasted

Y/N pulled back from Thomas’s grasp, “Well that’s my signal” 

fin.

[marshmallow-phd]

Watchful Eyes

Part of the EXO Mafia Universe

Genre: Mafia!AU

Pairing: Jongdae x Reader

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long, Trish, I meant for this to be fluffy, but the story kind of took a turn of its own. I hope you still like it!! (warning: its... long)

**

If someone were to ask you what you thought the quiet man who came into your work nearly every day to order the same coffee, you would have answered something along the lines of corporate lawyer or director or anything else that came with a large paycheck. His suits were always perfectly tailored to fit his short but strong frame. He never wore the same expensive watch twice. And no, it wasn’t weird that you noticed that. You were always an overly observant person, it wasn’t your fault that your brain picked up on the most minute details. It did, however, take you a bit to understand the need to keep those details to yourself. 

You were sure if Rich Man (you knew his name was Kim Jongdae from his debit card that he used to pay each time, but it made you feel less like a creepy stalker if you used a nickname in your head) was aware of how much you’d observed about him, he would never return. And that was the last thing you wanted. You liked seeing him every day, around the same time (approximately eight-thirty in the morning, right after the morning rush). He had become a part of your own routine, your own comfort zone. However, you were never brave enough to make any sort of real conversation with him, no matter how large your crush on him grew. 

“If you keep sighing after him like that I’m going to leave your number on a napkin for him,” your co-worker threatened. 

You nearly slipped as you were wiping down a table. You hadn’t realized the sound you thought was in your head had been verbalized as you watched him walk down the sidewalk through the big window in the front of the cafe. 

“Don’t you dare,” you grumbled through clenched teeth as you straightened up. 

Ignoring your co-worker’s cheeky snickers, you headed back to the counter to start cleaning the espresso machine. A shudder ran down your spine at the very thought of your co-worker actually embarrassing you like that. Because while Mr. Kim was Rich Man, you were very much Poor Woman. But this wasn’t a drama. This was real life and rarely did the successful businessman fall for the lowly coffee girl for no reason whatsoever. He’d probably laugh at any attempt you made to get his attention and then leave to never come back. So you stayed in the background. All you would do was continue to observe Rich Man from afar as life continued on its own mundane way. 

**

Your eyes flickered over to the clock for the tenth time within the last minute as if the time would drastically change. 

Rich Man hadn’t been by your shop for the past three days. Even though it was perfectly normal for regulars to move on and find new places, this didn’t feel right to you. This didn’t feel like the normal change-up. You couldn’t figure out what it was, but something felt wrong. The clock was ticking closer to his usual walk-in time and you were nervous that this might turn into day four.

As your eyes looked towards the clock for the eleventh time, the bell above the front entrance chimed. You turned to greet the new customer and stopped. 

It was him. 

But he was different. 

The jacket of his suit was gone, leaving only the white button down, tie, and slacks. His black hair wasn’t quite gelled into its usual fashion, a few pieces left askew. What really caught your eye, however, was the still-healing bruise next to his right eye. 

Slowly, he approached the counter, wallet already in his hands. He opened his mouth to give you his order, but before you could stop yourself-

“Are you alright?” Immediately, you slapped a hand over your mouth. Stupid, stupid. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business.” Instead of scolding you, though, he smiled. 

“I’m alright. Thank you for asking.” He handed over his card and you rang up his order without any prompting. 

As you handed back the card, you realized what you’d done. “I’m sorry. Again. I should have asked-”

“What you should do is stop apologizing,” he smirked. It was evident that he was in some sort of pain, given the slight grimace behind each movement he made, but he was masking it well. “I wanted my usual anyway.” He looked around the shop. “Do you mind bringing me the order when it's done?”

You shook your head. “Of course not. Please, take a seat. I’ll have it right out for you.”

He smiled at you. Genuinely smiled. “Thank you.” With a slight limp, he made his way over to a table near the front entrance. 

I wonder what happened to him... Your mind was racing with all the possibilities. And you were starting to think that maybe, just maybe your earlier assumptions that he worked high up in a legitimate business were incorrect. 

Pushing the negative thoughts away, you got started on his simple coffee order. You tended to pride yourself on your observation of character and Rich Man - no, Jongdae, you’d already passed social graces and asked him a personal question, you might as well revert to his real name - always seemed like a good person. He was kind both to you, the other workers here and any other patrons he passed along the way. Could a man like that really be involved in anything malicious?

Everyone knew about the mafia, EXO, though the leaders who ran it were shrouded in mystery. No one knew their names, only that they existed and had considerable control both in the dark underworld and the legitimate businesses of the city. Could Jongdae be a part of that organization? You didn’t want to believe it, but the money combined with the recent injuries….

No. There was no way. You weren’t going to let your imagination run wild again. There were a hundred explanations for his absence and bruise. 

Warm Americano in hand, you pushed away the negativity and went over to him, placing the cup in front of him. You were just about to walk away when he stopped you. 

“Have you missed me?”

You whirled around. “W-what?”

Smirking to himself, he took off his golden watch of the day, placing it down on the table and rubbing his wrist as if the accessory had been bothering him. Perhaps it was too heavy? Or too tight? “I stopped coming for a few days, but you still remembered how I like my coffee.” He looked up at you with soft eyes that didn’t match the cocky twist of his mouth. “Did you miss me?”

“I noticed you hadn’t come around,” you admitted, although why you admitted it was lost on you. “I just figured you found somewhere else with better coffee.”

He shook his head. “No, I very much like the coffee here.”

Heat exploded in your cheeks. Please, don’t be visibly blushing, you thought. Of course he means the coffee and not the service. “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” you replied softly. “I should get back to the counter.”

With a nod of his head, you were dismissed. 

He only hung around for maybe ten minutes more before going on with his day. When you went over to take care of the ceramic cup he’d left behind, however, you found that he’d left something else as well. 

His watch. 

Swiping it up, you ran outside, searching frantically for him, but it was too late, He’d already disappeared. You pocketed the watch, blowing air out your lips. Surely, he’d come back for it, right? Until then you’d hold on to it, for safekeeping.

**

The day was drawing to a close and Jongdae still hadn’t returned for his watch. Your co-worker made a joke about pawning it for cash, but one glare from you shut them up. After finishing the cleaning list and putting up all the chairs, you slipped on your jacket and headed out. 

The sun was starting to disappear behind the buildings as you made your way to the subway. The wind was picking up so you pulled your jacket in closer to try and keep yourself warm. At the intersection right before your subway entrance, you were stopped by the orange hand saying not to cross. Even though no cars were zooming by, you decided it was better safe than sorry to obey the hand and stand there on the corner for the okay to cross. As you waited, you pulled the watch from your pocket to inspect the details. 

It wasn’t a Rolex like you would have expected. The plate on the back said it was from Bvlgari. You didn’t know much about the brand, but you did know that it was a brand only for the rich. This particular product was simple, but that meant by no means was it cheap. It was solid gold, heavy, with black lines on the face, only the twelve and six printed out in actual numbers. A second, smaller version was seated in the bottom left to represent the second hand. It was pretty, elegant and luxurious. Just like its owner. 

Flipping it over, you found that under the brand name, something else was etched into the surface. 

Chen. 

What did that mean?

“That’s a handsome watch you’ve got there.”

You jumped, not having realized that you were no longer alone. The walking man had come and gone. Now the hand was flashing, telling you it was too late to try and cross, too late to try and put distance between you and the creepy looking man leering over you. It wasn’t his face, necessarily that was creepy - in fact, it was quite average looking. It was the expression on his face that was setting off your alarm bells. 

Replacing the watch in your packet, you stayed quiet, as if he hadn’t spoken at all. 

“Where did you get it?” he asked, undeterred. 

“It’s a friend’s,” you replied. Damn it, why did you have to acknowledge him?

“A friend, you say? What’s his name?”

You cleared your throat to give off a more confident sound than how you really felt. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe it’s any of your business.”

The man scoffed. “Now that’s not very nice.”

Rolling your eyes, you went to look at him to tell him off once and for all, but you were greeted with the barrel of a gun. You suddenly ran cold. Were you about to die because you couldn’t keep the stupid watch in your pocket?

“You can’t have it!” It was a bluff, sure, but you were hoping he would change his mind and walk away. If it really came down to it, you would give it to him. Jongdae had plenty, anyway. Right?

“Oh, I don’t want the watch,” the man snickered. Out of his own pocket, he grabbed a white cloth and held it up menacingly. “It’s you I want. The watch just pointed me in the right direction.”

“Wha- mph!” 

Before you could run, the man snaked an arm around you, covering your nose and mouth with the cloth. The chemical smell you breathed in told you exactly what was happening. You lasted only a minute or so before you blacked out. 

**

You woke up in the back of an SUV, hands tied behind your back and sandwiched between the man who’d kidnapped you and another thug with bulging muscles and a large rifle in his hand. 

“About time you wake up,” the first man laughed. 

You wanted oh so badly to spit some sort of comeback at him, but you’d seen enough movies to know that would end only with you getting a bloody lip - or worse. 

“That’s the signal,” the other man said. He grabbed your upper arm and kicked open the door on his side of the SUV before dragging you out of it. What you saw from there made your jaw drop. 

It was exactly like the movies. An old abandoned warehouse, two groups of men facing each other, twenty feet or so between them. You were apparently on the side of the “obvious bad guys” - they were the ones with large guns and… well you, the clueless victim. 

On the other side of the warehouse was what you could only conclude was the mafia known as EXO. The nine men dressed much more elegantly than your captors, their own pistols holstered on their hips. Most of them were frowning, but one… one in particular actually seemed worried. And it was the one person you’d hoped wouldn’t be there.

“What are you doing with her?” Jongdae demanded. His fist was clenched at his side, mere centimeters away from his gun. 

The man in the middle with the slicked back hair and dark blue suit - the one who looked like the obvious leader - laughed. “I thought I’d bring her along to help with negotiations, Chen.”

Chen? Your gaze landed steadily on Jongdae. Was that his real name? The one etched on the back of his watch? Was Jongdae just a cover for his true self? You felt like an idiot. There was no reason for you to, as you couldn’t say you ever really knew him beyond the customer/cafe girl relationship. But your observation skills had failed you and that within itself was humiliating enough. 

“I don’t see how she matters, Thorn,” said one of the tall members of Jongdae’s group. His face was the most neutral of the lot, his build long and lean. He almost seemed bored, even though your life was very much in danger. 

“What?” the leader named Thorn snorted. “You mean you don’t know about Chen’s little girlfriend? I thought you didn’t have secrets between the lot of you?”

You waited for Jongdae - er Chen (your head was beginning to hurt with all these different names) - to correct him, but to your surprise, he stayed silent. 

One of the other members looked to Chen. “What’s going on?”

Chen shook his head, but not at his member. “I don’t know why you thought to involve her.”

“Weren’t you the one trying to protect her in the first place?” Thorn asked. “Isn’t that why after our last run-in you stayed away from her? But you couldn't do that for long, could you?”

“Just tell us what the hell you want!” Chen shouted.

Thorn looked like he was getting exactly what he wanted. “Hand over my money and the deeds to the river front property on the south end and I’ll let her go.”

“That’s all we get?” sneered the tanned member of Chen’s group. 

“I think that’s a fair deal,” Thorn shrugged. One of the men behind you cocked their gun. One quick glance told you that it wasn’t just a threat. The barrel was pointed at the back of your head. They meant it: accept the deal or you were dead. 

Without verbally agreeing, Chen turned around and headed for his car. The horrifying thought that he was going to let them kill you ran through your mind. But instead of driving off, he reached into the back seat and pulled out two large black duffel bags.

“You bring her to the middle at the same time,” he demanded. 

Thorn gestured at his men with two fingers to bring you. You were dragged unceremoniously to the center as Chen also stepped forward. He threw down the bags. One of the men bent over and unzipped the contents. Bundles and bundles of cash filled the bags, almost bulging from the amount shoved inside. He turned to Thorn and nodded once. Then the other man cut the ropes that bound your wrists, freeing you. He shoved you into Chen, who caught you and held on.

“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly. 

“Yeah,” you nodded. “I’m fine.” Confused, disoriented, and scared, but fine nonetheless. 

“Come on.” He escorted you over to the car and all but shoved you into the passenger's seat. Wordlessly, the others also jumped into their cars and drove off out of the warehouse. 

Well. That was simple. 

But the ride didn’t last long. The groups of cars stopped only a block away. 

“What’s going on?” you asked frantically as you searched around. Were you being followed? Had something gone wrong?

“Shush.” He barely glanced at you as he stared out the windshield. 

Several of the men got out of their cars and placed gas masks over their faces. They walked back towards the warehouse. You held your breath, waiting to see what would happen next. It may have seemed like forever, but according to the clock on the dash, only ten minutes had gone by before the group returned, duffel bags in hand. 

“How did they-” You turned to Chen for an answer to your unfinished question. 

“Gas canisters under the money,” he explained, still not looking at you. “Poisonous. They won’t harm you ever again.” And with that, he threw the car into drive and took off. 

He sped through the city. He said no words to you, leaving you in the dark about what you’d been forced to endure. 

Only when your apartment building came into view did he come to a stop. You stared down the block at your front door. Should you get out now? What would happen to you? Were the ones who’d kidnapped you dead? Would you be next now that you knew the secret identities of the mafia?

“Don’t tell anybody about tonight,” he told you in a warning voice. 

“I won’t,” you promised. Who would believe you anyway? 

Taking that as your signal to leave, you unbuckled your seatbelt and opened the car door. He didn’t stop you as your feet touched the concrete. This felt like goodbye forever. You had a feeling that after this moment, you would never see him again. And it was hurting your heart. Despite the fact that you’d be safer without him, it still hurt. 

“Wait!”

You made it only halfway down the sidewalk when Chen came running after you. A frown pulled at your lips. What could he want now?

But you never got the chance to ask that question out loud when he suddenly grabbed your face and pushed you up against the building wall. His lips were on yours before you could comprehend what was happening. Shock kept you frozen, but only for a few seconds. 

Soon, you were returning the kiss, hands reaching up and digging in his hair and gripping on tight. Red brick poked and prodded your shoulder blades, but you hardly noticed. Your mind was occupied with Jongdae, the feeling of his hands on you, the fire his touch created. 

But Chen ended it almost as quickly as he’d started. He reached into your pocket and pulled out the watch that was still there. Taking ahold of your hand, he slipped it onto your wrist. “I’m sorry.” Then he spun on his heels and went back to his car.

You blinked after the vehicle, unsure of how to feel. The world was tilted, nothing was lining up. 

Letting out a long sigh, you slid down to the ground. Everything felt numb. Not even the coldness of the concrete seemed to bother you. Perhaps you were in shock. Or maybe this was all a weird fever dream, your brain’s explanation for your customer’s long absence. 

Yes… maybe it was all just a dream. 

**

It wasn’t. 

The evidence that it was real was hanging on your wrist when you woke up the next morning. For several minutes, you sat in bed, staring at the watch. None of the previous night’s event made any sense. You didn’t know what to do except to go on until the next time you saw the mafia man. 

But he didn’t show up to the cafe that day. Okay. that was to be expected. 

Then he didn’t show up for a week. Two weeks.

Well, into the third week, you were giving up on ever seeing him again. The chime of the doorbell made you jump, but the customer was never him. Perhaps when he said he was sorry, he really meant goodbye. Maybe your gut was right and you were never going to see him again. 

Every day, you wore the watch, just in case. In case he showed back up. In case you were given the chance to see him again. 

During the slower moments, you would take off the watch and read the strange name over and over. Chen. Chen. Chen. Who was he? And was he so different from the kind soul you’d observed over the months that he’d come to the cafe? You didn’t want to think so. You were sure that, at least deep down, they could be one in the same. 

Closing time had come and you were just about finished with all your chores. The only thing that remained was to take out the trash. The bags were heavy, so you struggled to drag them into the back alley where the dumpsters were located. Grabbing one bag, you lifted it up and with a huff, pushed it into the dumpster. But when you turned to the other bag, someone else had already taken it. 

You watched with a slacked jaw as Chen threw the garbage bag away with ease. 

“Hi,” he greeted. He shoved his hands in his pockets, smiling shyly, crookedly at you. It was small and unsure, perhaps waiting for you to start shouting or become explosive in some way. 

Instead, you stayed quiet. Chen shifted from foot to foot anxiously. The bruise had long ago healed, but he looked more unkempt than ever. His dress shirt was wrinkled and disheveled. No tie hung from his neck and his slacks looked about a day old. Your fingers ached to reach out and fix his hair, but you restrained. 

“How are you?” he asked awkwardly in an attempt to break the tension. 

“Fine.”

He nodded. “Good, good.”

Silence fell again. 

You shook your head. “Who are you? Really?”

“You know who I am,” he said. 

You scoffed. “No, I don’t. Americano with cream. Kim Jongdae. Chen. Mafia member. To me, it seems like you’re many different people.”

A sad sigh left his lips. He held out his hand to you. “Hi. My name is Kim Jongdae. I’m a member of the EXO mafia, codename Chen.”

Part of you wanted to be petty and not shake his hand. But you couldn’t entirely blame him for the secrecy and the disappearing act. You couldn’t even really blame him for your kidnapping. All he did was accidentally leave his watch behind. So, you grasped his hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Jongdae.”

Jongdae dropped your hand, his smile growing a fraction at your openness to him. “I think I should explain…,” he scratched the back of his head nervously. “Well, everything, I guess.”

You snorted. “Yeah, I’ll say.”

To your surprise, he laughed. Soon, however, it faded out. “I neve meant for you to get involved. Suho told me months ago to stop coming to see you here at the cafe, but I couldn’t help myself. Something about you just kept bringing me back.” 

Your cheeks burned at his somewhat confession, but you pressed your lips closed. Now was not the time to interrupt. Then you might not get all the answers. 

“I didn’t know Thorn’s men were following me until about a month ago. They cornered me. I was able to kill one of them before the others ran away. Right before the man died, he made a comment about how I’d better keep an eye on my coffee girl, in case something should happen.” Jongdae winced at that, running a hand through his hair, making it stick up even more. “I couldn’t see you right away. I was too beat up for that. I was relieved when I saw that you were fine. But… I was still worried. I left my watch behind that day on purpose, hoping you’d keep a hold of it.”

Now you had to intercede. “Why? What was the point of that?”

He looked down guiltily. “I had Baekhyun put a tracking device in the wrist band of it. I wanted to make sure you were safe. In the end, I just made things worse. The watch was the proof they were waiting for, to see if you were important enough to use against me.”

You wanted to be angry. You wanted to be annoyed, stomp away while screaming for him to never show his face in front of you again. If he’d come a few weeks ago, you might have. But those feelings had depleted over time. Logic had taken over. Certain things were just out of his control. And… well, you were a little happy that he hadn’t listened to this Suho person and kept coming to the cafe. Flattered, really, if a bit shy about it. 

You didn’t even think about it. Your foot took that first step and the next thing you knew, your arms were wrapping around his torso and you were resting your cheek against his chest.

“Thank you,” you whispered. “For not letting them kill me.”

He was quick to return the embrace, holding you tight against him. “I never would have let that happen to you. One way or another, I would have gotten you out of there.”

Sighing, you leaned back to look at Jongdae. Your mind was still a bit scrambled at all of this. Your previous observations weren’t making any sense to the confession being laid out in front of you. Especially the one where you thought he hardly noticed you. “I must be out of my mind.”

He frowned at you. “Why do you say that?”

Shaking your head, you pressed your lips to his, surprising him like he did to you that night outside your apartment. But unlike you, he didn’t hesitate in the slightest. With one hand cupping your jaw and the other firmly planted on the small of your back, he pressed you even closer to him so no space remained between your bodies. He didn’t pull away until both of you needed to replenish the air in your lungs. Looking into his eyes, you couldn't help but be nervous. Because you knew the danger this man brought. You’d already lived it. But you were in too deep now. And you weren’t sure you wanted to pull yourself out of it, anyway. 

**

You bounced from foot to foot, eager for the end of your shift to come. For months, Jongdae had been begging you to quit, to let him take care of you. But you liked having the schedule, having something to do all day while he was working with the others. You also preferred not to have your rent and other necessities paid for by, well, by money that wasn’t completely clean. 

There were times where you wished Jongdae wasn’t living the life he was, but you couldn't change him. You wouldn’t even try. You’d accepted who he was since you first learned about his truth. That didn’t mean you had to be consumed by his world as well. You could still keep your life and have him, too. At least for now. 

“Oh, just go already,” your co-worker grumbled as they rolled their eyes. 

Not even arguing, you ripped off the apron and ran to the office to clock out. Your heart was racing at the simple thought of seeing Jongdae. It was date night for the two of you and you were especially excited since it’d been nearly a week since you last saw him. 

You’d barely made it out the door before a pair of arms snatched you from behind. A scream erupted from your throat until you heard the tell-tale laughter in your ear. 

“Jongdae!” You turned around in his arms and slapped his shoulder, but he kept laughing, enjoying your startled state.

He kissed your lips, still smiling. “I missed you.”

You tried not to smile. You really did. But you lost fairly quickly. “I missed you, too.” 

Holding up your hand, he slid his fingers in between yours. It felt right, his hand in yours. Like you’d been cold all this time and he was the only thing that could keep you from dying of hyperthermia. His warmth was infectious and addicting. Even when the two of you argued and fought over his lifestyle choices, you always found yourself back in his presence. You just couldn’t let him go. 

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he said. 

You scrunched your face. “Another one?”

“This one isn’t jewelry,” he promised. Releasing your waist, he pulled you towards his car and helped you into the passenger’s seat. As soon as he was settled behind the wheel, he took ahold of your hand again, kissing your knuckles softly. Then he looked at you cheekily. “Ready?”

“With you?” You smiled broadly. “Always.”

Your answer made him grin so widely that he looked like a kid. It made your heart skip a beat, the innocence, the love behind it. And it was all for you. Always for you. 

It was funny to you, where you were now versus only a few months ago. You went from being the background girl who looked a little too closely to person by Jongdae’s side, the man who felt out of reach. He wasn’t perfect, he wasn’t a knight in shining armor. But he was yours. And that was enough. 

[incomedrivensocialmedia]

Eight Books Every New Entrepreneur Should Read

by Darrell Crosgrove I see people asking on Facebook and Reddit what kinds of business they should start. Immediately, like wolves seeing a new stumbly fawn without its mother near, scammers charge in. Offers of how the budding entrepreneur can join this particular program and make $2,000 to $5,000 a week easy, working from home (SCAM!!!) or how this helpful web guru can create for your business a new a wonderful website set up for a mere $3,000. (Which works out to about $3,000 an hour for the setup fee, because setting up a basic WordPress site and customizing it takes about an hour.)  These people want to do something--their own side gig. Something to earn money and be flexible and they can feel good about doing. But they have no idea on WHAT to do, or how to do it. In short, they want, but have no idea how to fill that want. If you are at that point--wanting to get your own gig, but having no idea on how to actually do it--here are 8 books you should read. Each one will help educate about an aspect of being an entrepreneur so you have the information you need that will allow you to decide on what to do, start it on the cheap, and make it grow. Yes, all these books are on Amazon. Most in both print and audiobook format. Or, if you are on limited funds, try your local library. Also, don't dismay if your local library doesn't have them in stock. Most libraries subscribe to a service known as Hoolpa. Hoopla has GOBS of digital titles and your library card gets you a free Hoolpa account. My Hoopla account allows me to download 10 titles a month in the format of E-books, Audiobooks, Movies, Graphic Novels, CDs, etc, etc... And I did a check--6 of the 8 are sitting there on Hoopla, waiting for you to download them to your phone, laptop, or tablet. (The titles followed by (H) are available on Hoopla.  The $100 Startup has a summary available on Hoopla. 100 Ways to Make a Living by Courier Magazine you may be forced to purchase.)  Yeah, will take some time to read these. But, in fairness, I put them in the order they are needed by new entrepreneurs, and by #3 or #4, you might be ready to start. Read (or listen to) all 8 if you can, but you don’t need all 8 before you begin. In order: The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau (H-Summary) Teaches you that you CAN start a business on the super-cheap, and how to do it. A must read to get you past the fear of it takes tens of thousands of dollars to start a business. That is BS. You can start a side-gig business for under $100.00, and this book shows you how. Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller (H) One of the better books on how to present your material in a way that speaks to the needs and wants of the customer. The focus is you must first identify the needs and desires your customer has and then fit your message and product into delivering that product so that they receive their truly desired internal results. This is a focus on HOW to identify what your customers really desire in their own minds, and tailor your message and product to provide that desired end result. 100 Ways to Make a Living by Courier Magazine 100 business ideas to start your creativity flowing. I don’t expect you to use any of these suggestions, as much as this book teaches you how to think about the limitless possibilities of starting you own business, and how to grow it. Start Your Own Corporation by Garrett Sutton, Esq. (H) (Part of the Rich Dad's Advisor Series) Demystifies what a corporation is, and how to create and maintain one. Also points out the incredibly great legal and tax benefits of running your business under the corporate banner. (And, no, you do NOT need an attorney to create one. In my state all you need is $125 and to fill out some boilerplate 3-page form.) The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber (H) Explains, in simple terms and analogies, WHY being an Entrepreneur requires you to quickly move your mindset from doing it all yourself to the task of creating instructions for your employees to do, while you build and expand the business. There are a lot of people out there running their own businesses doing 60-70 hour work weeks because they have never made the leap from "chief employee" to actual CEO. This book helps you move past that. Sales Dogs by Blair Singer (H) (Part of the Rich Dad's Advisor Series) Teaches you the various styles of selling that there are--from Doberman to Collie. The point isn't to change you into the "best one", because they are all equally efficient, as much as to teach you HOW to operate within your own natural style, and thus make more sales. BTW: If you are an entrepreneur, you WILL be doing a lot of selling if you are successful. Influence by Robert Cialdini (H) There are six methods that you can use to influence a person to do what you want, whether that is which restaurant to go to, or convince them to purchase the more expensive car from you. Cialdini breaks them down and presents them not as tools to use in selling (although, of course, a lot of people do use it for that purpose…) as much as how to defend yourself against these techniques. Once you have read it, you see through marketing and advertising, and salespeople, almost automatically, and their ability to subtly pressure you ceases to exist. How to Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie. (H) (Also known as HTWFAIP.) Carnegie published this book in October of 1936, and it remains the pinnacle of the subject of how the make people like you. Not with slick snake-oil mannerisms. No speech tricks. No psychological maneuvers. HTWFAIP teaches you how to grow your personality to where people naturally like you because you are the kind of person that people naturally like. Think back to the people you know who are upbeat and positive. They are a joy to be around in group and are always invited to events and parties. Those people were naturally pleasant to be around. They probably worked to achieve that kind of positive personality, but it paid off in a large circle of friends. You can be that person. And while it might not sound this is an entrepreneur book, think about it--would you rather do business with someone you naturally like, or someone you don't like quite so much? Get this one and learn how to be more naturally likable. Read the full article

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