Page 150 of The Boss Omega
“I should have taken the stairs,” he grumbles.
In the kitchen, I set Lark on the barstool and open the pantry. I pull out individually labeled baggies of coffee flavors. Brown sugar. Sugar cookie. Gingerbread.
“Oh my god. Silas, make this one. Just on your own. No guidance from our coffee guru.” She hands Silas a gingerbread packet.
He opens it carefully, pouring the mix into the bottom of the cup. Then he sets the coffee machine to brew espresso as he pulls the milk from the refrigerator.
“Just heat that in the microwave,” Lark suggests.
“It won’t be café quality,” Graham warns.
She rolls her eyes. “I want to know what it will taste like with bare minimum prep.”
Silas doesn’t question. Just pours some milk into a different mug and sets it in the microwave. He punches some buttons. The espresso finishes brewing. He pours it into the mug, gently stirring until all the sugar is dissolved.
“I probably should have let the espresso drip into it. Would have saved me a mug.”
Lark shrugs. “It’s authentic. People won’t be as pristine with the process if they do it for themselves.”
Silas acknowledges the truth of her statement before adding the heated milk. “Try this,” he says with a smile.
She takes a sip, eyes going wide. “That’s good. Really good.” She looks at each of us. “It would be better with frothed milk, but I can see omegas really liking this. It’s easy and tasty.”
She hands Graham the mug. He takes a sip, nodding appreciatively before handing it to Silas.
Silas sips slowly. “It’s good. What are you thinking, little bird?”
Her lips curve. “I’m thinking this should be Saint’s new omega focused business. Tasty lattes for the busy omega.”
Lark takes another sip, then looks between all of us, her eyes sharpening in that way they do when she’s latched onto an idea.
“You could build a whole line around this,” she says.
I tilt my head. “A line?”
Her brain’s already moving faster than the rest of ours. “Yeah. Not just for me. For omegas.”
Graham leans forward slightly, interested.
“Omegas love sweet drinks,” she continues. “Comfort drinks. And more and more of them are working now. Early mornings, long commutes, classes. They don’t have time to stand around making something complicated.”
She taps the packet still sitting on the counter. “This?” she says. “This is easy. It’s fast. It tastes good. That’s a win.”
Silas crosses his arms, smiling like he already knows where she’s going.
“Busy omega moms. College students. Anyone who just wants something good without the effort.” She takes a breath. “Graham’s right. You could sell these.”
Graham nods. “Betas would buy them, too,” he says. “Sweet drinks aren’t exactly limited to omegas.”
Lark beams at him. “Exactly.”
Then her attention snaps back to me. “Your coffee is already perfect,” she says. “But this? This sets you apart. This makes you different.”
My heartbeat quickens. Because she’s not just talking. She believes it.
Silas leans back against the counter. “It would be a good inclusion in an OmegaBox someday,” he says casually.
Lark’s lips curve, slow and knowing. “Exactly.”
