I never thought I\u2019d be the kind of person who would say, \u201cI just ran in for a coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n
It sounds so na\u00efve in hindsight, like something people say in crime shows before<\/p>\n
a detective shakes their head at them. But that morning, it really was supposed to be just ten minutes.<\/p>\n
I was on my way to meet a friend\u2014well, not a friend, more like a person from my past who\u2019d<\/p>\n
recently reappeared in my inbox with a vague message and a location. \u201cWe should talk,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
No name, no details, just a pin dropped at a coffee shop I hadn\u2019t been to in years.<\/p>\n
And like an idiot\u2014or maybe like someone who still had something to prove\u2014I decided to go.<\/p>\n
I parked my white Kia right in front, broad daylight, plenty of foot traffic.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a sketchy neighborhood, and I figured it was safe enough.<\/p>\n
My laptop bag sat on the passenger seat, and yeah, I usually throw my coat over it,<\/p>\n
just to be safe. But this time, I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Ten minutes. In and out.<\/p>\n
I walked into the caf\u00e9, scanned the room. No sign of the person who messaged me.<\/p>\n
I ordered an iced coffee just to look casual, texted back \u201cI\u2019m here,\u201d and waited. Five minutes passed. Ten.<\/p>\n
Then I got the message: \u201cSorry. Something came up. Let\u2019s reschedule.\u201d<\/p>\n
I muttered a curse, grabbed my drink, and walked out. That\u2019s when I saw it.<\/p>\n
The driver-side window of my car had been smashed to hell. Shards of glass glittered<\/p>\n
in the afternoon sun, scattered like confetti across the seats, the floor, even inside the cup holders.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped. The laptop was gone.<\/p>\n
I just stood there, holding my iced coffee like an idiot, unable to process it.<\/p>\n
People walked past like nothing had happened. A few glanced at the wreckage, but no one stopped.<\/p>\n
The anger hit first. I was shaking, swearing under my breath, already kicking myself. Then the real panic set in.<\/p>\n
That laptop wasn\u2019t just for work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I never thought I\u2019d be the kind of person who would say, \u201cI just ran in for a coffee.\u201d It sounds so na\u00efve in hindsight, like something… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n