It only took a moment in time, but Jacob didn't know how to deal with it besides stay silent and keep his head down - it was either that, or regret life as his desert dry humor ruined everybody else's fucking morning. At least Evangeline had been kind enough to get those lazy asses behind the counter to get him more sweet rolls before he had gotten to the counter - truly it was odd. Jacob had always thought that Eva would hate his guts after... you know, that shit... and side with Kota. Yet, she still gave him smiles and a friendly gesture. What the hell? Was this part of a plan, or was she taking the moral high ground here? Whatever she was doing, Jacob seriously appreciated it. He didn't need another pair of eyes that, while once carried friendliness and enjoyment, now carried almost indifference.
Jacob hadn't been sitting for a second before he looked up towards the door, and instantly began to regret the decision. Entering the Mighty Bean were Cali and Nathan, and... Dakota. Instantly, he looked back at his food, hoping she hadn't caught him looking at her. His thoughts ground to a halt as he was left with that annoying question mark above his head: What in the fuck do I do now? In truth, they had both sort of been avoiding each other - while Jacob liked to think that she had been avoiding him, the same had gone for his side as well. He would unconsciously make sure that he didn't have to deal with her or interact. It made the pain go away smoothly when he did, however fleeting it was. Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob noticed they sat down not far from him, and when Greyson entered Jacob knew that it was time to change his thought process imediately. Greyson had always been that odd guy friend of Dakota's and his that would always engage in playful banter, almost to the point of flirting if Jacob wasn't around. Right now he didn't need that, so he pulled out his phone instantly and began going through his list of objectives for the day.
Most of his list was about the HUB, as while he had gotten punched last night, Jacob had also found that a customer had screwed up the sink in the lady's washroom, which needed to be fixed before tonight. Along with the fact that he needed to restock on a few items, make a few calls to some providers - his draft was getting low - and somehow forget that Dakota was right near him. Shit. His list barely distracted him from the obvious. When he looked up again, Dakota had moved towards him, and an awkward smile was on her lips before she turned away. Jacob's face remained completely blank, emotionless as she looked at him. All except for his eyes: he could never mask his entire face, and his eyes were his outlet. In them were only two things: pain and bitterness. After all, that was all he was feeling for the moment.
Jacob went back to staring at his sweetroll as the banter continued and then the trio left. His remaining food looked unappealing, but he ate it anyway as his thoughts ran rampant. The fact of the matter, which Jacob still couldn't fathom, was that Kota dropped him in the cold all because she thought he was cheating, and it didn't matter the numerous times he tried to explain it, she wouldn't listen. And every time he thought about it, his childhood just flooded back: how his 'dad' was accused of cheating by his mom, and she refused to listen to him. What happened to Jacob's little childhood? His dad got fed up, actually cheated, and then dropped his mom off on the side of the road. While Jacob couldn't deny that in hindsight, it was both of their faults, he couldn't help but feel like the world was just on loop - instead of using new ideas, fate just reused old ones.
Back when he was a kid, this situation caused his dad to walk out and become the bad guy, his mom to stress out completely, and tore Jacob to shreds. Now it was happening all over again. Jacob's fists had been clenched the entire time, and he rose from his table to leave before he was stopped by Gordon, who didn't even look at him as he spoke. "From one businessman to another; either you get that girl back, or get over her. It can't be good for the HUB to have you like this." Jacob acknowledged the advice with silence for a second, before a simple sigh caused his entire body to sag in utter defeat. Gordon was right, like he always was when he gave out his precious entrepreneurial advice.
"Yeah, yeah I know." A low mumble escaped him, the first words he had spoken today as he leaned against the one booth near Greyson. Gordon didn't say a word, but Jacob knew that he took Jacob's words with a grain of salt. Gordon liked results, not words. But it didn't matter - Jacob didn't know what to do, or even what he was doing. So he decided to head out of the Mighty Bean, just as solemnly as he had entered.
It only took minutes before Jacob had changed and was headed towards the gym, which required him to cross the park. It was probably the highlight of his day, just going across the park - it was as peaceful as it could get outside of his room, and there were birds. Jacob just kept moving though, only stopping if another person attempted to talk to him.