After the stressful day of having his proposal rejected and now finding out he needed to get married ASAP, Azul welcomed the day at the beach his company had set up.
Now that he had acquired Pelican's Shore Resort, there was much for him to do.
Pelican's Shore Resort would be rebranded into Azulure Tides, a high end 5-star resort with its own private beach.
The first step to that would be to merge his Azulure Tides team with the Pelican's Shore employees, now that they would be sharing a new office space.
Today they'd be doing a team building and introduction exercise at the beach – the perfect venue considering his business venture. The temperature was already cooling down, so it was now or never. They had to take advantage of these final warm weathered days before winter set in.
Despite being the CEO and founder, Azul always liked to keep his identity hidden with his businesses and preferred to parade around as a freelance employee.
It was always helpful to get hands on experience in the office and figure out workplace dynamics.
Azul stepped off the bus they'd rented in a black t-shirt and black swim trunks with grey seaweed designs, a large towel was rolled underneath his arm.
He pushed his sunglasses to take in the private beach they'd rented, squinting against the sun rays.
The ocean was calm, and he could see that the Pelican's Shore team had already arrived and were setting up umbrellas and beach chairs on the sand.
There were grills by the parking lot to which his team brought over their coolers and barbecue supplies, and a large building up against a cliffside with a sign "BATHROOMS FOR PRIVATE BEACH ONLY!!!"
Next to the bathrooms was a trail that lead up to the top of the cliff with an area to jump off into the ocean.
To the other side were large rocks and what looked like rock pools and a large area for a bonfire.
Azul headed down to the beach area to help set up more umbrellas and to help one employee who seemed to be having a particularly hard time.
"Do you need some help?" He asked as he grabbed hold of the giant umbrella she was struggling to get into the ground.
"Yes please!" She said eagerly as she took a step back, allowing him to dig the umbrella deep into the sand.
"You want to do it like this." Azul removed the umbrella from the hole he had just dug and flipped it over, opening it up, before putting it back in the hole, twisting it and re-burying it.
"Oh! Wow you're so good at that! It's definitely more stable now!" She said, watching him closely.
Azul looked up and flashed her a smile, but it quickly faded as his eyes widened at the sight of her.
She was beautiful, her white rhinestone bikini was dazzling in the sun, the waist chain draped across her abdomen, accentuating her perfect figure. Her long brown hair was curled at the end and pulled up into a pearl clip.
Those big brown doe-eyes of hers stared down at him, blinking with confusion at his sudden shift in demeaner.
"Is something the matter?" She asked with the tilt of her head.
Azul stood up and looked down upon her, the shadow from his height blocking out the sun and giving him a better look.
Her voice and those eyes, he'd know them anywhere.
"Sira?"
The brunette's eyes widened with surprise, "Y-yes?"
Azul smirked and raised an eyebrow. Who would've known there was such a little devil hiding underneath that angel costume.
"It's me, Azul." He said, his eyes trailing down her body before returning to her eyes.
"Azul?!" Sira gasped, leaning forward and looking up at his face, "What are you doing here?!"
He ran his fingers through his raven-colored hair, "I suppose this was the sudden excursion you had to get ready for that you were talking about yesterday? I'm here for the same reason. It seems we'll be co-workers."
A gigantic bright smile came over Sira's face as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a close embrace.
Azul stumbled forward, his eyes wide before he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"What was that for?" Curiosity filling his chuckling voice as she pulled back.
"I'm just really, REALLY, happy to finally have a friend at work. You know how they are…" She nodded her head towards her co-workers who were already frolicking in the water.
A small smile crept across his lips as he felt his heart skip a beat.
Had anyone in this life ever been so happy to see him? To be in his presence?
"Oh! What was the thing you wanted to talk to me about today? It seemed urgent when you texted me. Now that we're both here, we can talk about it."
Azul was pulled out of his thoughts as she brought up his text from yesterday.
"Right."
He averted his gaze, considering his course of action for a moment.
How could he just outright say, 'I need you to be my wife. Fake marry me?'
"I think, right now isn't really the time or place to discuss it. When are you free next?"
Sira nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I guess a company outing isn't the best idea place. How about tomorrow? We'll be sharing an office starting then, right? We can go get lunch together and discuss it then?"
"That will work. I'll see you tomorrow at lunch for a…./discussion/ then." Azul rubbed his chin, already contemplating how he would pitch this idea to her.
Sensing there was something a little off by his reaction, she shot him a weird smile before changing the subject.
"Well, until then, do you want to swim with me? The ocean is so calm right now, it's perfect for me to go in right now."
Azul nodded and pulled off his shirt, revealing his toned body and hard muscles.
A light pink hue spread across Sira's cheeks as she quickly turned to her tote bag she'd had placed on the floor nearby. She pulled out a bottle of sunscreen.
"I-I'll just put this on first!" She said, flustered.
"Of course. Here, let me help."