Serena pulled open the heavy glass door of the small coffee shop, the faint chime of a bell announcing her arrival.
The scent of roasted beans and warm pastries immediately enveloped her, soothing her nerves, something she very much loved about this place. She scanned the room, her eyes falling on the place she had expected to see the man but he was nowhere to be found.
The man she had come looking for, had specifically asked to meet him here which to her meant he was supposed to be here.
Serena made her way to the counter, her shoes tapping softly against the tiled floor. The line was short, which she was thankful for unlike the last time she had been here.
"Double espresso, with some pastries." She scanned the room again with her eyes, he still was nowhere in sight.
Not more than a minute later, a warm voice broke through her thoughts.
"Rough day?"
'Where had he come from?!'
She turned to find him standing beside her, a journal in hand, making a mental note of asking why he had a journal in hand. Up close, he was even more handsome, with a confident smirk on his face that bordered on annoying.
"Quite the opposite," she replied.
"Let me guess," he said with an amused smile, tilting his head as if analyzing her. "You just finished a mind-blowing presentation at work"
Her eyes narrowed in mock shock. "Are you psychic, or just nosy?"
He chuckled, the sound annoyingly charming. "Neither. Just observant. I can see it written all over your face."
"Good to know I'm so transparent," she shot back, crossing her arms.
"Don't worry," he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "You wear it well. Like armor."
She couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. "That's... surprisingly insightful for someone who spends their afternoon people-watching in coffee shops."
"Guilty," he admitted, raising his coffee mug. "Let's start all over again. I'm Ryan, by the way."
"Serena,... Serena Wallace" she replied begrudgingly.
"Nice to meet you, Serena. For what it's worth, I think you did exquisite back there today."
"Thank you. Mr Ryan Brown, I honestly didn't expect to run into you back there." She raised an eyebrow. "Something tells me you didn't feel the same ."
He shrugged. "Hey, you're right I didn't, I knew you were an employee at Creed multinationals before today. That, I think we can discuss over there." He said pointing to the seat she had seen him the last time.
A reluctant smile tugged at her lips. He was insufferable but also... charming.
Her order was called, and she grabbed her order. "Well, if you insist " she said.
"Ladies first," he said with a grin, looking amused. She was the opposite of the girl that had poured coffee all over him.
She rolled her eyes but felt her cheeks flush and quickly turned away to make sure he didn't catch her red cheeks, leading the way to the seat he had pointed.