Chapter 2 The Coffee house

Two months earlier

The aroma wafting from the coffee house was the only thing keeping her calm on a warm Sunday morning. Sundays were always supposed to be Natalie's day off and yet here she was dressed in a yellow shirt and blue jeans waiting to meet her client on the eve of her birthday. She sighed, checking her watch. It was nine-fifteen, fifteen minutes late from the time they had scheduled the meeting.

"Would you like a refill?" The waiter asked her with a pitiful smile.

"Yes, please" Natalie returned the smile and pushed her cup forward, absentmindedly twirling her black strands that flowed over her shoulder from her ponytail. Once her cup was filled, she picked it up, smelling the caffeine as she busily flipped a page from her planner. One sip was all it took for her stress to melt away, even if just for a moment, and caused her to breathe out completely relaxed. White dresses and forever after were never her cup of tea. One would find it funny that a woman who didn't believe in love or in happily ever after was employed in one of the finest event planning agencies that mostly dealt with weddings. Natalie shifted in her seat, her back sore from sitting on the rough seats of the coffee house in addition to working all night the day before, as she drank from her cup.

"I'm looking for Mariah Carter?" A voice caught her attention. She placed the cup back on the table and stood up, turning around. Towering over her with an approximate height of six feet was a man whose face could possibly be mistaken for a beautiful sculpture because of his sharply cut jaw. Natalie was momentarily lost in his eyes which resembled the restless ocean but was quick to re-focus herself, clearing her throat.

"Mr. Holmes? Mrs. Carter was unable to meet you personally due to certain health conditions. I am Natalie Rose, her assistant. I'll be helping you plan your event." She greeted him with a smile and shook his hand.

" His smooth voice glided over the air as he turned to seat himself facing her "Please, Call me Matt or Mathew. Mr Holmes is a bit too formal for my liking."

"Right. Matt." She smiled, looking at the folder " Mrs. Carter told me that you were planning an engagement party?" Matt nodded "Right, So I'm going to need some information, to begin with." She twirled her pen, looking at the pages.

"One second." He raised his hand "Waitress!"

Natalie blinked as he smiled widely at the approaching waitress "Yes, Sir?"

"I'd like a snowball Frappuccino please." He said, "And might I add, you look stunning today."

"T...Thank you." The young girl blushed and turned on her heels with his order.

Mathew Holmes wriggled as he removed his beige coat and folded it, keeping it aside. He then loosened the black tie from the collar of his crisp white shirt. Unbuttoning his sleeves, he rolled them just below his elbow. He wet his lips, ignoring Natalie for a good two minutes as he settled comfortably. It was only when Natalie cleared her throat, that he looked at her "I'm sorry, you were saying?" His eyes seemed to almost glow as they captured the glimmering rays of the sun.

"Uh... I was saying." She pushed the binder towards him "I needed some information, to begin with, the ..um foundation of our planning."

"Right." He said, looking at the binder seriously. His lower lip was caught in his lip as he read through the questions intensely "Might I have the pen?" His eyes flickered to Natalie who at the time was staring at him. She instantly shifted her gaze, clearing her throat again.

"Absolutely.." She held it out as he took it "I wasn't staring at you, In case you were wondering."

"Sure." He responded as he began writing corresponding answers to the questions.

Natalie was, of course, staring at him. It wasn't because she felt attracted to him. Well, partly, it was because of that, but mostly it was because of the man's sheer beauty. She had come across a lot of men in her line of job, and from the few times she was forced to use a random dating website, none of them caught her attention as he did. She wet her lips, her eyes trying to focus on something else but him. To help her case, the waitress arrived on time and placed Mathew's order on the table "Thank you." Mathew flashed her another one of his smiles as Natalie fished her phone out and was trying to focus on the current level of Candy Crush.

"Refill ma'am?" the waitress asked, pointing towards the almost empty cup. Natalie peeled her eyes from the mobile screen and nodded. She could never say no to coffee. Coffee was one of Natalie's greatest weaknesses. She pushed the cup towards the waiter who poured in the addictive caffeine beverage. Natalie was watching the steam rise from the cup and inhaled that fresh aroma once again, placing the phone aside on the table again. She picked the cup in her hand, her fingertips touching each other at the rim. The cup was raised to her lips, her elbows resting on top of the table. Her eyes, however, were fixed on the man in front of her. She was warning her mind to not stare at him and scare her client away, but unfortunately, nothing seemed to be stopping her. It was like she was in a car that was racing against the wind and the brakes weren't working. She swallowed and observed how his fingers held the Frappuccino cup and how his thin lips wrapped around the straw as he sipped from it. She clenched her jaw, giving her brain one last warning when he waved his hand in front of her. Caught off guard, she accidentally dropped the cup spilling the contents all over herself as she stood up hissing "Fuck."

"Jesus, are you all right?" He asked, lifting the binder from the table as the china rolled onto the ground, shattering.

"No." She blushed intensely when she realized that her yellow shirt was now drenched and her lacy white bra was very visible to everyone. Matt, however, diverted his eyes and focused on the table pooled with the spilled coffee. She crossed an arm before her bosom, trying her best to hide her embarrassment as she shuffled out of the booth "Sorry, Excuse me. I'll be back." she mumbled rushing towards the women's room.

The heat from the beverage stung her skin but what hurt more was her image at the moment. Embarrassed, Natalie shuffled into one of the stalls and unbuttoned her shirt, and waited till she heard the women walk away. Once she was sure of her privacy, she opened the door and approached the sink. Opening the faucet, she carefully washed the coffee-stained part of her dress hoping it wouldn't stain. "This cannot possibly get any worse." She mumbled and sighed, wiping the coffee stains from her body 'First time you're handed a client to handle independently and you ruin it by pouring coffee onto yourself like the clumsy bitch you are after staring at him like he's prey. Good Job Nat.'

"Excuse me miss?" The moment she heard the voice she clutched her still wet and dripping shirt to her chest in an attempt to cover herself and turned around to see the waitress holding out a folded tee shirt "I figured you might need a change of clothes but unfortunately, this is all we have."

"Thank you, it's better than nothing." Natalie gratefully reached out and took the tee shirt "I'm terribly sorry about the mess. I'll pay for everything."

"Accidents happen all the time, miss." She smiled "Your boyfriend paid for it."

"Boy-" She shook her head, turning around "He's not my boyfriend." Placing her shirt aside, she opened the tee shirt That looks smaller than my size she thought as she pulled the tee shirt over her head "He's my client."

"Apologies miss." The waitress apologized again as Natalie grunted. Her guess had been right, the tee shirt was two sizes too small almost squeezing the very breath out of her, showcasing her assets. I was wrong, things could get worse. This can't be happening to me. She held her shirt to her chest once again "I'm sorry, this was all we had."

Natalie smiled at the waiter "I'm more than grateful. I'll promise I'll return this first thing tomorrow after washing it, of course." She said, stepping out with the waitress. Although there were no eyes staring at her, Natalie still felt awkward and uncomfortable. Spotting her client seated at a new table she approached him. He was seated, writing down information on the binder she had given him earlier with his coat now resting on the arm of the chair. Natalie's bag was on the other seat. She cleared her throat " Mr. Holmes?"

Mathew turned around and stood up when he saw Natalie "You're okay right?" He asked, his eyes scanning her causing her to hold the yellow shirt closer to her chest.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." She smiled apologetically "I'm really sorry about all this. I'm usually more-"

"Don't worry about it." Mathew returned her smile "Um, We could re-schedule." He offered "I personally wouldn't want to keep you here when you're clearly uncomfortable. How does tomorrow sound?"

Fiddling with her hands, Natalie nodded "Re-scheduling sounds good to me. I uh," She wanted to tell him that it was her birthday and she had made plans for her birthday. She really did but she also knew that when Mariah called him to ask for feedback, it wouldn't sound good. fuck it! I need to make up for today or else, I'd be living on the street. God knows I need this job as much as I hate it. Cursing mentally, she nodded "Tomorrow sounds perfectly fine. We meet here?" She asked.

"I'd love to meet her but unfortunately, I have to attend a couple of meetings tomorrow. So I wouldn't be able to travel. How about we meet at my office? Same time."

"Sure." She nodded "That sounds great" Mathew handed his phone to her "Um?"

"Your number so I can drop in the location and for further communication purposes." He said as Natalie typed in her number and saved it "Thank you." He said pulling the phone from her hand gently, once she had finished "Right. so, since that's done, how would you be going back home?"

"Uh, I'll take a cab. No worries." She gestured.

"A cab?" She looked at him nodding "With that tee shirt? Miss. Rose, I may be your client but I am also a gentleman and it would be highly unlikely of me to allow you to take a cab, in that tee shirt."

Is it really that obvious? Great. fuck today. Fuck it. Natalie couldn't help but stare at the floor "It's okay Mr. Holmes, really. You've already done so much. I can handle it."

"Miss. Rose, First of all, It's Mathew or Matt and not Mr Holmes unless you are referring to my father. Secondly, I know you can handle it but as much as I want to, my conscience wouldn't allow me to let you take a cab. Please, follow me." He said, walking away not waiting for her response.

Natalie, for a moment, seemed glued to the floor. Not only was this man highly charming with how he carried himself, but he was also generous. She secretly thanked God that he wasn't one of those clients who complained about everything in general and demanded some sort of compensation but then again, she was beginning to feel more uncomfortable with him. 'He is just being nice. Don't overthink Nat, move your arse. The last thing you want to do is make your client wait, wasting his time again for you.' She scolded herself and then grabbed her back, stepping outside. "Stay right here. I'll bring the car around the front." He instructed and disappeared into the parking area. Natalie nodded and stood there, waiting for him.

Five minutes later, a Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of her. The window lowered and Mathew smiled from the driver's seat "Hop in."

"You came to a coffee house with this beauty?" She blinked, walking over to the other side. She pulled open the door and got in beside him "I'm guessing money won't be an issue in planning your engagement then?"

Mathew blinked at her before laughing softly "No, No it won't be Miss. Rose."

"Nat."

"Hm?" He asked raising the windows of his car. Now, looking at her.

"My first name, It's Natalie or um...In short..uh Nat." She looked out the window as a smile traced itself on Mathew's face.

"All right, Nat. Let's get you home."