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Theclientwouldlikethefacadetobecompletelymadeoutofglassand-

Aurora rubbed her brown eyes tiredly as she continued to stare at the screen, trying her best to concentrate. The words on the screen seemed to all merge together into one whole blob.

It was Saturday and Aurora needed to respond to emails concerning her clients as well as review the work given to her by the architects that she overlooked. As the department head, she was in charge of overlooking all the projects, making sure they went as planned and met with their clients' demands.

Unable to get any work done, Aurora sighed as she slammed her laptop shut. She brought her fingers up to her temples and rubbed them, feeling another throbbing headache starting to form.

'That's it' she thought as she continued to rub her temples. 'I'm going down to Massie's to grab something to drink and then I'm going to finish my work there'

She knew that if she bought something to drink, she would have enough motivation to finish her work. There was something about spending money for a drink that made her feel the obligation to at least do something productive.

With determination, Aurora stood up from her comfortable spot on the floor in the living room and made her way towards her room. She quickly changed into a cropped white shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. Slipping on an oversized wool grey cardigan, she made her way to the restroom to throw her hair in a messy bun.

Quickly running back into her closet, she pulled out a pair of socks. Hopping on her left foot towards her desk, she attempted to put on her right sock, repeating the process with her other foot. After a successful attempt without falling onto the ground, Aurora grabbed the tote bag laying on the ground and quickly threw her wallet, sketchbook, pencil case, and laptop charger into the bag.

She checked her appearance one more time in the mirror, not bothering to put on makeup. She made sure to grab her glasses, knowing she would probably need them later on. Nodding, she made her way back into her living room where she quickly grabbed her laptop, shoving it into her tote bag before grabbing her phone and headed towards the door.

Slipping on her Nike Air-force 1s, she took a look around her apartment, making sure everything was in place, before grabbing her keys from the bowl next to the door.

She was determined to finish everything, even if it was the last thing she was going to do.

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Massie's Corner Cafe was located in the middle of busy Downtown LA. It was a small and cozy cafe, usually busy with business men and women on the weekdays, but on the weekends, the quiet atmosphere provided the perfect place to get work done.

Aurora opened the door with a chime, and the scent of coffee immediately filled her nostrils. She had walked to the cafe, as she usually did. She had no car due to the fact that she couldn't see well at night. Plus, her apartment wasn't located far from the cafe and her workplace.

Making her way into the cafe, quiet music played in the background of the cafe, immediately bringing her peace. She noticed a few people lingering in the cafe, slouched over a laptop or phone, most likely also here to escape the loud and busy streets of Downtown LA.

"Hello my dear, the usual?" Asked Massie, giving Aurora a sweet smile when she reached the front counter. Massie was a sweet older lady who ran the cafe with her husband, Stephan. Massie usually ran the barista portion of the cafe with her son, while Stephan and their daughters baked in the back.

When Aurora first stumbled upon the cafe, she had just been hired as a junior architect at Smith Architects. She spent a lot of her breaks and weekends at the cafe, since the cafe was just a 15 minute walk from her apartment and a 5 minute walk from the firm. Quickly, Massie and Stephan became her second parents, since she couldn't visit her parents often without a car. They lived an hour away in the suburbs and frankly, Aurora enjoyed her independence, despite her parents dropping in once in a while.

"Good afternoon Massie!" Aurora gave Massie a grin. "I think I'm going to switch it up a bit today. I'm feeling a bit of a sweet tooth, so I'll take a Caramel Frappuccino."

"Stressed?" Asked Massie, punching in the order onto the screen.

"I guess so," said Aurora, rampaging through her bag as she looked for her wallet. "I just can't seem to get any work done at home."

Massie chuckled at the young girl standing in front of her. She and her husband watched proudly as Aurora pushed herself to the limits, doing so with a smile on her face everyday, earning her rightful spot as the youngest female department head at the age of 26.

"Found it," muttered Aurora, handing the card to Massie with a sheepish grin. Despite her achievements at a young age, in Massie's eyes, Aurora still seemed like an innocent and playful young adult.

"I'll call you over when your orders ready," said Massie, handing the card back to Aurora before turning around to make the drink.

"Thank you," Aurora smiled and began digging through her tote bag once again for her wallet that she had mistakenly dropped back into her tote before she could slip her card in.

Just as she was about to turn around, her face was met with a hard wall, causing her to stumble back before a something, or more specifically someone caught her. Aurora scrunched her face in confusion.

Why the hell was there a wall in front of the counter?

She shook her head slightly at the absurdness of her thoughts and quickly came to realization that the wall in front of her was a person. In fact, that person had their arms wrapped around her bare waist causing slight tingles to erupt, reminding her that she was wearing a crop top.

Slowly, Aurora raised her head and let out a tiny gasp, her breath catching in her throat. Her eyes locked onto the most beautiful pair of grey eyes that she had ever seen. Standing at such close proximity allowed her to see the streaks the tiny streaks of gold in his eyes. She was captivated, for she had never seen eyes as pretty as his.

She continued to gaze up into his eyes just as he stared right back at her. It was as if they were the only two people that mattered in the world, their surroundings slowly fading away. She allowed herself to focus on the owner of the mesmerizing eyes and was immediately captivated by the handsome man.

He was tall and muscular, her head just barely reaching the top of his wide chest. His dark brown hair was styled neatly with gel, yet looked as if he had run his hand through them a couple of times. He had a sharp jaw that seemed to be cleanly shaved, as Aurora could slightly smell the aftershave due to their closeness.

Suddenly, his eyes seemed to widen, as if he recognized her, which Aurora thought to be impossible since she had never seen this man in her life. She swore she would've remembered meeting such a handsome man.

Realizing how close they were still standing, Aurora took a step back, away from his embrace. She felt her cheeks burn up and she was sure her whole face was red now. There was silence as he continued to stare at her with a look she could not decipher.

"Your eyes are real pretty," blurted Aurora, before widening her eyes in shock, immediately realizing what she had said out loud. "I- I mean-"

Her face grew warm with embarrassment as she fumbled with her words and began mentally cursing herself. The stranger let out a low chuckle. God, even his voice sounded heavenly.

"Thank you," he said in amusement, giving her a small smile, causing a small dimple on his right cheek to form. His deep, husky voice sent a shiver down her spine. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yea," stuttered Aurora. She took a deep breath before continuing, mentally scolding herself for stuttering like a fool. "Sorry about that."

"No worries."

Another silence settled between the two as Aurora continued to gaze at the stranger in curiosity. She took the opportunity to fully look at the man. He was wearing a dark expensive looking suit, which was strange since it was a Saturday.

"Aurora, dear, your drink is ready," interrupted Massie, glancing at the two in amusement. Aurora quickly broke out of her trance and turned towards Massie with a blush on her face.

Just as Aurora was about to grab the drink, Massie quickly placed a plate next to the drink.

"Take this as well, dear. On the house" Massie gave Aurora a motherly smile. On the plate sat a delicious strawberry swirl cheesecake drizzled in strawberry sauce. "I know you've been working hard."

"But I shouldn't-"

"Take it." Massie's tone left no room for argument. Aurora gave Massie a pout before thanking her.

Giving Massie a grateful smile, Aurora grabbed her drink and cheesecake. She turned and gave the man a small smile before making her way to her favorite table located in the corner, next to a large window. She felt his eyes follow her all the way to the table.

Placing her motivation on the table, she sat, facing the direction of the door and began taking everything out of her bag. Slipping on her glasses, she turned on her laptop.

From her peripheral vision, she saw that the stranger had turned around to face Massie who was ready to take his order.

"Mr. Knight, what would you like today?"

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I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter! Thank you for giving my story a chance and I hope you have a lovely day <3