Chapter 1: A Mysterious Visitor

Things seemed pretty different when Florence arrived at NYU to work that morning. After five years of working there, she had never seen the students and staff so enthusiastic before, not even when they had celebrities visiting to make speeches or attend classes.

Holding her bag close to her side so no one would bump into her, she rushed through the campus to get to the building where the library was located.

It was one of her favorite places in the entire world. She quite enjoyed the silence it provided throughout her day. It allowed her to work peacefully, to think and even dream; things she couldn’t do at home with her parents talking all the time.

“What the heck is going on here today?” she asked as soon as she entered the office and found her best friend Emma seated in front of her computer. “I could barely get here without bumping into a bunch of girls squeaking about some random guy.”

“You haven’t heard? We’re having a very important visitor today,” Emma replied, taking her big blue eyes off the screen and staring at Florence as if she was some alien who had just arrived. “Weren’t you here this entire week? It's all anyone has been talking about.”

Florence shrugged while grabbing a few files from another desk and bringing them to her own.

“I've been very busy organizing these files, so it’s not like I don’t have anything else to do other than hear people gossip about whoever.”

Emma blinked a few times before speaking again.

“It's not whoever, Florence,” she sighed. “Seriously, I don’t even know how you ended up being my friend. You don’t pay attention to any social interaction around you. Are you sure you’re human?” she joked.

Florence pretended she didn’t hear it and focused on her task for the day. She was tired of cataloging those old documents, but her boss would never stop pissing her off if she didn’t finish it by the end of the month, so it was not like she had a choice.

“This guy is just the richest, most handsome man there is in New York at the moment,” Emma continued. “And he decided to make donations to our university.”

Florence lifted her head and stared at her friend.

“Donations? All of a sudden? Or is there something going on in the university that I'm not aware of?” Florence asked curiously.

“He’s just a very generous, philanthropist gentleman, or so I’ve heard,” Emma explained. “And you know what, he’s single. A billionaire, single, in New York. Can you believe it?” she shook her head, making her blonde curls swish around her face.

Florence laughed.

“So what? Do you think you’d have a chance with a billionaire just because he’s single and visiting your workplace?” she teased. “You’re not in a movie, Ems. Things like that don’t happen to people like us.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Emma waved her off. “You don’t need to be a dream wrecker.”

Florence smiled at her and went back to her papers.

Hours went by so fast that she barely noticed she had missed lunch. At some time during the afternoon, Emma brought her some coffee and a sandwich from the cafeteria, to which Florence took only a few bites before feeling like she was just pushing it down her throat.

“Are you not going to get some time off today?” Emma asked concerned. “It’s not good to stay seated the entire time, Flo. Just get up and go for a walk. The papers won’t disappear if you take some minutes off.”

Florence stopped typing when she felt a sharp pain in her wrist and decided that maybe Emma was right. Taking a few minutes off wouldn’t hurt. She was on track with her task, so she was sure it wouldn’t be a problem to meet her goal at the end of the month.

“Fine, I’ll do as you say, madam,” she said as she got up. “Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m good,” Emma replied. “But if you can go around with sharp ears to find out what’s going on, I wouldn’t complain to hear some gossip when you return. It’s been very boring for a while. No one would say anything at the cafeteria while I was there.” Emma rolled her eyes, typing harder on her keyboard.

Florence nodded and left, taking light steps to not make any sound on her way out. The students were very serious about the noises inside the library and she had learned the hard way how to behave while being there.

It was still sunny outside, but the cold breeze made her shiver and wrap her arms around herself. The buzz she had witnessed in the morning wasn’t present anymore, so she enjoyed a walk outside, just listening to the birds chirping and the leaves rustling.

A few students were seated under the trees, studying for the tests that were coming soon, and Florence couldn’t help but be thankful for not having to go through that anymore.

It’s been a while since she graduated and things haven’t gone quite the way she expected, but she couldn’t complain. She was able to help her parents with the bills, which was already good enough.

The situation at home went south when her parents lost their money in a bad investment. Florence always had a decent life, having the best that her parents could afford, like attending NYU and being gifted a brand new car on her 21st birthday.

But one day, her father decided to make an investment that turned out to be the worst choice of his entire life. They lost all of their money, and Florence found herself having to work her a*s off to help her family.

Now things were a bit better since her parents also found other jobs, but they still had some debts to pay and she hoped things would get back to what it was one day.

Not that she cared about having a luxurious life. She had always been pretty humble and down to earth. But a life without too many struggles wouldn’t hurt either.

Walking without paying attention to where she was going, she went inside the building where the auditorium was, but she didn’t notice the little commotion that was happening in one of the hallways.

It wasn’t something uncommon to see there. Students always stopped in the hallways between classes to discuss their homework, tests they had just gone through, and even to gossip about some cute guy they met during Literature period.

So Florence simply passed by them, thinking about her chores and duties waiting for her at home. A bump on her shoulder was what made her come back to reality. The pain wasn’t even that strong, but the impact was enough to catch her attention and annoy her.

“You should pay attention to where you're—” Her voice trailed off when she lifted her head and met the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

Big brown eyes, scanning her with so much intensity, the black hair perfectly combed and a smirk on those lips… It was hard for her to focus on completing her sentence.

She also noticed how tall he was, making her almost snap her neck to take a better look at him. His muscles were pressed against the fabric of his expensive suit, and her mind started to play tricks on her by thinking what he probably looked like without all those clothes covering his beautiful skin.

“I apologize,” the man said with a smooth and serious voice, one that didn’t quite fit into his smile. “Miss…?”

“Haynes… Florence Haynes,” she said, getting her composure back. Only then did she notice how well-mannered and good looking he looked. And she instantly regretted being rude to him.

The man’s smile grew wider, and he stretched his hand in her direction.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Haynes. I’m Scott Lee.”