1 Encounters

The first time Iris met Joshua was at a small coffee shop downtown. It was a hell of a day for her. She had just come out of a meeting where she had to fire one of her valuable directors for selling her company secrets. She was feeling pretty down and out, she trusted that old man, taking him as a family! Being exhausted by that betrayal, all she wanted was to find something to calm herself down, and the only thing that helped in those moments was a sweet drink.

It was already late and all the coffee shops in the area had already closed. She walked alone in the cold breeze of December until she found one that still had a light on.

Joshua was about to close when the doorbell rang, indicating that someone had entered. He remembered he had already put on the close sign on the door, so he was a little surprised. When he turned to see what was going on, he was stunned to find himself standing in front of one of the most charming women he had ever seen in his life.

She stood there a little tired, for her eyes were a little lifeless, but that did not detract from her beauty. Joshua had recognized her, she was Iris Harper, the owner of one of the biggest companies in town, and as she was described in all the magazines, she was indeed very charming.

"I'm sorry, I know you are already close, but I saw the light, so I try my luck... Do you think you can make me something sweet?" Iris asked a little embarrassed, she knew she was asking a lot since it was already closing hour. But she felt like if she didn't sit somewhere and warmed herself, she would lose it.

Joshua didn't have to take her order since he was already close, but he was kind enough to accept it and even let her sit down so she could finish her drink in a warm place. He did not know why, but he had a feeling she really needed something comforting at that moment, so he offers her a hot caramel macchiato, hoping that the sweetness and softness of the beverage will help her.

For her part, Iris didn't take her eyes off the young man, even though she could only see his back. He was tall and muscular enough to notice his muscles from several meters away, and the thought of all the women he probably got thanks to his body immediately crossed her mind, making her slightly blush and chuckled. The worst part was that she also wanted to be one of those women! Instantly Iris shook off those dirty thoughts, thinking that she may be losing her sanity from too much work!

But she was soon proven wrong because, when he turned to look at her, Iris's heartbeat quickened. The man was really attractive, he had deep blue eyes, a sharp nose, rosy lips, and his black hair was long and slightly curly, giving him a young yet sexy vibe. She couldn't get her eyes off him. It had been a long time since she felt that way, and Iris couldn't control the beating of her heart anymore.

The delicious macchiato was served to her minutes later, waking her up from her reverie. She drank silently while Joshua returned to his duties. The two did not exchange a word until Iris was about to leave.

"I don't know where your bad mood comes from, but I hope my drink has cheered you up!" Joshua gave Iris a warm smile before closing the door.

Iris was stunned for a moment. As she looked at Joshua, she thought that such a handsome man should also have a beautiful voice, and she was right! His voice was even more attractive than his deep blue eyes. A voice so suave and melodious, as if she could hear his strong personality in it. But most interestingly, he had such a warming and tender smile, that Iris's cold heart was warm just looking at him.

She smiled back and walked out in quite a good mood. She didn't know if it was his drink or his cold yet charming deep eyes, or his tender smile, but one thing was for sure, he had successfully cheered her up.

The second time it was only a glimpse, but Iris had recognized the handsome young man, she could not forget his deep blue eyes and his beautiful curly hair. Again, that day she was not in a good mood, but that unnoticed encounter with Joshua had made her smile again.

And the third time was that night at her club. When she saw him there, she was surprised to realise how she was a little excited to meet him again. This time he was a waiter in the celebrity VIP crystal club.

That night she was with some of her friends coming to relieve some stress after a long working week. She held a crystal glass of red wine in her hand, her white slender fingers playing with it gracefully. The wine glowed an irresistible hue in the glistening light of the room and seemed to merge with the iridescent ruby on her index finger. Her elegant movements were simply mesmerizing. Looking at her sitting there, with that natural elegance, there was something keeping people to approach her. 

She wore a little black dress with nude high heels and simple diamond jewelry. She was discreetly made up, but still looked absolutely hot in her tight dress that showed off her perfect curves. Looking at the other women in the club, she was the most simply dressed up, but everyone still had their eyes on her. She was stunning sitting there at her table, standing out from the crowd like a painting.

But unlike everyone else at her table, her attention was not on what people were talking about, instead she was watching with great interest the commotion going on not far in front of her. There he was again, the sexy blue-eyed young man.

***

Not far in front of Iris stood a young man in a waiter's suit with a deep frown on his face. In front of him was a woman in a dress covered with red wine stains. One could guess what had happened to the dress by looking at the mess on the floor.

"Miss. Adams. I am so sorry! This waiter does not know any better and has soiled your dress, please be generous and leave him alone, we will pay for the dress!"

The manager of the club wanted to bang his head on the floor and begged the lady in front of him to ignore the red wine spilled by the waiter. He knew what kind of people he was dealing with, and he knew that he would not get anywhere with arguments. The people who came to the club were all rich people and most of them were full of arrogance and thought that the people below them were not worthy of them.

As the manager of the club, he was qualified to interfere in the affairs of the waiters of the club. Generally, he was the one who talked about how the customers should be compensated in case of an accident, and he knew that it was wiser to pay for it. Besides, the owner of the club was present today. He just wanted to end the problem quickly and not disturb the peace of the other customers.

"Joshua. Apologise to Miss Adams quickly!"

The manager spoke coldly and even pressed his hand on the waiter's shoulders. He made him lower his head to apologise to the woman in front of them. She looked at the waiter with anticipation in her eyes. She was enjoying the situation, with a haughty expression and a triumphant smile, as if to tell the young man that he could easily lose his job because of her.

The waiter was just recovering from the sudden jolt that made him break all the glasses, he was serving when he was suddenly asked to bow and apologise. He clutched his tray tightly, and what he could see was only a messy floor of spilled wine and falling glass crumbs. He cursed softly to himself and looked at the mess he had made, not caring about the woman's spoiled dress.

Tonight's banquet was important to him, the pay was high, he had been careful from the beginning, but in the end, there had been an accident, the woman in front of him had tried to put him on her bed, keeping an eye on him while he served her table. He had ignored her overt advances and now it was clear that she only wanted to subdue him by dirty means.

In fact, this Miss Adams had deliberately bumped into him with her red wine, it was all calculated by the crazy woman and now he had to apologize for ruining a dress he could not afford, although it was not his fault. The pale pink V-neck evening dress was now covered all over with red dots, while the real culprit enjoyed an unjustified amount of attention in the role of the victim.

But even though it looked like he was going to lose his job, Joshua didn't want to hurt himself by asking forgiveness for something he had not done. Sure, he was just a waiter, but he had his self-respect. He did not see why he should bend over and beg when he had not done anything at all.

Iris clenched her fist unconsciously as she contemplated the scene. Her piercing eyes stared grimly at the woman trying to touch the waiter. She could see how uncomfortable the young man was. The way his hands were clenched on the tray already showed his suppressed anger.

Not even realizing it, she was already up and walking forward Joshua.