Adam's first encounter with Lena

5 years ago...

"Bzzz," "bzzz," "bzzz."

Lena awoke to the sound of the alarm, stretched, and turned it off out of frustration.

"Argh, damn you alarm. I want more sleep," Lena grumbled, dizzy.

Amanda barged into her room, and her expression changed when she saw Lena back on her bed, despite the fact that the alarm had sounded.

"Lenaaaa!" Amanda exclaimed, frowning.

Lena jumped out of bed and stumbled.

"What is wrong? Where is the thief?" Her eyes remained closed as she asked.

"There is no thief, Lena. Why are you still in bed after 8 a.m, when your classes have started? I thought you wanted to be the best artist; how could that be if you are not taking your classes seriously?"

Lena smiled and opened her eyes wider, then leaned in to give Amanda a tender kiss.

"That is why I love you, Mom. I will get ready right away."

Lena left Amanda and rushed to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and taking a quick bath because time was of the essence.

When she exited the bathroom and saw her clothes on the bed, she smiled and shouted,

"You are the best mother ever," so Amanda could hear her.

She hurriedly put on her clothes, applied makeup, and went outside.

Amanda handed her some dishes to eat. Lena hastily packed the food and left the house. She got into the cab that Amanda had gotten for her and they headed down to her location.

She paid the taxi driver and got out of the vehicle. She dashed to make it there before the teacher arrived. Unfortunately, Mrs Linda was already in class.

Lena collected herself and entered the classroom with her head down.

"What time is it, Lena?" Mrs Linda gave Lena a frown.

Lena played with her fingers and bit her lip while keeping her head down.

"Cat got your tongue, Lena? Answer me right now!"

"I-III apologize for being late; I overslept," Lena said in one breath.

"Every time you oversleep when I am present, I will not take it lightly the next time; go to your seat."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

Lena smiled as she rushed to her seat.

She took out her tools for the class and joined them in drawing.

Lena sighed with relief as the class ended.

"Hey, Lena, you missed out today," Stacey said.

"What is that?" Lena inquired, interested.

"Can you guess who the new guy at our school is? He is so hot."

"Oh no, Stacey, please do not start again." Lena rolled her eyes.

"I need to focus on this assignment; you know I enjoy arts and have a competition coming up, so please do not disturb me."

Stacey raised her hands in surrender, "Okay, I will leave you be," she excused herself.

Lena let out a sigh and went to relieve herself in the bathroom. Before leaving the bathroom, she cleaned her hands and put her hair in place.

Her head struck a chest, she rubbed her forehead, looked up to see who she had hit, and her jaw dropped.

"Oh my God, he is freaking handsome!" she thought to herself.

"You are drooling, pretty," Adam said, winking at her.

He brushed her shoulder before walking away. Lena could not take her gaze away from him; her cheeks flushed.

"He is so hot, right?" Stacey whispered into her ears.

"Yes," Lena replied unconsciously, still dazed by her thoughts.

"Uhh, no he isn't, what did I just say?" She snapped back to reality and glared at Stacey.

Stacey laughed and began to tease Lena.

Lena patted her ears, unwilling to hear Stacey's words. She returned to the studio to continue her artwork for the upcoming competition.

"Stacey, please let me be; I need to focus."

Stacey smiled and agreed to leave her alone. Lena sat down, exhaling. She closed her eyes and drifted off into thought.

A few moments later...

"Oh no, Lena, what have you done? How could I draw him?" Lena held her face in horror and surprise.

Stacey walked in, her mouth widened, she burst out laughing, and grabbed the painting from Lena.

"Wow, this is a masterpiece; Adam needs to see it," Stacey exclaimed, smiling.

"Adam, who is he?" Lena asked.

"The guy in the painting is him."

Stacey dashed out of the studio to show Adam, and when Lena realized she was about to be exposed by Stacey, she dashed to the classroom, packed her bags, and left before school ended to avoid embarrassment.

She slipped out of the school and went to Amanda's office.

************

Adam was seated, reading, when Stacey dropped an artwork in front of him. He raised his head and looked at her.

He furrowed his brow, indicating what was wrong.

"My friend drew this, look at it; it is a masterpiece," Stacey said, smiling.

Adam rolled his eyes, thinking she was attempting to get his attention. He took a quick look at the artwork and was blown away by how amazing it was.

He has never received this exquisite piece as a gift from anyone.

"Who did this? Adam inquired with curiosity.

"It is Lena, the lady who bumped into you; she drew you unconsciously. She is the type of person who unknowingly draws whatever her eyes fancy; I am sure you like it."

"Like is an understatement; I love it because it reflects who I am; she drew me perfectly, and I will accept this gift. Where is she?"

"Well, I am sure she is embarrassed and at her mother's office right now because she knew I was going to show you."

Adam chuckled. Adam got up when the bell rang, took the artwork, and left the school.

He got into the waiting Mercedes and it headed down to his father's company. He visits there after school to gain insight into the working world.

He exited his car and entered the company. The employees bowed their heads to him. He entered the elevator and pressed the last floor, which was his father's office.

After exiting the elevator, he went to his father's office, where he was startled to see her.