Chapter - 3 > Coffee, Cupcakes, and a Terrible First Impression
1151 Words
Silence filled the luxurious hotel lobby.
Cupcakes lay scattered across the polished marble floor.
Pink frosting decorated Adrian Knight's expensive Italian shoes.
His crisp white shirt was stained with coffee.
Several hotel guests had already taken out their phones.
Maya stared at the disaster in horror.
Oh no...
Please don't let him be one of those people who scream over spilled coffee.
She looked up.
The man standing before her was painfully handsome.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Perfectly styled black hair.
A face that belonged on magazine covers.
Unfortunately...
His expression suggested he was moments away from declaring war.
Maya cleared her throat.
"I... um..."
Adrian folded his arms.
"You've been standing there for thirty seconds."
"I know."
"Are you planning to say something?"
She nodded quickly.
"Absolutely."
Another pause.
"...I just haven't figured out what yet."
A muffled laugh escaped from one of the hotel receptionists.
Adrian noticed.
The receptionist instantly looked down at the computer.
Maya scratched the back of her neck.
"Would 'I'm sorry' be a good start?"
"It would."
"I'm sorry."
She pointed toward his shirt.
"And... your coffee seems to have attacked you."
Adrian looked at the stain.
"My coffee attacked me?"
"Well..."
She smiled awkwardly.
"I may have introduced the two of you."
For the first time that day...
The corner of Adrian's mouth twitched.
She's either incredibly brave...
...or completely unaware of who she's talking to.
Just then, the hotel manager rushed over, nearly tripping over a fallen croissant.
"Mr. Knight!"
Maya froze.
Knight?
The manager bowed repeatedly.
"I deeply apologize, sir! We'll clean everything immediately!"
He turned sharply toward Maya.
"And you!"
"It's okay," Maya began.
"It is not okay!"
The manager glared at her.
"Do you realize whose clothes you've ruined?"
Maya looked between the manager and the stranger.
"No?"
The manager looked as though he might faint.
"This is Mr. Adrian Alexander Knight!"
Maya blinked.
"...Should I know who that is?"
The lobby became eerily quiet.
One businessman gasped.
A woman nearly dropped her handbag.
Even Ethan Brooks, who had just entered through the revolving doors, stopped in his tracks.
He looked at Maya with genuine admiration.
She doesn't know who he is.
This is historic.
Adrian studied her carefully.
There wasn't a trace of fake excitement in her eyes.
No attempt to flirt.
No request for a selfie.
No exaggerated apology because of his wealth.
She genuinely had no idea who he was.
Interesting.
The hotel manager rubbed his forehead.
"He's the CEO of Knight Holdings!"
"Oh."
Maya nodded thoughtfully.
"...Still doesn't ring a bell."
Ethan covered his mouth to hide his laughter.
Adrian shot him a warning glance.
Ethan immediately looked at the ceiling.
"I was... admiring the architecture."
Maya sighed before crouching to collect the ruined pastries.
"Whether you're famous or not, I'm really sorry."
She carefully picked up a smashed cupcake.
"I worked all night making these."
Her cheerful smile faded for the first time.
"They were for a charity fundraiser."
Adrian noticed the disappointment in her eyes.
She wasn't worried about his shirt.
She was worried about the people who wouldn't receive her desserts.
Without thinking, he asked,
"Can you remake them?"
She laughed softly.
"Before tonight?"
She shook her head.
"Not unless someone invents a machine that adds six extra hours to the day."
Adrian looked around the lobby.
Then at the pastries.
Then back at her.
"How much?"
Maya frowned.
"...Excuse me?"
"The cost."
"You don't have to—"
"Tell me."
She hesitated.
"About four hundred dollars."
Ethan almost choked.
Four hundred dollars?
Adrian spent more than that on bottled water during meetings.
Without another word, Adrian reached into his wallet, wrote a check, and handed it to her.
Maya stared at it.
Then her eyes widened.
"$20,000?!"
"You said your pastries were ruined."
"They were."
"So?"
"This is fifty times their value!"
"It's compensation."
She looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
"I'm not taking this."
Adrian blinked.
"...You're refusing?"
"Yes."
"No one refuses money."
"I do."
"You need it."
"Probably."
"Then why?"
Maya folded the check in half and gently placed it back into his hand.
"Because I made a mistake."
She smiled warmly.
"And apologizing doesn't mean I get to profit from it."
For the second time that day...
Adrian found himself speechless.
Women usually accepted expensive gifts before he even offered them.
Some expected diamonds.
Others expected luxury vacations.
Yet this stranger...
Had just refused twenty thousand dollars.
Ethan leaned closer and whispered,
"Boss..."
"What?"
"I think we found an endangered species."
Adrian ignored him.
Before he could say another word, Maya picked up the last pastry box.
"I really have to go."
She turned toward the exit.
"Wait."
She stopped.
"You never told me your name."
She smiled over her shoulder.
"Maya."
"Maya...?"
"Bennett."
She pointed toward the bakery logo printed on the side of the box.
Bennett's Bakery.
"If you ever want a decent cupcake instead of one smashed on your shoes..."
She grinned.
"...You're welcome to visit."
Then she walked away.
Adrian watched until the glass doors closed behind her.
Ethan slowly stepped beside him.
"So..."
Adrian remained silent.
"...She's different."
Adrian looked down at the folded check still in his hand.
Different?
No.
She was impossible.
Outside the hotel...
Maya finally let out a long breath.
"What a strange man."
She shook her head.
"Who carries a checkbook around like that?"
Her phone rang.
It was Lily.
"Maya! Where are you?"
"Almost back."
"The landlord came again."
Maya's smile disappeared.
"What now?"
"He wasn't alone."
"Who was with him?"
"A group of men in expensive suits."
"They measured the building."
Maya stopped walking.
"What?"
"They said the property would soon belong to Knight Holdings."
The pastry box slipped slightly in Maya's hands.
Knight Holdings...
She suddenly remembered the hotel manager shouting the billionaire's name.
Adrian Knight.
"No..."
she whispered.
"That can't be a coincidence."
Meanwhile...
Back inside the hotel, Ethan was practically vibrating with excitement.
"So, what's next?"
Adrian buttoned his jacket after changing into a fresh shirt.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"It was an accident."
"You stared at the bakery logo for three full minutes."
"I was reading it."
"You memorized the address."
"I have a good memory."
"You smiled."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
Adrian walked toward the elevator.
"Ethan."
"Yes?"
"Find out everything about Bennett's Bakery."
Ethan's grin stretched from ear to ear.
"I knew it!"
Adrian stepped into the elevator without looking back.
"I'm not interested in her."
"Of course not."
"I'm interested in the property."
The elevator doors began to close.
Just before they shut completely, Ethan called out with a teasing smile,
"Whatever you say, boss... but this is the first woman who's ever rejected your money."
The doors slid shut.
Inside the silent elevator, Adrian looked once more at the folded check still resting in his hand.
For reasons he couldn't explain...
He didn't throw it away.
- Writer
