“You don’t find love, it finds you. It’s got a little to do with destiny, fate, and what’s written in the stars.” - Anais Nin.

Adrian Sebastian Henderson’s POV

I was extremely disappointed with my life at present. My sister was married to the love of her life and happily settled, while my three brothers were finally together with their steady girlfriends. My eldest brother Stefan was getting married in a month’s time. I was the only one who couldn’t find a single girl with whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Being the youngest really sucked. My twin Julian was chasing the one with whom he envisioned his life together. Why was I so damn unlucky?

I was very jealous of all my brothers who were so whipped and happy and neck-deep in love. Maybe I was destined to be alone, deprived of love all my life, and die as a bachelor uncle to all my unborn nieces and nephews.

I parked my black Mercedes in the private parking space of our mega hotel, Springwell Parkland Manor. It was a luxurious hotel overlooking Central Park and strategically located closer to New York’s major attractions, like the Lincoln Center and Columbus Circle. Dad built this hotel first when he started his business. Now it was a multinational billion-dollar worth venture with many branches all over the world.

I am glad that I was stationed in the branch for the time being, as Stefan was busy with his wedding plans.

I completed my graduation in hotel management from the Cornell University of Hospitality Management. Now, I was in my last year pursuing an MBA in marketing from Columbia Business School, Columbia University. I looked after the marketing aspect of our business and overall administration. Usually, I worked from our Springwell Clubs and Resorts head office a few blocks away.

Today I received a call from my older brother Tristan that I was required to go to Parkland Manor. There was an important conference to promote our hotels in Asian countries as well. I reached the conference room on time. My right-hand man, Liam Goodwill, was already present and waiting for me. The conference room was prepared and the presentation setup was ready. That was what I liked about him: punctuality and promptness. He knew exactly what I expected of him having been with me for a year. Being of the same age, I could coordinate with him better than any other.

“Good morning Sir, everything’s ready, just waiting for your approval,” he reported.

“Good morning, yeah, looks fine, so far,” I appreciated, and he smiled his robot-like pointed smile. It’s good that he was always professional and showed little emotion around me. He knew how much I hated such public displays of emotions at the workplace. I usually hid when Gran and Mom visited us while at work!

I sat down and took out my laptop as Liam summoned the other members of the marketing and administrative team to attend the meeting.

We had selected five Asian cities, where we would collaborate with a local hotel industry giant and construct our Springwell group of hotels.

The meeting was highly successful with the prospects of the joint venture. The next meeting would be the signing of the deal. Satisfied with my presentation at such short notice, I wanted to take a 10-minute break before heading to the head office. I went to the CEO’s office where Stefan sometimes worked and sat checking the files Liam emailed me. I had to check the schedule he prepared for me for the day.

I could feel a headache coming. After a night out at a bar, with Theo and Xander, my childhood best friends, I was stuck with a hangover in the morning. Thankfully, I took a Tylenol in the morning before Tristan’s call.

“Sir, do you need a coffee?” Liam asked as I realized how badly I needed one. My housekeeper Julia sucked at making coffee. I always make my own, but today I had a presentation to prepare for, so I only had a sip of her watery coffee in the morning.

“Yeah, the best coffee here, with something light for breakfast if possible,” I said, relieved that I wouldn’t need to go to the Starbucks shop a few blocks away.

“Right, sir,” he said and left.

I was reading the file for my next meeting when Liam came in with a cup of steaming coffee. It was served with a burrito sliced into bite-sized pieces along with banana muffins.

After he left, my mouth watered at the delicious food and I realized then how hungry I really was. The coffee tasted so good actually, that if it weren’t steaming hot, I would have poured it all down my throat in one gulp. It was just the way I liked it. I never had such a refreshing coffee in my entire twenty-three years of life. The breakfast was equally amazingly delicious. It was then that I decided I wanted this coffee and breakfast every day and impatiently summoned Liam. He appeared in no time with a goofy smile on his face that had me shocked since all I had ever seen on his face was a robotic smile! I wondered what had made him so happy!

“Summon the person who made my coffee and the one who prepared my breakfast, immediately,” I ordered. Liam’s eyes widened and his smile vanished. He looked apprehensive as he stood frozen in front of me.

“Sir, there’s a new barista who made your coffee and breakfast. I can assure you this will never be repeated. Please don’t take any action against her,” said Liam as he fiddled with his hands.

“Go, Liam, just call the person,” I told him irritatedly.

“Right, sir,” he said and dragged his feet out.

After waiting impatiently for ten minutes, there was a knock on my door and Liam entered, followed by a girl.

Wait, a minute! A girl? My eyes popped out since I had been expecting a middle-aged stout woman with magic in her hands and not some teenager. I looked up to have a good look at her. She was the most gorgeous girl I had ever seen in my entire twenty-three years of life. She couldn’t be over eighteen years of age. Seeing her dark chocolate brown hair, fixed up in a bun, big doe-shaped eyes, long curled lashes, small kissable lips, and creamy complexion, I was floored. Her face had no trace of makeup, as she nervously stared at the floor while standing in front of me. As if that was more attractive than I was! Was she unaware of her own drop-dead gorgeous looks and the effect they had on bachelors like me? She was wearing the uniform of our hotel. It was a deep maroon pencil skirt and a white blouse, yet she looked totally drool-worthy. It made me wonder how she would look in a bikini. 

‘Addy, control man!’ I chided myself.

“Sir, this is Azura Hayes. She’s the barista who made your coffee and breakfast today,” Liam introduced. He looked at me with a worried expression on his face, making me suddenly wish that he would just disappear somewhere. Couldn’t he just leave me alone with this gorgeous creature?

“Thank you, Liam. I’ll call you if needed,” I said, and he nodded and left. I turned my undivided attention upon her. Suddenly, my eyes seemed to have a will of their own, as I just couldn’t take my eyes off her. So I sat there mesmerized by her as she fiddled with her fingers nervously, aware of my creepy stare. What could I do? I had been looking for an angel like her all my life! I was helpless!

Finally, she looked up at me and I was too dumbstruck by her ocean-blue twinkling eyes to even form a sentence. Now I knew why she was named Azura! I drowned in them totally and violins started playing in my head instead of formulating marketing strategies. Gosh! this was so confusing! What was happening to me? “I’m sorry sir, please don’t fire me,” she pleaded nervously as she looked at the floor again, making me immediately miss the connection.

I came to my senses. What was I doing here sitting and staring at a girl so much younger than I was? “I won’t,” I stated in a serious tone. “Just get me another cup after two hours.”

She stared at me dumbfounded with her mesmerizing eyes wide with so many questions reflected in them.

“What?” I asked at her lost expression.

“Sorry, I didn’t get you,” she gasped and again looked at me, biting her lip with nervousness. It made my friend down their twitch to life and it amazed me at how I was reacting to this girl! “Don’t do that,” I said as my eyes traveled to her luscious lips, waiting to be ravished. I couldn’t focus on anything else, my mind struggling to stay sane and behave like a professional employer.

“What, sir?” she asked in confusion.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I got up from my seat and reached her in three strides. Where did this angel fall down from? Her innocent blue eyes were drawing me towards her like a magnet. I stopped right behind her, leaving only an inch of space between us. Out of sheer nervousness, she turned around to face me. She tried to move backward, but was trapped bwteen me and my desk behind her.