AN: Thanks for the comments! :)

The familiar sounds and smells of the café buffeted her as she pushed the doors open. Gwen eyed the already long queue with annoyance. If she stood in line for her usual mangosteen tea, she would be late for work. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. Leland Accounting was flexible with when she came in for work, but this morning, there was an important meeting. As the personal assistant of Annis Leland, Gwen could not afford to be late, not when her meager paycheck depended on keeping Annis happy. With a sigh, she turned back to the doors, only to slam right into someone. Warm hands grabbed her shoulders.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

Already miffed by the fact that she would be going without her tea that morning, Gwen snapped at the hard chest in front of her. "You're the one who should be watching where you're going!"

The hands left her shoulders, lifting in surrender. "You shouldn't just turn so suddenly! What if I had been carrying coffee?"

This time, Gwen finally looked up at the man who had walked into her. Blonde hair, blue eyes, conventionally handsome. Like so many of the young men who thronged the café, he probably worked at one of the many banks around the area. Clearly, like many of the young men she'd encountered, he lacked any sort of manners.

"Be more careful next time," she huffed as she pushed past him. The last thing she wanted was to have sacrificed her tea and still be late for the meeting.

"Gwen. Just in time." Annis barely spared her a glance before she went back to squinting at her monitor. "It's a good thing Cenred will be slightly late. Wouldn't do you good to come in later than our client."

"Sorry." As they waited for Cenred to appear, Gwen pulled out her notebook. A quick check of her emails told her that she had a long day ahead – appointments to shift around, arrangements for a small party to make, research to do. It was good thing she enjoyed what she did.

A slight commotion made her raise her head. Cenred was here. Gwen watched with concealed amusement as Annis's usually dour face broke into a wide grin. The more Annis smiled at someone, the more important they were.

"Mr Cenred," Gwen rose from her seat. "Good to see you again. You're looking well."

"Ah Guinevere. Still beautiful."

Her smile was tight. "Still competent."

"That too. Come. Shall we start?"

There wasn't really anything new said during the meeting but Cenred was their biggest client and he loved meetings. And as Annis reminded her regularly, whatever Cenred wanted, Cenred got. Dutifully, Gwen noted down all the minor changes Cenred demanded as the meeting progressed. When he finally left, she shared a wry smile with Annis as they made their way back to Annis's office.

"You look tired," said Annis at the door of her office. "Bad weekend?"

"Sort of." Gwen sighed. "The bathroom is leaking."

Annis raised a hand. "Don't tell me. Your wonderful landlord is dragging his feet."

"What's new?"

"You need a new place," said Annis as she walked into her office, then shut the door.

"Find a new place," she muttered to herself as she sorted out the mail on her table. "Like affordable apartments with nice landlords are so easy to find." With a shrug, Gwen plopped herself down on her chair and leaned back as far as the chair would allow. She remembered Vivian telling her about her new fancy ergonomic chair at her office. Gwen didn't think her chair was ergonomic at all. Neither was the company-issued notebook state of the art.

A loud buzz disrupted her thoughts.

"I want the numbers on the Lee contract verified as soon as possible. Also, see if Lucille is ready to discuss her proposal. Don't forget to get an appointment with that software vendor as well, you know the one."

"Yes, Annis." But Annis had hung up even before Gwen finished. Flexing her arms, Gwen sat up straight. Time to start work.

Time passed quickly when Gwen was engrossed in work so when she finally hung up the phone after a firm but fruitful chat with the software vendor, it was already lunch time. Like she did every day, Gwen popped her head into Annis's office.

"Lunch?"

"No thanks." Annis barely even looked up from whatever she was reading.

"You know, you're going to get a bad stomach skipping lunch all the time," chided Gwen with a shake of her head. "I'll buy you a sandwich."

"None of that avocado stuff you like so much!" Annis yelled as Gwen walked away. "Or alfalfa."

Even from across the road, Gwen could see that the café was crowded. Not that it was surprising. It served decent food at pretty good prices. As she approached, her heart gave a little jump when she saw that the owner of the café was doing service at the counter. Stepping in, she saw that Vivian was already at their usual seat.

"Hey!" Draping her coat over the back of the seat, Gwen sat down.

Vivian grinned suggestively at her. "Lance is serving."

Even as she felt her cheeks heat up, Gwen tried to maintain an expressionless face. "So?"

"So, when you go place our orders, you should say something. Ask him to hang out with us tonight at the pub."

"I am not doing that!" Gwen dropped her voice, hoping none of the other café staff could hear them.

Somehow, Vivian's grin only got wider. "I think he likes you too, if that helps. He walked past just now, asking where you were."

"Hush! He was just being friendly." But the warmth that unfurled in her stomach belied her words.

"Well, if you're too shy, I can talk to him for you."

"Don't you dare!" Gwen tried a scowl but that only made Vivian laugh. "What do you want today?"

"Well, if you can concentrate around Lance's good looks, I'd have the chicken and mushroom pie."

"Alright." Grabbing her purse, Gwen pushed her way through the crowd to the counter. The queue to order was long but this time, it didn't bother her as it gave her the chance to look surreptitiously at Lance. His dark, longish hair framed the most gorgeous face she'd ever seen. She watched the way he smiled at the customers and the way his hands moved. She still remembered the first time she saw him. He'd come to clean up the table she and Vivian were at. One flash of his smile and she'd been in love. Self-consciously, she tucked her curls behind her ears, hoping that she looked at least presentable.

"Excuse me. If you don't want to order anything, you shouldn't be standing in line. The line is moving."

Gwen spun around. "I'm – oh, it's you!"

Recognition filled the man's eyes. "Ah, you're the grumpy one from this morning."

"Grumpy? You bumped into me!"

"I did." He smiled, clearly not feeling the least apologetic. "But you did turn suddenly so it's hardly my fault."

"It was because you weren't paying attention to anyone in front of you."

He looked at her without saying anything for a while. Then he raised a hand and pushed her gently. But before she could smack his hand away, he said, amusement lacing his words, "It's your turn to order."

Biting her lips to stop herself from saying something she would regret, Gwen turned back to the bar. Lance smiled at her and the annoyance that had taken up residence in her since that awful man started to speak to her ease.

"You look stressed," said Lance. Unfairly, he looked perfect.

"That's what happens when I have to deal with annoying people," said Gwen, childishly loud. She thought she heard that man laugh behind her.

Lance's smile turned sympathetic. "How about I throw in a free drink for you today? Will that cheer you up?"

You taking me out on a date would cheer me up. But Gwen kept the words in her mind. "You don't have to."

"I want to. So, what are you having today?"

After taking her order, Lance went to grab her tea. Absently, Gwen tapped the counter and admired the way Lance's muscles moved as he made her tea.

"You should keep your flirting to when the café isn't quite so crowded."

"Are you born annoying or is this something you work at?" snapped Gwen as she swung around.

He shrugged and held out his hand. "I'm Arthur. Arthur White. I figure we've spoken enough that we should at least know each other's names."

Warily, Gwen took his hand. "Guinevere Thomas, but most people call me Gwen."

"Beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

And whatever anger she held in her for Arthur suddenly dissipated at his cheesy line. She laughed. "I certainly hope you're not flirting with me, Mr White. Because that line was very bad. And you should know better than to flirt when the café is so crowded."

"Touché."

Worryingly, her first thought when he smiled at her was that his smile was really quite attractive.

Vivian didn't even wait for her to sit before she launched into her questions. "Who was that gorgeous man you were talking to in line? Why haven't you told me that you know someone like him? Did you notice how nicely his pants fit him?"

"No, of course not! He's just some annoying person I literally bumped into this morning." Gwen darted a glance at Arthur as Lance handed him his drink. Lance was still very much more attractive than Arthur, Gwen told herself firmly, no matter what Vivian thought.

"Well, I think he's very promising. And if you're not interested –" Vivian smiled wickedly.

"Might I remind you that you're getting married in a month? And he's a buffoon."

"Unlike Lance, of course."

Gwen smiled then. "Unlike Lance. He gave me a free drink."

That little tidbit was enough to distract Vivian. "I told you Gwen. He's interested. You just have to make a move! When he comes by to give us our food, ask him to join us for drinks tonight. Do it or I'll do it!"

"Fine!"

And she did, a thrill shooting through her when Lance agreed readily. As usual, Vivian and her spent the rest of lunch sharing job woes and gossip. Lance called out a goodbye as the two of them walked out of the café and Gwen turned, smiling and waving. Then her eyes, of their own volition, moved to where Arthur sat with a friend. He raised his eyes, meeting hers, then nodded subtly. Gwen found herself nodding back. The strange swirling feeling in her stomach, she attributed to her excitement over seeing Lance for drinks that evening. Because it definitely had nothing to do with Arthur and his smiles.