Finally, Sydney thought. There was nothing like this in the world. Sydney could kill for this. Granted, she could kill for a lot more, and probably has, but this, this was something special. Something, like love. Like nothing she'd ever experience. Starbucks very own Mocha Latte. Ah!. Sydney sipped the drink and sighed, a lazy grin appearing on her face. She'd been craving this all day long, and now, hours before her OP, she had just enough time to enjoy her Starbuck R&R. Sydney paid for her drink and walked out of the building and to her car. "Hey."
Sydney turned to the sound of the voice and looked at the man shocked. "Hey," she managed. It was the same cute guy from the morning, the one she split her coffee on. Sydney looked at him. "I see you have changed."
Michael looked at his clothes and smiled. "Oh yeah, well I had too, otherwise the guys at the office would be asking me where there coffee was," he replied.
Sydney grinned. "We wouldn't want that." Michael continued to smile at her. Oh, he has the most beautiful smile, she thought. "So...you weren't following me, were you?"
"Oh, no. Actually, I decided to stop here before my business trip," Michael said. "You?"
"Oh, well, since your clothes preferred my drink this morning, I decided to stop and get what I have been craving all day..."
"Starbucks," Michael finished.
Sydney nodded. "Yep. It's the only thing that helps me deal with my boss."
Michael nodded, agreeing with her. "I understand. My boss is a tight-ass too."
Sydney chuckled. "So, you know then?"
"Do I ever?" Michael joked. He extended his hand and Sydney shook it. "My name is Michael. Michael Vaughn."
"Sydney."
Michael raised an eyebrow. "No last name?"
"Oh...you don't find that out unless we're dating."
"Really?" Michael inquired.
Sydney nodded. "Yep."
"Well then, remind me to ask you out."
Sydney blushed. "Michael Vaughn, you should ask me out."
Michael smiled sweetly at her. "When I get back," she added.
Ouch. "Oh...you, visiting...?"
Sydney smiled at him, knowing what he was fearing. "No boyfriend. It's...a business trip."
Michael nodded. "Ok, then, I'll keep a look out for you..."
"And ask me out." Sydney finished. "I look forward to it." Sydney smiled at him and walked over to car. She started the engine and pulled out, driving away with Michael watching her the whole time, smiling.
-----------------------
"So...how hot is he?" Francie was asking.
Sydney smiled over the phone. Julian was sitting across from Sydney, scowling at her drooling over a man, clearly jealous and disappointed, while Sydney was talking to her best friend over the phone. "On a scale of 1 to 10, a million!"
Julian shook his head, and went back to pretending to read his book.
"He is so sweet to, Francie."
"Really?" Francie asked. "Normally hot guys like that aren't so sweet and nice."
Sydney glanced at Julian and thought, Julian was sweet. Francie must have been thinking the same thing because Francie said, "Except your last boyfriend. Julian. He was hot, smart and sweet. How come...?"
Sydney sighed. Don't go there Francie. "It was just...complicated," Sydney said. Julian looked up from his book and at Sydney, as if knowing what she was saying. He cleared his throat and stood up. "I'm going to see how much longer," he said, giving her privacy. Without another word, he walked away. Sydney turned around and watched him walk away, feeling a pang of guilt. Her and Julian had dated only a couple months ago for about a year. But for Sydney, mixing work with pleasure wasn't really easy. Arvin Sloane never approved it and he thought of their relationship as an unnecessary risk. Their relationship was always doubtful to Sydney because of Sloane and Sydney's father, Jack. To add insult with the injury, Lauren Reed was always fond of Julian and jealous of Sydney and Julian's relationship. Now that they were no longer together, it gave Lauren all the room she needed with Julian, but Sydney wasn't sure if Julian shared that with Lauren. Julian was still very much in love with Sydney, and Sydney knew it. It made things that much more complicated for them. The love and friendship was still there, but Sydney wasn't into it as much as he was. Sydney sighed as all her thoughts of Julian ran through her mind. "I'll call you when I'm back in town, Francie."
"Ok," Francie sighed. "See ya."
Sydney hanged up, "Yeah." Sydney's good mood and thoughts about Michael Vaughn were now replaced with the dreaded thought of what Julian and Sydney meant to each other now.
---------------
"She is so beautiful and funny, and seems really smart," Michael said.
"'Seems'?" Dixon asked.
Michael shook his head. "I don't know her that well to answer that honestly."
"Oh right, you mean like...what's her name...Donna Wilson?" Eric said
Dixon laughed and Michael's smile faded. "Why do you have to bring her up?"
Eric started laughing. "You should have ended the date after learning her name. As if you didn't know."
"I didn't," Michael said.
Eric laughed at the memories of Donna.
Michael shook his head. "I'm going to ignore you now."
"How long did that relationship last?" Dixon asked
"Three weeks!" Eric laughed again. "Seriously dude, you're better off being alone and having twenty cats then another chick like that."
Michael narrowed his eyes at Eric. "She's not like that."
Eric nodded. "Ok. We'll, I gotta meet her."
Michael sighed. "Yeah...right."
