2. Coincidences

You were mid-lecture when you felt it. The warmth of his eyes on you and the shiver you felt down your spine when you finally found the emerald green ones you knew were there, even before you looked. He was standing in the doorway of your lecture hall with a smirk on his face.

As you started discussing the various aspects of British romanticism to the group of young twenty-somethings you glanced over at him only to see his smirk continue but now there was a hint of a raised eyebrow added. From the corner of your eye you watched as he took a seat just inside the hall and after a few moments you forgot he was there as you delved deeper into the text.

It wasn't until you were wrapping the lecture up that you looked up towards where he had sat earlier. To your surprise he was still sitting in the same seat and looked rather … impressed? Surprised? You didn't know what he looked like but what you did know is when he noticed you looking at him he stood and made his way towards the front of the lecture hall, causing the class to become quiet.

"Good morning, Professor YLN." He stated before turning towards the students still sitting in their seats.

You had no idea what he was doing and as you went to stop him from interrupting your lecture and have your students be completely off topic he gave you a look. It wasn't a look of frustration or of annoyance. Instead it was a look of excitement and patience.

"Good morning class. I am Rafael Barba, the Dean of Liberal Arts. As this is not only the first liberal arts class but also the first class in general as college students I wanted to welcome each of you to this university and the Liberal Arts college within it."

As he spoke you had to hold your composure and hold your jaw together because you were sure if you didn't your jaw would have been on the floor.

When the two of you met at the bookstore and had coffee neither had really discussed what the other did and you were glad. Usually when people asked what you did and you would answer "professor" you were often the brunt of a few jokes or would get "the look" from people who felt it was a bad choice.

You loved English literature and you loved working with young adults so, for you, it was the perfect fit when you were offered the position to teach the freshman level courses. However, what you did not expect when you took the position was to go on a date with your boss before you even knew he was your boss.

You were snapped back to reality as the class started to file out of the lecture hall at Dean Barba's allowance. As the last students filed out he turned to you and you quickly made work to pack up the books you had on the desk.

"Y/N"

"Dean Barba"

"Ouch. That hurt a bit." He stated as he brought one of his hands to his heart.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to grab a coffee later and talk but.."

He trailed off as you looked up at him. You didn't know why you were frustrated with him or why you were mildly angry at him but you did know you were upset with yourself. When you moved to New York you promised yourself you wouldn't get caught up in any drama and here you were. It was day one of your new classes and you had already flirted and had dinner with your boss.

"Mr. Barba… Dean.. I don't know if that would be appropriate. You are my boss are you not?"

"Well.. technically yes. However, I am not the English chair so technically she is your boss and I am hers." He stated with a smug look on his face.

"Did you know?"

"Excuse me?"

"Did you know?"

After a few moments of him looking at you utterly confused you asked the question again reworded.

"Did you know that I would be your employee when you invited me for dinner the other day?"

"No. I had no idea who you were. I saw you at the bookstore and you caught my attention by the books you were gathering and I remember thinking a few sounded familiar. Imagine my surprise when I walked by the lecture hall this morning and saw you teaching the same books."

"Ohh.."

You were mortified and as you hurriedly packed your bag you felt the familiar red blush creep across your face.

He picked up a few of the books and as you looked up at him, he smiled and held them out to you.

"Why don't we try this again? "Fresh start" remember?" He asked as you took the books and nodded, unable to form words.

"Hi. I am Rafael Barba. I am the Dean of the Liberal Arts college at a nearby university. I am addicted to coffee, snacks, and fresh starts. I also don't believe in coincidences."

As he held out his hand he smirked and allowed his tongue to poke out of his lips a bit and you felt you had just died. When you took the hand in return you could have sworn you felt the heat in your body build.

"Nice to meet you. I am Y/N. I am the new professor of freshman literature. I enjoy books, coffee, and cheesy movies. I believe coincidences are just the worlds way of letting you know something is supposed to happen."