Chapter 2: Sign

It was Monday, 6 o'clock pm, in the resort the Fullbuster corps had in the Alps mountains, and Gray was…relaxed?...no, that would be a stretch, he was indifferent. Nothing could affect him anymore. He came to terms with the fact that he had to take responsibility and become the next CEO, even if he hated it. He had no other choice, I mean what could he do? He can't lie and say he doesn't like money, and yes he could maybe go and work for another company, but he is not stupid nor arrogant like that. He can't throw out such a chance even if he is not 100% into the idea of running such a big company on his own. But he had his assistant, lawyers and his accountant for support, right? He knew his father wanted to basically rebrand the whole company, and for that to happen he needed fresh new eyes on every level, namely important levels, he wasn't about to fire the whole company, no. Only the people that needed replacement in order for his vision to come to life.

Gray hated the heat, even if he was now forced to live and work in California where the heat was unbearable for him. It was not like in London where he much rather preferred the rainy weather, but he was content that at least here, in Alps, the temperature was almost perfect, almost because it was however a tad bit cold, but nothing a scarf, jacket and thick pair of boots couldn't solve. So he decided he should enjoy, as much as he could, the cold and relaxing atmosphere this place offered. It was late now though, it started getting dark out and he knew he had to go to that meeting his father told him about, one he dreaded, but one that he couldn't do anything about. Besides he already decided he will do the damn job and not complain, thus he should start getting ready seeing that he didn't want to make a bad first impression.

Juvia just woke up, after a three hour nap, and was now fresh, mentally, because physically she had to take a shower urgently. After the stretching session was over, she swung her long legs on the side of the bed and got out to go wash the dirt that accumulated on her over the course of the long flight from California to Alps, and she started getting ready for the awaited dinner with her potential future boss. She put on a long, fitted white dress, with a cut on the side to show her beautiful leg, long sleeves to elongate and thin out her hands, supported by the neckline that was sideways and had one shoulder out. To accessorize the outfit she put on a blue pair of earrings with a matching bracelet on her left hand and a nude pair of high heels. Her hair was untied and had shiny, big, blue curls, the makeup being minimal, consisting in little blush and mascara. With that she was done and ready for the big event, but still, she had some time left so she decided she will go look around the hotel, to admire the beautiful interior design, the decor and surroundings.

As soon as she stepped out of the door anyhow, she was met by a pair of dark obsidian eyes she recognized. Eyes belonging to none other than the man she bumped ungracefully into at the restaurant just a few days ago. The second that thought flashed through her mind she immediately blushed so hard she was sure at that point her face was red. Right now she wanted nothing else than to disappear and hide behind the covers of the bed, or at least manage a way out without sounding dumb. But of course life wasn't that easy now, was it?

Juvia wanted to muster up the courage and tell him something before the situation got even more awkward than it already was, so she shot a glance at him, to make eye contact and tell something but when she saw the confident look in those onyx eyes of his she forgot what she wanted to say. That didn't matter however, because he took her chance away and said something, it was like he was reading her mind.

"So…we bump into each other again, huh? Well if this isn't a sign, I don't know what is. At this point we should at least know the other's name. Mine is Gray" he said as he offered his hand for a handshake, along with a smug smirk on his face. Why was he smirking like that? Did she do something again? ... she didn't know.

Gray wasted no time in getting ready, he took a quick shower and dressed up in a grey suit with a deep black turtleneck underneath the jacket. His hair was messy but he didn't mind it, considering it's always been that way. So after spraying some cologne, that made him irresistible to any woman, he decided he'll go out and kill his time outside of his room, due to the extra time he still got left. He turned the handle and as soon as he got out of his room he was presented with a sight he has never anticipated, that left him flabbergasted. The blue haired woman from the restaurant was here and she was looking like the most gorgeous human being on earth. Gray's eyes didn't miss how the dress clung to every form the woman had and accentuated them like they were out of this world, but if that wasn't enough to throw him over the edge, the dress also had a slit that was so high you could almost see everything if she were to move carelessly, her long smooth creamy leg was out for the world, or Gray for now, to see, and the high heels made it look even longer if that was even possible. After ogling her body for so long, he realized this was inappropriate and quickly moved his gaze from her goddess forms to her eyes, eyes that were not meeting his. He could now see that besides the avoiding of the eye contact she was also blushing, and hard if he must say. So that must mean she's nervous, 'but why?', he thought.

No later as he was trying to figure out why she was blushing and acting all nervous and shy, her eyes averted to his for a split second then straight back to looking at the floor. That's when he figured out… 'so she's shy because of me…heh', he didn't know why, but that gave him a sense of confidence, not that he needed a boost in that field, I mean… he was stunning, he didn't need a woman to lose herself at the sight of him to know he was good-looking.

He then decided to cut the silence and say something. Preferably something that will strike a conversation or at least find out her name, because as stupid as that sounded something inside him wanted to find out more about her and spend just a little more time by her side before he went to the business meeting.

"So…we bump into each other again, huh? Well if this isn't a sign, I don't know what is. At this point we should at least know the other's name. Mine is Gray" he watched as she finally looked up at him in the eye and...what was that you could read on her face?... shock, confusion, nervousness, all of the above?

"Yeah… my name is Juvia, Juvia Lokser. Nice meeting you here."

"The pleasure is mine. Hey-" he was then cut off by a blushing…Juvia, was her name and a familiar one if he thought about it…he just couldn't put his finger from where he had heard that name before. A Juvia who was very stirred and hectic. She shook her hands in the air and said:

"Look! About the thing at the restaurant… I didn't mean to get that close to you and eavesdrop…I'm sorry! You see, I was very impatient to check in and have dinner with my friends…it was a big day for me… but anyway, I'm sorry again for tripping you…"

He was a little taken aback by her behavior and her statement. 'So she was ashamed of that little accident, she wasn't shy because she saw me…ok bummer…' he thought and had a disappointed look on his face.

"Are you angry at me?" She said as she saw the look on his face and didn't say anything.

"No, don't worry about that! It's no big deal anyway, I mean it could happen to anyone really."

"Well yes, but I saw how infuriated you were and I didn't want to add up… considering the fact that I also was the one who booked the last table available…"

After the anxiety was gone and she could see he didn't mind the small incident at the restaurant, Juvia relaxed and felt attracted in some way or another to this man thinking this was the one and only chance for them to get to know each other a little, to stir a conversation. I mean how frequently did fate do that? Make two strangers meet in this kind of circumstances. Besides he said it as well, this is a sign and they have the duty to at least get to know each other in the smallest of bits….if not more…. So she decided to strike his interest by saying something that will make him want to talk to her more.

"Ohhh… I see now. Well if you did that… and potentially ruined my evening… you owe me one!" he said as he smirked at her, a devious smirk may I add.

"Well, I would be glad to treat you out to dinner but I'm here on a business trip and I'm afraid I won't exactly have time, you see I actually have to go to a meeting soon. But if you'd like we could go out some time next week when I'll come back to California." At first Gray was somehow disappointed by that, but as he thought more he found it only got weirder.

"How crazy would it sound if I would tell you that my schedule for this week is exactly the same?... including the meeting in…what? Half an hour."

Both Juvia and Gray were surprised and started laughing as Gray took that opportunity to get closer to her and suggest that if they both had some time to spare before their meetings and it was a long time until they can share that meal Juvia owed Gray, they could at least spend it together.

Juvia was glad to do so and Gray was surprised at how easy it was talking to her…well besides the difficult task of keeping his eyes in appropriate places because good God did she have the body of a goddess.

They talked about trivial things like Juvia's beloved cat, Frosh, that was at home and that she missed so dearly, and Gray told her that he would've liked to have a cat, but he was always on the go and couldn't take care of one, but that if she would be interested, the next time she needed a cat babysitter he was available. They exchanged phone numbers and laughed more at Gray's conventional jokes and just like that time flew by unexpectedly. When Gray saw Juvia look at the time he got somewhat sad because he wanted to spend more time with her… it was a strange feeling actually, one he had never had and could not name or explain. He just wanted more of her. Juvia excused herself, said goodbye and went ahead to the restaurant area in the hotel because it was almost time for her meeting. Gray also said his regards and hugged her just a tad bit too long, but it wasn't his fault…he couldn't control it at all, it was like his body acted on it's own without his judgement, and then proceeded to go to the bathroom before attending the meeting. Now that she was gone he had time to think and find out from where does her name sound so familiar, because he swore he had heard her name before.

Author notes

Hy, beloved readers!... if anyone is reading this :)) :D ? I hope you enjoy my story, this chapter included. I want to apologize if I make some grammar or spelling mistakes as English is not my native language and this is my first ff ever! I'm excited and terrified at the same time. Right now I only got one exam left (I'm in college) and I have a little break, free time that I will use to write this fanfic. I don't know how long the story will be, as it's not sketched clearly in my mind, but I hope it will turn out good. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism feel free to tell me. Also i will try to draw a cover for this story and how Juvia and Gray looked dressed for the meeting. That's it for now. Hope you enjoy! :3