QueenCL

For a while, they just looked at each other and smiled through their phones.

“Do you think there will ever come a day that we’ll have an argument so big it affects our relationship?” she suddenly asked.

Jeff’s heart thumped. Was this her opening up to him about her worries?

“Never. That day will never come,” he answered confidently.

“How are you so sure?” Tina asked back.

“I’ll never let you go to sleep angry. When there’s a problem, I’d like for us to communicate about it. If it’s something on my end, I’ll try my hardest to fix it. If it involves one of us giving in, I’ll do that gladly."

"If you’re not ready to talk about it immediately, I’ll give you time to cool off while still taking care of you and reminding you about how much I love you daily.”

“If the problem is on your end, I’ll try my best to fix it as well. I’ll take 9999 steps, so you just have to take 1 step towards me.”

He wanted her to know that in their relationship, she was the most important. He wanted to be someone that she could willingly rely on. 

“You look like you’re ready to drag me to church right now, hahaha.” She laughed at how serious his face got the moment she brought up their relationship.

Before he could reply, she added, “how can I just take 1 step? That’s too unfair to you. I’ll take 10 steps, so you can take 9990 steps.”

He couldn’t even get mad because she had the brightest smile on her face as she teased him.

“Whatever my queen says is right.” He gladly obliged her.

Novel cover is by Zipcy (Yang Se Eun). Very beauty illustrations. Check it out on https://www.boredpanda.com/new-romantic-couple-illustrations-korea-zipcy/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

Slow but steady

It didn't take Tina long to reach the downtown café. She was dressed in long black pants, a collared shirt with a brown coat on top. Her hair was in a high bun, and her ears were adorned with pearl earrings. She looked at her watch to make sure she was on time before making her way into the café.


"Reservation for Mr. Strider," she said at the front desk.


She was escorted to a corner seat that had a view of the busy street. There was a cup of hot coffee at the table, but no one was in sight.


The staff took her order before leaving.


While waiting on her client and the order, she took out the file to go through it. She had previously made some notes on the side, so she was going over them again to make sure she didn't miss out on anything.


She did not wait for long as her order and client arrived together. More like the order with the client showed up.


Jeff held on to the cup of coffee as he laid it down in front of Tina before making his way to sit opposite her.


Tina lifted her head from the file when she saw the cup, and at the same time, Jeff looked towards the woman he was curious about the whole day.


Their eyes met and for a split second, just a split second, everything stopped.


"Have we met before?" They echoed each other's question.


Tina broke eye contact to pick up her cup before shaking her head.


"I don't think so. You seem really familiar however." She smiled at him before introducing herself.


"Hi Mr. Strider. I am Tina Lawrence. You can call me Tina. I will be the ID working with you on this project."


By then, Jeff had already adjusted his state, and received Tina's handshake.


"I'm Jeff, CEO of Jeff waves. I hope this cooperation goes smoothly. Just call me Jeff. Nothing formal."


After the brief introductions, they both got into business mode. Jeff was an advocate of "less is more," so he wanted his home to project that. Coincidentally, Tina also liked this style, so they had a lot to talk about and very few corrections were made to Jeff's plan. Jeff wanted an all-white interior, but Tina suggested that he should had a bit of color here and there.


For example, he wanted his open kitchen to be all white, down to the kitchen marble island and seats. Tina suggested to keep the white marble but make the island stand black, and the chairs orange, while the walls could also be black, and the kitchen slabs and cabinet be white. After seeing Tina's rough sketch, Jeff agreed to the suggestion.


The discussion went on smoothly and the only thing left was to sign the contract. They proceeded to make their lunch order and talked over the meal.


"How long do you think it's going to take?" Jeff asked.


"6 months at least because we need to put in an order for the marble tops and fabrics, but the other things should be ready in about a week."


Jeff nodded. "Well, it's been a nice afternoon with you, Tina. I hope we work well together."


Tina rose from her seat to meet his hands, "same here Jeff. Happy cooperation."


They stood there for about a minute shaking hands and not letting go, until the file slipped from Tina's hand bringing them both back from wherever their minds wandered off to.


They had exchanged business cards to make communication easier. Tina picked up the tab as she always did whenever she met with a client.


After she got into her car, she held on to her chest.


"Why are you beating like crazy?" she asked herself.


She felt very familiar with Jeff, like they had known each other for a very long time. He had a nice smile and firm butt. His voice was low and inviting. He was handsome, but she had met so many clients like Jeff. Why did he feel so familiar? That feeling made her want to go closer to him, to know him more.


"Girl! You're crazy!!! He is your client. Business mixed with pleasure is a big no."


She gave herself a brief pep talk and smacked her head to get her senses back.


Chapter 2.1