He was staring without shame, struggling to believe that he had actually bumped into her again after thinking of their first meeting so often. How he could reconnect with her had been a mystery, assuming the bakery was the only place they would see each other.
Now, with a fresh opportunity, Ben wondered about the best way to approach the woman. It wasn’t every day that he approached strangers looking to take them on a date. While he had been known to have a way with women, he typically didn’t have to put in much effort.
Rachel’s warning replayed in his mind, fearing he could possibly be closing off his personal life by focusing on the business exclusively. Ben didn’t believe his assistant, but knew it looked that way. He wanted to prove her wrong, to show that he was still the young vibrant man she knew, even if he had grown more mature with time.
When the young woman set the dumbbell down, seemingly taking a break, Ben decided it was time to make his move. She was breathing deeply as her fingertips dug into the curve of her back when he approached, his eyes on her from the wall of mirrors.
“Excuse me,” Ben heard himself say as he nudged by the woman, pretending he was returning his dumbbells.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she muttered, shifting quickly to make more room as she pulled an earbud from her ear.
“Sorry, I was being clumsy,” he explained, setting the dumbbells on the shelf.
“It’s my fault. I should have made room for you,” she whispered, looking down at her feet nervously.
Ben felt the energy was wrong, he could tell she didn’t know what to do. She was shy, or insecure about something and he just wanted to make her feel comfortable.
“You work down at the bakery, right?” he asked, already certain of the answer. He could see the blonde roots, remembering his initial thoughts when he first saw her. It was like she wanted to hide her beauty, always looking away and even dying her long blonde hair. Why would she want to hide how gorgeous she was? He wondered what was behind it, as he searched her face for answers.
“Yes, uh, do we know each other?” she asked, squinting as she searched her memory.
“I came in for donuts the other day and saw you making a latte,” he explained.
“Oh, yes! The latte guy,” she smiled, her cheeks blushing a bright red color.
“It’s so strange to run into you again. They say the third time’s the charm, so maybe you should let me take you for dinner,” Ben suggesting, flashing the smile that always got him his way.
To his surprise, the woman didn’t appear to be moved by his offering. Before she spoke a word, Ben could see the rejection coming. She was flustered, searching for the words as her hands moved quickly to place her ear bud back in her ear.
“No, I’m sorry. No thank you,” she finally said, her words rushed as she looked everywhere but at Ben.
“Oh, well—” Ben’s words faded as he realized she could no longer hear him, her body back in movement as she continued her exercises like he had never approached.
Shocked, Ben sat there staring for a few long seconds before turning to see if the group of young men working out in the corner had witnessed the rejection. Thankfully, they were focused on their routine, unaware of the disaster pick up line Ben had fumbled his way through.
He was taken aback as he walked back to the sit up bench, trying hard to refocus. Of all the possible scenarios he considered while walking across the weight room to speak to the mysterious brunette, being completely shot down and dismissed wasn’t among them.
Halfway through his first set of bicep curls, Ben glanced across the room, hoping to catch the blue eyes watching him, but the woman was uninterested. She had gone back to exercising, turning her face away from Ben’s sight.
It wasn’t like him to take no for an answer, and although he wasn’t sure how, Ben knew he would have another shot with this woman who had completely captivated him. For the next twenty minutes, he continued his workout, always hyper aware of where she was, and what she was doing.
Taking comfort in the fact that she continued to exercise, he assumed she was playing hard to get and was glad to know he had not completely turned her off. The only thing worse would have been for her to run from the gym screaming. He still couldn’t understand why she had shut him down so swiftly.
When she finally returned the weights to the shelf and made her move towards the door, Ben struggled to make eye contact with her, but she was focused on her steps as she watched her feet. It was bizarre how demure she behaved, considering her beauty. Benjamin felt his lip curl upwards as she drifted by, the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen.
She had successfully eluded him again, leaving him to complete his workouts as thoughts swirled around his mind. Wondering if he could have lost a step with women, he upped the ante on his workout, switching to heavier dumbbells as he watched his muscles flex in the mirror.
Considering his dismal results, he couldn’t help but wonder if Rachel had a point when she said he was becoming a boring tycoon. Work had been his girlfriend since his last relationship ended four years ago. There was no doubt in his mind, he was completely over her, but the idea of taking time from the career he loved so much to put in the effort to get to know a woman had sounded like a drag.
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Until her. This mystery woman had changed his thinking, and Ben knew before he hit the showers that he had to find a way to impress her. There were plenty of perks to his lifestyle, and for the first time, he was ready to exploit every single one of them. Nothing was off the table, he thought to himself, and then it occurred to him that he didn’t even know her name.
The shade of her eyes was forever ingrained in his memory, yet he didn’t even know her name. The realization made him chuckle, thinking the scenario sounded like a scene from a romantic comedy. She couldn’t possibly know the effect she was having on him, and that made it even more intriguing.
Chapter Seven
Katherine