The Billionaire and His Intern (A Christian Romance)

Chapter 2: A New Friend & Rejection

Arielle took the elevator all the way down to the thirtieth floor which is where the second cafeteria was.

You'd think for such a large building, they'd just invest in vending machines, she thought to herself.

The short journey did help soothe her nerves though. Alexander was a powerful man who practically held the business world in the palm of his hand.

She hoped to have made a good first impression. She saved money to buy proper business clothes, but it was rather difficult. All of the clothing stores that she had access to only sold clothes that she wasn't comfortable wearing. They were too tight or too short and showed too much skin. Yet once she happened upon the long pleated skirt at her local thrift shop, she was excited.

She found a variety of second-hand clothing there that were both professional in appearance and helped her in following her convictions.

She scanned the crowd around her. There was an array of people, all of which wore noticeably expensive suits as they walked through the large cafeteria. It was an interesting sight as the cafe resembled one from a high school but with a touch of wealth to it.

With her wallet in hand, Arielle walked up to one of the side vendors that stood in front of the myriad of coffee machines. It was a young man with ginger hair and light green eyes. Freckles adorned the center of his face before disappearing towards each cheek.

Said young man stared down at his phone bored with his surroundings. Arielle stood there for a few short moments, but when he didn't notice her arrival, she cleared her throat. The young man nearly vaulted in shock. He looked up quickly but said nothing for a few seconds. Arielle stood there awkwardly, ready to apologize before he threw up his right hand to extend toward her, but instead, it pushed again an open syrup bottle, causing it to begin falling.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry!" Arielle exclaimed. She reached out her hands helplessly as it fell further than she could catch it.

"I-It's okay." He stuttered. His eyes were wide as he stared at the woman in front of him. He fumbled his hands before sticking one out towards her.

"The name's Jeremy." He said. Arielle gave him a gentle smile before taking his hand for a friendly shake.

"Hi, Jeremy. My name's Arielle." Her eyes fell to the ground again where the syrup bottle lay, thankfully, very little syrup poured out. The bottle was nearly empty.

"Haven't seen you around here before," he chuckled nervously. "Are you new?"

"Uh-" she began, eyes still glued to the bottle on the ground. Jeremy's eyes followed hers and widened. He scooped it up haphazardly, causing more to fall out. Grabbing a few wipes from the counter, he plopped them on the ground and looked back up at Arielle."

"It'll soak up, no worries," Jeremy assured her. Arielle nodded.

"Okay. Sorry again. I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, no. You're okay. I shouldn't have been on my phone now anyway. But you're new here, right?" He asked once more.

"Yes," Arielle replied nodding. "It's my first day actually," she beamed. "I'm just here to pick up two cups of coffee. Mine will be a caramel frozen cold brew and- hm..." Arielle racked her brain to think of Mr. Marquee's order when she realized that he had not given her his order.

In the meanwhile, Jeremy was attempting to collect his heart back into his chest. Her bright smile made it beat erratically. He felt silly for reacting so sloppily, but he was taken aback by her appearance. She wasn't dressed like the rest of the people here. Something about her ensemble screamed elegance instead of NYC business. It made her appear beautifully feminine. Her eyes were striking. They were dark brown and almond shaped and her lashes shot up tall, only drawing attention to them further.