One Petal at a Time (ON HOLD)

Ch1: Midnight Delivery

It was a quarter past 11 PM when he called. Sienna was closing the store, grabbing the keys to leave when the phone rang. The loud piercing sound scaring the life out of her as she stood at the door debating if she should answer or not. She knew exactly who it was, no caller ID needed. Only one person would call at this hour. Her feet glued to the ground, she stood in place until the voice of her co-worker, Frey, reached Sienna's ears kindly instructing the caller to leave a message after the tone.

With the decision clearly taken away from her by the phone, she opened the door letting the icy wind grace her pink cheeks.

"Hello?" A deep strong voice inquired out of nowhere, making Sienna close her eyes in frustration. "I know someone is there, so to whoever is listening, I need the usual. Don't be late." The commanding voice concluded, ending the call and gaining a scowl from Sienna.

No, she thought. Not this time.

The unreasonable client was the one and only Blake Dallas. One of the most famous CEOs in the city. Maybe even the country, Sienna wasn't sure. She knew about him because of the frequency with which he ordered flowers at the shop and what Frey had told her. Sienna herself wasn't very fond with the newspaper or the famous gossips people read at fashion magazines. She knew that Blake Dallas had been chosen the hottest man several years in a row, or so her co-worker had informed her. Sienna had seen pictures here and there but she had a very bad memory and with the scarce pictures she had seen of him she didn't trust she would recognize him straight away.

Blake Dallas always did whatever he pleased and thought himself the master of the small flower shop Sienna worked in. It was already past the closing hour so technically no one was supposed to be working at that time. Her elderly boss, Helga, wouldn't mind if she didn't take the order. She was a nice understanding woman. Nevertheless, Sienna knew she wouldn't ignore it. The shop was barely making the ends-meet and Blake Dallas was their only frequent customer. He always asked for the same once or twice a week. They couldn't afford losing him to another shop, and Sienna was painfully aware of it.

The moment the call ended, she was already taking off her coat and leaving her purple scarf on the small counter next to the most expensive vases they sold. Sienna grabbed her gold waves into a messy bun, and started to work. Expertly, she arranged the exquisite red roses into an elegant bouquet. She managed to cut the thorns and leaves with no casualties, such as the usual small pricks that came from toying with roses. She spent a solid quarter of an hour on the labor until she was done. Inspecting her work, she felt pity for the woman receiving the same beautiful-but-overused idea of a bouquet. That Blake Dallas surely lacked of original ideas.

Shaking her head, Sienna grabbed the delicate arrangement and left. As she was passing the pavement leading to her bike, she tripped over her own feet, sending the expensive flowers flying and crashing against floor completely ruining them. A foul curse escaped her cherry lips as she slashed her index finger trying to save the roses that weren't too smashed up between the fragments of broken glass.

With a bloody finger between her lips, she headed toward the flower shop to do everything from scratch. Thirty minutes later she was settling the bouquet in the special compartment behind her bike while anger and frustration drowned her. She felt furious toward the insensitive customer and frustrated at her tendency to be so damn clumsy. This wasn't the first time Sienna wasted materials and money from the shop by tripping with invisible obstacles. It would kill her one day, her mother constantly reminded whenever she fell.

Leaving the store behind, cold cut through the thin denim of her jeans, making her tremble as she made her way toward one of the city's most powerful building. Sienna cursed Blake Dallas' name each time a solitary snowflake made its way into her honey eyes.