Chloe Bennett was having a "great" day, if by "great" you meant "completely mortified and convinced she was about to get fired from her part-time job for the third time this week."
She was still trying to recover from the book spill incident with Sebastian Black, the billionaire who probably owned half the city, when her phone buzzed. It was her manager, Sarah.
"Chloe! We have a customer who needs to speak with you about the book spill. He says he's with Black Industries."
Chloe's heart stopped. "Oh no. Oh no no no. I'm not ready for this. I'm going to trip over my own feet and knock over the entire coffee table."
"Chloe, just breathe. It's probably nothing. Just be professional."
"Professional? I just offered a billionaire my firstborn as compensation for knocking over his books!" Chloe whispered desperately.
"Okay, maybe not professional, but just be polite."
Chloe took a deep breath and walked to the front of the store. She saw a man in a perfectly tailored suit standing by the counter, looking at the books with a calm, almost amused expression. He was handsome, but not as intimidating as Sebastian.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Chloe Bennett?" the man asked.
"Yes, that's me."
"I'm Lucas Chen, Sebastian Black's personal assistant. I was sent to get your contact information."
Chloe's eyes widened. "Sebastian Black? You're his assistant? I mean, I met him earlier today. At the bookstore. The book spill..."
Lucas nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "I know. I was there. Sebastian was quite impressed by your... enthusiasm."
Chloe felt her face heat up. "Oh. Well. I'm sorry about the books. And the offering of my firstborn. I wasn't actually serious about that."
Lucas chuckled. "He wasn't either. He found it rather amusing."
Chloe sighed with relief. "Thank goodness. I was so worried he'd be furious."
Lucas shook his head. "He's actually very impressed. He's been looking for someone like you."
"Someone like me? I'm a klutz who knocks over books for a living. I'm not exactly the type of person he'd want to work with."
Lucas gave her a look that was equal parts pity and amusement. "You're exactly the type of person he wants."
Just then, Chloe's foot caught on the edge of the rug again. She stumbled forward, her hand reaching out to catch herself on the counter. Unfortunately, she caught the edge of a display of coffee table books, sending them flying.
"NO!" she yelled, but it was too late. The books hit the floor with a loud thud.
Lucas sighed, but it was a soft, almost fond sigh. "I think I've seen enough of your book-accident-prone tendencies for one day."
Chloe buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry. I'm going to go work in the back room and never come out again."
Lucas shook his head. "It's okay. But I need your contact information for Sebastian."
Chloe pulled out her phone and started to type, her fingers trembling. "Here, let me send it to you."
As she was typing, her phone slipped from her fingers and landed face-down on the counter. She scrambled to pick it up, accidentally knocking over a small vase of flowers.
"Great," she muttered. "Just great."
Lucas reached out and gently took the phone from her. "I've got it. You're doing fine."
Chloe looked at him, her eyes wide with panic. "You're not going to tell Sebastian about this, are you? I mean, I've already embarrassed myself once today. I don't need to add 'knocking over flowers' to the list."
Lucas smiled. "I won't. But you should probably get better at handling your phone."
Chloe nodded, her face burning. "I'll work on it."
As Lucas was about to leave, he turned back to her. "Oh, and Chloe?"
"Yes?"
"Sebastian said to tell you that he's looking forward to seeing you again."
Chloe's heart skipped a beat. "Really? He did?"
Lucas nodded. "He did. He said you're the first person he's ever met who could make a book spill sound like a marriage proposal."
Chloe's face turned bright red. "I told him I wasn't serious about that."
Lucas chuckled. "I know. But he found it charming."
As Lucas walked away, Chloe let out a shaky breath. "I'm going to need a lot of practice at not being a klutz," she muttered to herself.
Just then, Sarah walked up to her. "Chloe, you've been here for over an hour. Why aren't you helping customers?"
Chloe turned to her. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I was just... um... helping a customer."
Sarah raised an eyebrow. "A customer? I haven't seen anyone else in here."
Chloe's eyes widened. "Oh no. I forgot to tell you about the customer. He was with Black Industries."
Sarah's eyes narrowed. "Black Industries? You mean Sebastian Black?"
Chloe nodded. "Yes. He was here. And he's looking for me."
Sarah's expression turned to one of disbelief. "You met Sebastian Black? And you didn't tell me?"
Chloe shrugged. "I was a bit... distracted."
Sarah sighed. "You're lucky he didn't fire you for knocking over his books."
Chloe's face turned red again. "I'm not sure he would have. He seemed... amused."
Sarah gave her a look. "Amused? You knocked over his books and offered him your firstborn. I'm surprised he didn't have you arrested."
Chloe opened her mouth to protest, but Sarah cut her off. "You're lucky he's not a bad guy. Most people would have fired you on the spot."
Chloe sighed. "I know. I'm just... really clumsy."
Sarah shook her head. "You're more than clumsy, Chloe. You're a disaster."
Chloe's eyes widened. "I'm sorry. I'll try to be better."
Sarah looked at her for a moment, then said, "You know what? I think I've seen enough of your 'disaster' tendencies for one day. Go home."
Chloe's eyes widened. "Wait, what? I can go home?"
Sarah nodded. "Yeah. You've had a rough day. Go home and get some rest."
Chloe couldn't believe it. "Thank you so much, Sarah!"
As she walked out of the bookstore, she couldn't help but think about Sebastian. Why was he looking for her? And why did he find her so... interesting?
She pulled out her phone to text him, but her fingers slipped and she sent the message to the wrong person.
"Hey, Sebastian, I'm so sorry about the book spill. I hope you're not too mad. Also, I'm a klutz, but I'm trying to get better. Maybe we can meet for coffee? I promise I won't knock over the coffee cup this time."
She sent it to Lucas by mistake.
"Great," she muttered. "Now I'm texting the wrong person."
As she walked to her car, she tripped over a loose sidewalk stone. She caught herself on a nearby lamppost, but not before knocking over a small potted plant.
"Of course," she muttered to herself. "I had to trip on the way out."
She looked up at the sky, hoping for some kind of sign. "Please tell me this isn't the start of a bad day."
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Lucas.
"Chloe, I'm not Sebastian. But I'll tell him about your coffee cup promise. And your plant-knocking skills."
Chloe's face turned bright red. "I'm going to die of embarrassment."
She looked up at the sky again. "Why is this happening to me?"
As she drove home, she kept thinking about Sebastian. Why was he looking for her? What kind of project did he need help with? And why did she have a feeling that this was going to be the most complicated thing she'd ever done?
She pulled into her apartment building and walked up to her door. As she fumbled with her keys, she accidentally dropped them. She bent down to pick them up, but her foot caught on the edge of the doorframe, sending her stumbling into the apartment.
"Great," she muttered. "Just great."
She looked around her small apartment, which was decorated with books and photos of her and her aunt. She had always dreamed of a simple life, but it seemed like her life was anything but simple.
She sat down on her couch, pulling her knees to her chest. "What am I doing?" she whispered to herself. "Why did I say I'd give him my firstborn? I barely know him."
Just then, her phone buzzed again. It was a text from Sebastian.
"Chloe, I'm looking forward to seeing you again. And don't worry about the coffee cup. I'll handle it."
Chloe's heart skipped a beat. "He's not mad. He's actually looking forward to seeing me again."
She smiled for the first time all day. "Maybe this isn't a disaster after all."
But as she sat there, she couldn't shake the feeling that her life was about to get a whole lot more complicated. And she had a feeling that her klutz tendencies weren't going to be the only thing she'd have to deal with.
As she lay down on her couch, she couldn't help but think about Sebastian. Why was he looking for her? And why did she have a feeling that this was going to be the most interesting thing that had ever happened to her?
She closed her eyes, hoping that tomorrow would be a little less... chaotic.
But as she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but wonder: what was Sebastian's "project" really all about? And why did she have a feeling that it was going to change her life forever?
Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a knock on her door. She jumped up, her heart pounding. "Who could that be at this hour?"
She walked to the door, her heart racing. "Hello?"
"Chloe? It's Sebastian."
Chloe's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you about the project," he said, his voice smooth as silk.
Chloe's heart skipped a beat. "Now?"
Sebastian smiled. "Now. And I'm not going to let you knock over anything this time."
Chloe's face turned bright red. "I'll try not to."
Sebastian stepped inside, his eyes meeting hers. "You're going to be just fine, Chloe. I promise."
And as he said those words, Chloe couldn't help but wonder: was this really the beginning of something amazing, or was she about to make the biggest mistake of her life?