Hi everyone!

I'm gonna try and update this on a weekly basis now, so either a Monday or a Friday, so keep your eyes peeled!
                         ^^^

Ziva Asinobi's POV

"Death is inevitable. Your place in heaven is not!" I hiss down the phone at Tendai.

She laughs loudly and I nearly hang up my phone.

"Did you have fun or not?!" She asks.

"I did" I mutter.

"Did Anj seem happy?" She asks.

"Yes" I sigh.

"Then regardless of your opinion, I did a good job?" She asks.

I sigh again.

"Yes you did a good job" I tell her.

"Exactly!" She says.

I roll my eyes as if she can see me.

Tendai took us to this huge a-list club, where she hauled us right to the front of the queue, gave the security guard air kisses and linked arms with us, dragging us right in.

"Are you at the cafe already?" She asks me.

"Bright and early" I respond.

I got here about 15 minutes before I'm actually supposed to meet the client.

He messaged me, saying that he was thankful for my time and if we could meet up at Idris' cafe.

I agreed and I ordered a coffee, sitting down and setting up so that I don't have to fumble about with pens or books when he gets here.

"It's a good thing you recover quickly then isn't it?" Tendai asks and I can hear the grin in her voice.

Anjani and I spent the whole weekend recovering from the deep drinking and dancing we did.

It was a lot and I'm surprised I didn't throw up everything I've ever eaten.

The hangover the next day was parallel to death and as usual, Tendai nursed us back to health, feeling completely fine herself.

"You're taunting me and I'm about to hang up on your ass" I tell her and she hushes me.

"You're lucky I'm in a spectacular mood today" I tell her.

And I am.

Birthdays are my favourite things to cook for.

They're joyous, people pay well and it doesn't make me cry or dwell on my singleness, so it's great!

"Have a great meeting honey. I'll talk to you soon. I love youuu" she says sweetly.

"Yeah, yeah. I love you too" I respond.

We hang up and just as we do, I hear some commotion around me.

People seem to be chattering excitedly.

"Is that him?" Someone asks.

"Gosh he's taller than I thought." Someone else chips in.

"Wow, he's handsome too!" Someone remarked.

A celebrity?!

I look around for the source of the hushed chatter and then I see him.

And God, if I thought he looked good in a suit...

He looks even better in what must be a work outfit.

Formal but comfortable.

A dark green jumper over a simple polar neck top and black slacks and dress shoes.

His dark locs are tied up and this time, he wears a pair of glasses, which sit on the bridge of his nose perfectly.

He's the man I spilled a drink on at the senator's function!

The girl that was with him mentioned his name...

What was it?

I think back, but then remember that with the way I was gawking at him, I didn't even hear her say it.

And now I'm gawking again.

He has a simple but clearly expensive gold watch on his wrist and a gold ring on his pinky finger.

He walks with confidence in his stride as he approaches the serving counter.

He says something to the server and then looks around.

I can't tear my eyes away from him.

And then his eyes fall on me.

My heart immediately falls to my ass and nearly yelp in surprise.

I want to look away, but I can't.

His eyes light up with recognition and he starts to approach me.

What the fuck, why?

Does he remember me from the party?

Nonsense!

He wouldn't remember one of 30 servers from a huge event like that...

Well to be fair, Ziva, not all of the servers spilled champagne on him that night, did they?!

Oh my God, what if his suit was expensive?!

Is he coming to reprimand me?

Demand reimbursement?

Will he-?

"Miss Asinobi?" He asks.

I snap my head up to see him standing right in front of me.

My God, he's tall.

I stand up.

"Look, I swear I didn't do it on purpose! I was in my head and I-" I start to ramble, but then I stop.

"Wait. How d'you know my last name?" I ask.

He gives me a polite smile, that makes my head spin a little bit.

"Tobias Miller. I'm meeting you upon recommendation of my good friend Idris" he says.

My heart jumps into my throat.

Oh my gosh...

He's my client.

"You're my client?" I ask, as if I don't trust my gut.

He nods, extending his hand.

"I am. Nice to meet you" he says calmly.

I take his hand.

Maybe he doesn't remember what happened?

"Ziva Asinobi" I greet.

He nods.

"Let's sit" he suggests.

So I sit and so does he.

A waitress walks up to us and turns to him.

"Same as usual?" She asks him.

"Aye" he responds and she snorts at him.

"What are you a pirate?" She asks.

"Nah I'm Ghanaian. You didn't hear my accent?" He asks.

He must be a regular here.

Probably why all those people had something to say about him like he's some kind of celebrity...

The waitress ignores his quip and turns to me.

"What can I get you, sugar?" She asks me.

I look at the menu on my table again, scanning it as if I won't get the same thing I always get when I'm here.

"I'll take the brookie chocolate tart with whipped cream" I say, already feeling my excitement.

I glance at Tobias, who is looking right at me.

If he has an opinion of my order, his face doesn't show it.

My order is a brownie, layered over a chocolate chip cookie dough, loaded into a tart base and it's single handedly my favourite thing on this menu.

I reach for my bag, to grab my card and pay, but I hear a beep, signalling that a payment has been made.

I snap my neck up to see that my client has just tapped his card on the machine as if it's nothing.

My jaw immediately drops open and I quickly start to protest.

"Oh, please Mr Miller. You don't have to do that!" I say.

If my dad could see me right now, he'd give me the dirtiest look.

He says that it's not ladylike to reject gifts from men unless it seems dangerous.

In that case, he says I'd better start screaming like a fire has just broken out.

The waitress doesn't even heed my protest, giving me a kind smile as she walks away.

"I want to. Consider you letting me buy this repayment for spilling a drink on my favourite suit jacket" he says.

I snap my mouth shut immediately.

So he does remember.

I nearly laugh in disbelief, but instead I clear my throat.

"Now that we have that awkwardness out of the way, let's get started, shall we?" He asks.

I nod, grateful that he says nothing more about it.

"So this event you want catering for. I hear it's a birthday party for your father." I say.

He nods, going into his bag and taking out a notebook.

I nearly raise an eyebrow.

Not many clients are this prepared.

Interesting.

He quickly opens a page up and then looks at me.

"I have some details for you to look at" he says, wasting no time.

"By all means" I say, sitting up.

"We're having at least 20-30 guests, but I want to make an allowance in case people want to start bringing plus ones or they can't find babysitting." He says.

"What's your allowance bracket?" I ask.

"40-45 extra people" he says, casually and I nearly choke on my coffee.

"That will raise my prices significantly" I tell him.

He nods.

"I'm aware. Whatever you need, I'll cover it" he says simply.

It's my turn to nod.

I write down the number and the bracket and look at him once again.

"D'you have a set date?" I ask him.

"2 weeks. My father's birthday is the 29th of this month." He tells me.

I jot it down and just as I do, our food is set down in front of us.

I take a curious glance at what he ordered.

A beef patty and a sweet tea.

Classic.

Then to my surprise, he picks up a knife and fork, cutting into it to eat it.

"A knife and fork to eat a beef patty?!" I ask before I can stop myself.

He nods.

"Touching certain textures can sometimes make me anxious and sometimes throw me off" he explains simply and I nod, upset at myself for blurting it out like that.

I sigh internally.

This is not a good start.

I dig into my food and I try not to let my eyes roll back at how good it is.

As usual, Idris' staff put their foot into making this and you can tell it's fresh from the taste.

I tried to encourage him to do what I do, but he loves promoting as well so it wouldn't work for him.

Tobias and I, eat and talk while I make notes.

"Is there a theme?" I ask.

He nods.

"Blue and white are his favourite colours, so we're gonna go with that. Especially for the cake. I want that to be the main attraction" he says.

I nod, already thinking of ideas for the cake.

"Are there any allergies that you, or anyone else may have?" I ask.

"My big sister has a shellfish allergy. But other than that, in my family, no. But I plan on emailing you the dietary restrictions for all of the guests once I have them. I've sent out forms already" he says.

"You're very organised" I say.

"Thank you Miss Asinobi" he responds with a smile.

"Ziva. You can call me Ziva" I respond, trying to ignore the way him saying my last name makes me feel.

His voice is deep and slow.

Like he should be part of an audio book or something.

"Ziva.Your name is beautiful" he says thoughtfully.

I feel my heart pounding in my chest as if I'm a teenager who's never interacted with a man before.

What the fuck is my problem?!

I've met this nigga like once before this!

He looks me dead in the eyes.

"It suits you" he tells me with a smile.

Oh my God I'm gonna pass out.

That smile?!

It's unfair.

"Thank you Mr Miller" I tell him.

"Tobias." He says.

"Tobias" I repeat.

He stands up.

"I'm afraid that's all I have time for today. Let's meet again once I have the dietary information and then we can also discuss payment. Is that okay?" He asks me.

I immediately snap out of my daze, standing up and packing my things into my bag.

He waits for me, stacking the plates and cups we used gently.

"That would be great." I say.

He nods.

"Is later this week okay?" He asks.

I glance at my Apple Watch and my eyes widen.

The time!

It's nearly the early evening!

I didn't even notice how long we'd been sat here.

"Later this week is fine. Just text me when it's good for you so we can get started in good time." I say.

"I will" he responds. He walks to the front with the stuff we used, putting it on the counter and I follow him.

I thank the lady that served us, and I leave.

He holds the front door open for me and I thank him.

"You didn't have to do that" I say.

He side eyes me.

"Men don't need to be told to hold doors for women. It should be something they do regardless" he responds.

A man!

I nod with a slight chuckle.

"Yes sir!" I respond with a chuckle and he gives me a soft smile.

"Did you drive here or would you like me to call you an Uber?" He asks.

"I drove. But thank you anyway" I tell him.

He nods and I start walking to my car.

"I'll text you sometime tomorrow" he says, watching as I get closer to my car.

"Alright!" I call back.

Once I'm in my car, he starts to walk to his car and I watch him.

He sits down and sparks it to life, driving off.

Once I'm sure he's gone, I breathe out and then I immediately whip out my phone.

I tell Siri to make a group face time with my best friends and not even a moment later, they both pick up.

"Bitch, you won't believe what the fuck just happened!" I screech.

Tendai has a face mask on and Anjani is also in her car.

Tendai stands up and walks to the kitchen.

"Come through I've got some ice cream with ya name on it." She says.

Anjani pipes up.

"Y'all better wait for me! I'm at the store" She says.

Me an Anjani live in the same apartment building so we alternate between who does the shopping for us both once a week. And this week it's her turn.

"Duh" I say.

We sign off and I start my car, routing it to Tendai's house, thinking about my interactions with Tobias.

I didn't think I'd see him again...

I have got to stay professional!

No matter how happy I am to see him.

———————————————
Hi everyone!

What do you think of her the interaction between Tobias and Ziva?

Are you excited for the next part?

Comment below what you think!