Carl was sitting in his office. In front of him was a whole bunch of paperwork in front of him waiting for his attention. But he just kept staring at the one-way glass wall which gave him a view of the hustle-bustle of the busy city. His attention was captured by the thoughts of a certain brunette. He just couldn't get her out of her mind. It had been more than a week when they had met but it was difficult for him to get her out of his thoughts. 

"Sir, are you alright?" Janet, his assistant came in front of him and brought him out of his reverie. She put his coffee in front of him. Carl had known Janet for a long time. She was a beautiful woman in her mid-forties but still looked a decade younger. She had always given him advice in times of distress. 

"Janet, can you please take a seat?" Carl asked her. Janet looked at him then sat in front of him observing him closely.

"It's a girl, isn't it?" she spoke abruptly. 

"Huh? What?" Carl asked as he lifted his head to look at her. 

"Don't give me that shocked expression. I've known you long enough to sense that the cause behind your loss of focus is a girl." Janet said with a smile. Janet could be blunt when needed. 

"Yeah. You're right." Carl said sheepishly with a shy smile. 

"Don't let her go if you want her in your life. Life's too short to let go of good people." She said with a comforting smile. 

"I want to pursue her but I don't know what to do. I'm just afraid if she'll run away," Carl said as he stirred his leftover coffee. Suddenly, the swirls in the coffee looked better than the present situation. 

"Take her out. What's there to worry about? Don't worry, she won't run away from you. Now I have some work to sort out. Not everyone can daydream about girls." Janet said as she got up and took his coffee cup.

"But Janet.."Carl was left hanging in the middle of his sentence as Janet strode out of his office. 

Sofia was sitting in her room, sprawled on her bed, eating a slice of apple as she scrolled up and down her Instagram feed when suddenly her phone rang. Carl's name flashed on the screen. Sofia smiled and picked up the call. 

"Hello, Sofia. How are you?" He said smiling. 

"I'm good, Carl. How are you?" She said as she tucked a strand of her hair at the back of her ear and sat up straight. 

"Can we FaceTime?" Carl asked nervously.

"Okay, give me a minute," Sofia said as she hung up the call and ran towards the mirror to straighten up her wrinkled clothes. She brushed her hair and pulled a chair in front of the study table to set up her phone. The phone rang again with Carl's name as she turned on the video call. 

"Hey..." Carl said a little nervously as he smiled and scratched the back of his neck. 

"Hi, Carl," Sofia said with a smile and a small wave. 

"What have you been up to?" He asked as he sat back straighter in his chair as he observed Sofia. Her shirt collar was turned a little upwards. Overall, she looked worn out. 

"I had a tiring day at the office today.  I had lunch with Dad after work and now here I am in front of you talking to you." Sofia said moving her neck side to side to remove the fatigue. Her actions didn't go unnoticed by Carl whose eyes were fixated on her. 

"Oh, I'm sure you must be very tired. I just wanted to ask you something if you'd agree to it." He said as he said straighter. 

"Okay, go ahead. Whatever you ask, just make sure you're not asking me to be your fake girlfriend. I don't want to do that again." she said with a small smile. Carl was just looking at her mouth forming words like a lovestruck fool. 

"Hey Carl, you okay there?" Sofia asked raising her voice a little. 

"Yes, I'm fine. I apologize, I was thinking something." Carl said as he rubbed his face with his hands and sat straight. 

"Sofia, I wanted to ask you if you'd like to have dinner with me on Saturday." He asked as he looked at her expressions. 

"Okay. I'll go with you because I'm alone and I don't want to stay alone here." Sofia said smiling at him. 

"I'll text you the time. " He said with a wide smile. 

"Okay. How do I have to dress?" Sofia asked eagerly. 

"Whatever you're comfortable in. I can bet you'd look beautiful in a sack too." He said and Sofia chuckled lightly. 

"Then I think I should find a sack," Sofia said jokingly. Carl let out a little chuckle shaking his head.

"Okay, I'll see you on Saturday. Bye," Carl said as he waved and disconnected the call. Carl let out a sigh of relief. It went better than his expectations. He had not expected her to accept so easily. 

The rest of the week went by in a flash and Saturday came over.  Sofia was putting on the last touches to her appearance when the door to her room was knocked. Sofia opened the door to find Mrs. Clarke who told her that Carl has arrived and was waiting for her in the garden. Sofia reached the garden to find a  very stiff Carl standing holding a bouquet and a small bag in his hand. 

"Hi, what happened to you? You look like something crawled up your spine," Sofia said as she walked towards him with a dazzling smile. 

"Hello, Sofia. You look...... um.... gorgeous. Here, these are for you." He greeted her and handed her the flowers and the small bag.

"These flowers are so lovely. Thank you, Carl." She said with a sheepish smile. 

"These flowers are nothing compared to your beauty, Sofia." He said moving a loose tendril of her hair from her forehead. Sofia took the bouquet from him and took a whiff of the sweet-smelling orchids. She held the flowers close to her and kept smelling them throughout the drive up to their destination.

Sofia looked beautiful in a black knee-length lace dress. She opted for black suede wedges for more comfort. She kept her makeup simple with just an eyeliner, mascara, and a red lipstick which complimented her beauty.  She sprayed her favorite perfume on her neck. She completed her look with a black sequined clutch. Carl wore a white pulp T-shirt with a pair of black washed jeans and Vans. It was the first time for Sofia to see Carl in something casual other than the suits she had seen him wear every day. 

Carl smoothly drove them close to the beach. The sound of the waves crashing proved to be the perfect music. Carl exited the car and came around to open the door for Sofia. He put his hand forward for her. Sofia put her small hand in his large one. His hands provided her the warmth she needed to ease her nerves. Together they walked towards a spot on the beach that held a small wooden table with large cushions around it. A blanket was spread on the ground upon which the table was placed with food hidden under the glistening silver cloches. Lanterns lit around the table making the ambiance more romantic. Much to Sofia's surprise Carl's presence comforted her which was a strange feeling for her as she hadn't been in the company of too many men.

Sofia rubbed her arms to avoid the goosebumps rising on her arms due to the cold breeze. Carl saw her rubbing her arms and so he pulled her a little closer to his warm body as he wrapped his arm around her dainty waist and led her to the spot. Sofia gasped as she got closer to the table. Carl looked at her to find her smiling widely. His heart started beating a little faster as he saw her beautiful smile.

" Do you like it?" Carl asked as he helped her take her shoes off then took off his own. Carl took his seat opposite her as he didn't want an opportunity to look at the beautiful girl in front of him.

" Like it? I love it, Carl. Thank you for bringing me here tonight." Sofia replied as she looked at him with a smile that made his heart race.

"It's my pleasure to be by your side. Let's have dinner. Then we shall continue with the other things. Shall we?" Carl said as he held her hand that was placed on the table. Sofia nodded her head in reply and they began to eat shortly. Later they laid side by side to gaze at the stars.

"Sofia, I've been meaning to ask you something......" Carl said as he propped himself on his elbow and looked at Sofia's face directly who was busy concentrating on the stars.

" Yes, go ahead," Sofia said as she turned her attention fully towards him.

"I won't beat about the bush. I'll come straight to the point. I know its sudden and unexpected. We haven't known each other for a long time but will you be my girlfriend?" He blurted out as they both sat straight looking at each other.

Sofia looked around nervously but her heart was racing. She had never had anyone who would want to be with her because of her parent's influence. Carl was a handsome, rich, and kind-hearted man who fit all her parent's demands. She gave a thought about how Carl could be her way out of her parent's clutches but what made her disagree with her thoughts as it wasn't his fault if her life was wrecked. So, she decided to give him an honest answer to his question.

Carl saw how Sofia was contemplating over his question. He grew more nervous with each passing moment. He kept looking at Sofia as her gaze was fixed at him. He scratched the back of his neck as he touched her lightly on her arm.

" Sofia, are you okay? " He asked carefully.

" Yes, I'm fine. I apologize for zoning out like that. I never expected that question from you or from anyone for that matter." Sofia replied.

"I accept to be your girlfriend but there are some rules that we'll have to put in place before we take a step ahead. It's too soon for us to take it to the next level since you don't know much about me and I don't know much about you either. " Sofia said as she put his hand on hers.

" Thank you, Sofia," said Carl as he moved forward and engulfed her in a huge warm hug. Then he held her hand as they walked along the beach for a few minutes before returning to the car.
The car ride back to her house was comfortably silent.