"I'm really sorry to break this news to you, but the boss wants the draft on his desk by ten a.m. tomorrow morning," Emily announced sympathetically, placing a thick folder on my desk. 

"Tomorrow? Ten?" I glanced at my watch. It was just past four p.m. already. Where was I supposed to get the time from to draft a complete proposal between now and tomorrow morning ten a.m.? Oh yeah, that's right. I was supposed to smile and suck it up, right? I was so damn lucky to have landed this internship, after all. 

I sighed, nodding. I was fresh out of college, and I didn't have an option but to put on a brave face and stay behind. "I'll try my best." 

I ended up staying behind until 8 p.m., not quite finished with the work, but close enough so that I'd be able to make the deadline if I was at the office for a really early start tomorrow morning. I was the last person to leave the office - the place gave me the creeps at night, and I hated my boss for having insisted on having the stupid document ready within such an impossible timeframe. It was almost as though he drew pleasure from torturing me.

My eyes were glazing over, my head felt like cardboard. I couldn't think anymore... I was driving home mechanically, following the now-familiar route. There was almost no traffic on the roads, the only thing keeping me awake was the sound of the radio. 

That was, until the sound of a siren jolted me out of my trance, and I saw the blue and red lights flashing in my rear-view mirror, then the police squad car's headlights flashed, indicating that I should pull over. 

"Shit!" I cursed, feeling teary. It had been one hell of a day, and a long one at that... 

I pulled over, and sighed, wondering if I'd run a red light?

An officer in uniform appeared next to my window and motioned for me to wind it down. I smashed my hands onto the steering wheel in frustration, took a deep breath, and obliged. 

"Good evening, Miss. Can I see your license please?" The male voice asked. 

I fished for my license inside my wallet in the darkness shrouding the car, knowing that it was pointless to try and resist whatever was about to happen here. 

"There you go," I said tonelessly as I handed it over, still stubbornly refusing to look at him. 

"Thank you, Miss... Lily Hart..." He scanned my license and confirmed the details, and I rolled my eyes, wondering which cardinal sin against the laws of proper behavior in traffic I'd committed.

 "That all seems in order," he spoke again and bent down to look at me. My eyes widened, because the asshole-cop was actually quite a looker, from what I could see in the dim light cast by the streetlamps. But I was still angry and frustrated, and tired and I so desperately wanted to go home and have a hot shower and just go to sleep in my bed... 

"Can I go?" I asked impatiently, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel. 

His eyebrows shot right up. "Miss Hart, do you have any idea how fast you were going?" He asked politely, but with a shade of incredulity in his voice. 

"Enlighten me," I spoke sarcasm fluently. 

"Do you know what the speed limit is on this stretch of road?" The asshole-cop sounded kind of patronizing now, and I lost my cool. 

"Just save us both some time and give me the damn ticket, please," I lost my temper. 

"Excuse me?" He asked with complete disbelief.

"The ticket. I don't care about the speed limit." I dug the hole much, much deeper for myself. 

"Fine, suit yourself. Here you go..." he started typing something, and printed out some form of fine, handing it to me.

"Have a nice evening revenue-raising, I'm sure you don't have anything better to do," I saluted him, as his jaw dropped. 

"Are you kidding me? I just issued you with a $400 fine, and you're still giving me attitude?" His tone was no longer professional, and kind-of-matched mine. 

"Four hundred dollars? Are you shitting me?" I exploded, and for a moment, I thought there was a hint-of-a-smile on his face. 

"Have a nice evening paying well-deserved fines, I'm sure you don't have anything better to do, Miss Hart,"  he turned around with a smirk and got back into his car. 

A string of extremely unladylike profanities escaped my lips, and I must admit, I paid particular attention to the speed limit for the rest of the way home. 

I studied that stupid fine, over and over again. Four hundred dollars! The asshole-cop's name was printed right at the bottom too - Officer Vince Jordan. I shook my head, and stuck the piece of paper back into my handbag - it was a problem for another day... 

The next morning I got up extra-early, as I needed some more time to finalize that draft for my boss. I made my usual stop at my favorite coffee shop - Havana Espresso Bar.  I loved that they made strong espresso, and that they gave a little brownie on top. They opened at six a.m. - not that I was usually there at that ungodly hour, but this morning was a necessary exception to my usual routine. 

I frowned as I saw that my usual barista wasn't on duty. Damn - now I'd have to tell them my order and hope they got it right. I got to the front, and a pretty girl with a blonde ponytail looked at me disinterestedly. I could see that she was about as interested in being here at this hour, as I was to be heading to the office. 

"Umm..." I was still so damn tired, I could barely think. I didn't get enough sleep - I'd been tossing and turning - worrying about that damn fine and how I was going to pay for it, as well as this stupid work deadline. 

The doorbell chimed, signaling that there was another customer, and I heard footsteps coming to a standstill right behind me. 

"Umm..." damn, I couldn't think. Coffee... think Lily. 

I heard a loud sigh behind me, and I rolled my eyes. 

"Umm.. can I please have a medium lactose-free skinny latte with an extra shot, no sugar please," I finally got my order out. 

The girl started to write on the takeaway coffee cup and frowned. "Sorry, what was that again? Latte, extra shot?"

I sighed, repeating my order again. "A medium lactose-free skinny latte with an extra shot, no sugar." 

She nodded, but by the look on her face, I knew there was a fair chance that she'd get my order wrong. I knew I'd probably be walking around with stomach cramps for the next two hours if she got the milk wrong. I shook my head, hoping for the best, and turned around just as the person behind me stepped forward to be served. 

"Sorry," I mumbled then registered the person was in uniform. 

I looked up, and a pair of blazing blue eyes were looking at me skeptically. 

"Miss Hart. Is it the double-shot of espresso that fuels you to break the speed limit like a hell-hound?" 

My eyes narrowed, and I drew in a short, sharp breath. "You!" I hissed. 

He started to laugh. "Paid that fine, yet?" 

I shook my head at him in exasperation. "May I remind you that you're on duty, and you're not behaving particularly professional right now," my smart mouth challenged him back before I could help myself. 

"Actually, I've just come off duty," he said dryly. 

"Did you manage to find more innocent girls to write outrageous fines to, to try and meet your revenue-raising targets?" I had no idea what had gotten into me. I was usually fairly blunt, but this guy was a cop, and I suppose he had the power to arrest me or something, if he really wanted to. 

"Innocent girls?" His eyebrows shot up to the roof. "I hardly call exceeding the speed limit by more than ten miles per hour, innocent. You deserved that fine. Not to mention your appalling attitude - if I could've I would've written a fine for that, too," he insisted stubbornly, and then I noticed the flecks of green inside his eyes, which were now blazing with irritation. 

"Excuse me, can I take your order, please?" Barista-barbie was much friendlier all of a sudden, that sullen look on her face gone. I rolled my eyes at both of them and turned around, waiting for my order. 

But in a case of particularly poor judgment, officer Vince Jordan walked over a few seconds later, and stood right next to me, waiting for his order as well. 

"I'm not going to eat for the next two weeks, at least, because of that fine, you know?" I spoke first, turning up the dramatics a little to make him feel bad. 

"Should've thought of the consequences before you sped, Miss Hart," he said without sympathy, and my eyes narrowed again. "What's with the convoluted coffee order, in any event?" He asked with a smirk. 

I gasped with outrage, feeling my heart pounding inside my chest with anger. "I'm lactose intolerant."

"Ah. You're clearly also intolerant to good manners and adhering to the speed limit," he fired right back, and I was so angry I couldn't find a good come-back on the spot, hating myself for it. 

Just then, my order got called. "Skinny latte, no sugar for Lily!" 

I inwardly groaned, closing my eyes, not having the energy for another battle. I was so damn tired, and starting to stress about that deadline... 

"She didn't order that. It was lactose-free," Officer Vince addressed Barista-barbie, and my eyes flew open again in surprise. 

She smiled sweetly at him, ignoring me. "Sorry about that, I'll fix that right up." 

I sighed, knowing that this would set me back another couple of minutes, which I simply didn't have, but a shred of conscience made its way through my irritated haze, and I glanced at him. 

"Thanks." 

"No problem," he had a hint of a smile on his lips as he studied me. "Late night?" 

I was too tired to try and decipher the expression on his face. 

"Lack of sleep. Stressing about a work deadline, as well as about this stupid fine. I stayed back at the office last night because my boss is a demanding ass.... nevermind," I sighed, not knowing why the hell I was telling him all of this. He'd probably find something else in there to taunt me with. 

He sighed and frowned, and it looked as though he was going to say something as he drew a breath, but just then his order was called, and he stepped forward to collect it, bringing mine along as well. 

He came to a standstill again in front of me, and I couldn't help but notice that he was tall and well-built with broad shoulders, not to mention those eyes... 

He handed me my cup filled with the elixir of life, and I inhaled the heavenly aroma, feeling kind of better already. 

"Listen, if it's really such a big deal..." he sighed, raking a hand through his wavy hair with his free hand, looking kind of unsure... 

"If what's such a big deal?" I frowned. 

"The damn fine," he said impatiently, and I nodded. 

"What about it?" I was confused as hell here. 

"Do you have it on you?" He asked, raising a brow. 

My eyes widened. It's in my purse, yeah. Why?" 

"Come, walk with me outside." He motioned towards then door, then held it open for me to step through. 

And when we both stepped outside, we both stopped again and he turned to me. 

"Lily, where's that fine?" 

For some reason, it shook me that he remembered my first name. 

I hesitated for a second, looking at him with distrust, before I caved out of pure curiosity, and took the stupid piece of paper out of my purse, handing it to him. 

He studied it for a moment, smiling. "I'm going to let you off this time. But don't speed again like that, okay? You're not only endangering yourself, but everyone around you," he said with a sigh. 

My jaw dropped as he started tearing up that fine, and tossed it into a garbage can. 

"Are you serious right now?" I asked breathlessly, unable to believe what had just transpired. 

"What, no thank you?" He asked with disbelief.

"Thank you. But why?" I stammered, still wondering what the hell just happened here. 

"Let's just say I have a soft spot for pretty girls who won't eat for the next two weeks because they have to spend all their money paying fines." That hint-of-a-smile was back on his lips. 

A warm flush crept up my neck, and settled firmly on my cheeks. He thought I was pretty?

"I've got to go... I have to make this deadline..." I said incoherently, still trying to make sense of what had happened, clutching onto my coffee cup as though it was my anchor to reality. 

"Good luck with that," he said, his voice full of sympathy, but then there was a spark of mischief in his eyes as he spoke again. "I hope you give your boss half the amount of attitude you gave me."

We both laughed. 

"Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day..."

"Vince," he said, that smile growing bigger. 

"Vince..." I repeated, and I knew I was blushing again. 

"You come here often?" He asked, looking kind of self-conscious for some reason as he raked his free hand through his tousled dirty-blond hair again. 

"Yeah. I don't start functioning until I've had my double-shot, although usually I'm here a bit later," I admitted. 

"Seems like chance wanted us to run into each other again. Have a good day, Lily Hart." His gaze captured mine, and I had a really, really hard time looking away. 

"You too, Vince Jordan," I smirked, then turned around, not waiting for his reaction...