beware of typos, this wasn't proof read. Enjoy :)

The day flew by in a haze and before I knew it the shop was closed and I was back at my townhouse grabbing a quick shower. With the fine layer of flour scrubbed off my skin I hopped into a pair of dark indigo jeans, black ankle boots, and a black button up with the sleeves rolled up just below my elbows. A swipe of mascara, a dash of lipgloss, and I was out the door heading back to the bakery. Walking up to the bakery I watched as a similar black SUV pulled up in front of the business and for the briefest of moments I was relieved to think that Tony would be driving me, a familiar face that didn't come with all the baggage. As the passenger side window rolled down my stomach dropped as I laid eyes on an older, heavy set black man with cold eyes I'd never met before.

"Sydney?" a voice as cold as his eyes, sending uneasy chills down my spine at the mere sound of my own name. Clearing my throat and shaking the feeling off.

"Yes." He only nodded and the crisp metallic sound of the doors unlocking hit my ears. The ride was quiet, not a word was shared between the driver and myself. I caught his menacing eyes occasionally glancing questioningly back to me in the rearview as I tried to focus on the world passing by outside the heavily tinted car window. It felt like forever when we finally pulled into the large black gates, traveling steadily down a palm tree lined drive way that felt as long as a city block. The simple White House came into sight and as if on cue my stomach started to turn as the voice in the far back corner of my mind started questioning why I even agreed to this. 

"This is such a bad Idea" speaking quietly to myself the closer we came, the larger the house became in my vision, my right leg bouncing in time with my anxious heartbeat. Anger? Excitement? Nerves? Desire? Rage? The range of emotions pulsing through my veins was an intoxication concoction that made my palms sweat. Before I knew it the vehicle stopped and I nearly jump out of my skin when the rear passenger door opened, leaving me face to face to the harsh looking driver.

"We don't keep boss waiting." His flat words struck me as odd and without so much as a second look he turned and headed towards the front door. Raising an eyebrow at him I stepped out of the car and quickly followed behind his imposing figure. I barely had a chance to take notice of the interior of the house as I tried to keep up with him, he was much taller and his single stride must have been three of mine, leaving me to nearly have to jog to keep up.

"I know you don't walk like this with boss" exaggerating that last word to make it sound as ridiculous as I found it. I intended those words to come out under my breath, but the slight pause in his stride told me he'd caught my remark. We stopped at a closed white door with a center cut out filled with frosted glass and his overbearing figure turned around, his eyes burning holes into mine as he bent down slightly to me, making me feel as though he thought he was talking to a child.

"Mind your P's and Q's little girl," cocking my head at the audacity of the words coming from his mouth, "the man you're having this meeting with will not put up with any lip from you ," his index finger pointing at the upper portion of my chest exposed by the open top two buttons of my shirt as his lip turned in disgust "and this won't have any impact on you're meeting." Looking down at my chest, seeing my top open just enough to catch a glimpse of the modest necklace I was wearing and nothing more, before bringing my eyes back to his.

"My meeting isn't with you, it's with your boss, so I suggest you let him know I'm here before I walk out, leaving you to explain why I did so." Clearly not please with my retort he opened the door and disappeared briefly, leaving me to stew in the hallway over his behavior. Drawing a deep breath, I closed my eyes for a second, calming the strange nerves that had crept back up on me. I opened my eyes just in time to see the large man step out of the room, giving me a side glance as he walked past.

"Come in Sydney."  and there he was, standing in the doorway, welcoming me in with that familiar rich voice. For the briefest moment the familiarity of that voice brought a soft smile to my lips and I saw that same smile reflecting on his. Closing the door behind me, he led me to the large rectangular table in the middle of the room, a room that almost resembled a conference room, but softer, more personal and warm. White slacks, with matching heals and a crisp white button up with little red polkadots, covered his slight frame, my eyes betrayed me surveying him from behind as he walked to the head of the table. I couldn't help but appreciate the stretch of the fabric as it moved with him, clinging just enough to tell anyone looking he was still just as sinewy and toned as before. "Sit here" he touched the back of the chair next to his as he landed his frame in the chair at the head of the table. 

"Your driver needs better interpersonal skills." The words fell from my lips before my ass even touched the seat of the chair. He picked up the generic black pen and little note pad from the table, moving them towards me, without looking at me.

"What happened?" his voice sounding nonchalant as he focussed on writing something on the pad.

"Well in the hall he lectured me about minding my P's and Q's," his eyes coming up to mine, eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, "along with implying I dressed in some revealing way to gain your favor."

"Are you talking about Dwayne?" the shock in his voice was clear.

"The man that drove me, he never told me his name." I felt bad for Prince as I watched him shake his head, a strange mixture of anger and  disbelief cover his features as he looked back to his pad of paper. Small lines appearing at the corners of his mouth, the slightest shade of pink creeping up his neck as he drew in a deep breath through his nose that lifted his shoulders before exhaling. A painful knot tightened in my stomach, I know this look, I've seen it before and without a thought about our past I found myself reaching my right hand out, landing gently on the back of his left hand. Soulful brown eyes shifted silently to the sight of my hand covering his. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown, right?" A phrase I've never spoken once before in my life, but it seemed like the most fitting words to match that morose look on his face. His fingers wrapped around mine, the feeling of the callouses on his fingertips caught my attention as he gave my hand a squeeze, before letting me go.

"I'm sorry for how he treated you," his eyes finally back in mine, I could slowly see the change in his mood as his eyes lightened slightly, turning more hazel, "I'll take care of it." Nodding, I pulled my eyes away from his, nervously looking around the room, trying to ease the tension.

"So, you said you had a business idea you wanted to talk about." This meeting was about business, nothing else I reminded myself. Over the course of the next 90 minutes he described a series of events, private concerts and parties, he wanted to hold at this house over the course of the next year. He purposed hiring me to cater pastries for the events, something akin to having my business on retainer since the parties wouldn't be planned very far in advance, requiring me and my staff to be available to cater a large event with potentially only 48 hours notice. I figured he'd give me the idea and if I seemed interested he'd have me talk to someone on staff about the details, however that ever happened. Instead we discussed at length the issues that could arise given those time constraints and how my small business would need to adjust to make that happen. For every roadblock I threw at him, he provided some crazy solution.  He took pages of notes on the issues I felt my business would face and general concerns. The conversation seemed to have come to a natural ending point. I still hadn't made any commitment, part of me new it would be hard, but also an incredible opportunity. Then there was the idea of working with him on regular basis. While our meeting had gone well, I found myself drifting if I looked into his eyes too long, drifting into that pain of our past. 

"It's you call Sydney." he sat the pen down, leaning back in his chair watching me with that lopsided smirk on his face. My eyes were glancing from his to the plan we'd outlined on the pad of paper.

"It would be quite an experience, but the more I think..." leaning forward in his chair, he reached out, grabbing the arm of my chair and pulled me over right in front of him. Face to face, only inches apart, the smell of his cologne filling the space between us, as I felt myself getting lost in the emotion in his eyes.

"Don't think about it, just go with your gut Sydney." He urged, those penetrating eyes never leaving mine. Both of his hands now on the arms of my chair, I was trapped and he was everywhere in my space. Drawing a deep shaky breath as his tongue peeked out to moisten his lower lip.

"Yeah," my words breathy feeling like I was agreeing to more we'd talked about, afraid of the path head of me, "I'll do it." a genuine smile lifted his lips and reached his eyes, familiar cheek bones creeping up. 

"Well isn't this cozy." a sharp voice from the back of the room cut through the excitement, his smile evaporated, replaced with a cold stare over my shoulder. His hands released my chair and he sat back, never once looking at me.

"Where were you this morning? You missed our meeting." Glancing over my shoulder my eyes landed on a very petite woman with flawless skin and flowing hair, wearing a simple white dress and throwing death glares at Prince. 

"Those meetings as you call them aren't gonna work me." her dark eyes shift to me "and who's this bitch now?"