As a new cafe owner, it was utterly hard to find people to hire. Ashley have tried asking few of her friends for help but they were busy.

It was already 11 pm by now. She was cleaning up the cafe, wiping the tables and pushing in the chairs.

Unknown of the fact that someone was watching her from outside.

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Dylan decided to go out for a stroll. Sometimes being a mafia was to hard for him. Despite knowing what he is capable of, others still wouldn't back off.

With a sigh, he pulled up his mask and put on his sunglasses even though it was night time before getting on his car. The situation for him as of now was quite peaceful, ever since he shot the boss of his rival gang.

Driving on the almost quiet road, his eyes scanned the area looking for somewhere to chill at.

It was quite a once in a lifetime or we can say once in a blue moon chance for him to be able to go out his house peacefully without ant guards.

While scanning the area his eyes caught a small cafe along side the river. It was close to the park. He watched the lady clean up the cafe, then going to the counter to count the money. Quickly getting out of his car, he crossed the road to the cafe and pushed the door of the cafe. The bell at the door gave a loud 'ting', indicating someone has entered the cafe.

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Ashley shot her head up at the entrance door of the cafe, seeing a man entering the cafe. The man was wearing black tshirt under black leather jacket paired with black pants. He had a cap on hiding his black hair and mask and sunglasses covering his face.

"Apologies, sir. But the cafe is closed it will open tomorrow at 8 am." she said confused at the sudden appearance of the man.

His eyes glanced up to the menu, searching for a cold beverage to soothe his throat, catching one he looked back at her.

"One Caramel Macchiato", he said taking out his wallet, ready to pay.

She just sighed, keying in the order, just as she was about to ask if he wanted anything else, he interrupted her.

"And your number to go with that"

She looked up at him abruptly, raising an eyebrow.

"Sorry?", she asked in disbelief.

What high level confidence made this man so bold.

"One Caramel Macchiato and your number to go with it", he repeated his order taking his mask and glasses down, revealing his face.

She was almost stunned by how good he looked.

"One Caramel Macchiato coming", she muttered slowly walking to the kitchen to make it.

Meanwhile, Dylan took a seat at the nearest table to the counter. With his mask back on, he watched her blending all the ingredients together from behind. An unknown smile formed on his lips, why was he so attracted to her, someone he just saw a few minutes ago? Maybe it was her vibe? He wasn't sure.

He got out his trance when he heard her footsteps coming nearer to him. She placed the cup in front of him, standing in front of the table.

"Please finish it as soon as possible because I was supposed to close down the cafe 40 minutes ago." she gave him a bitter smile before going back to the counter.

Dylan gave a slight chuckle before sipping on his macchiato, watching the night view outside through the glass window.

The next day

"Jake, bring more people to this cafe down the street. Ask your friends or family members, just go there." he spoke to the phone.

Ending the phone call, he massaged his forhead. His rival gang was being awfully quiet and it was stressing him out. Thinking about the ways to relieve his stress, the image of her being frustrated appeared in his mind.

"I'll go there again, tonight." he mumbled, pulling out his phone to search for Jake's number again.

"Get me some cupcakes by 7 pm." he cut the call hearing 'yes boss' from the other side of the phone.

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Hey there, if you are reading this novel I would thank you so much for that. Its my first time writing the novel so I don't if there is something similar to this written by other authors. If there is please tell me I will take down my novel.

Thank you.

"I'll go there again, tonight." he mumbled, pulling out his phone to search for Jake's number again.

"Get me some cupcakes by 7 pm." he cut the call hearing 'yes boss' from the other side of the phone.

It was closing time, wiping the tables she smiled. The sales today were better than yesterday, more people came and she was so happy and touched. Many people gave good reviews and she also received some questions about whether she was hiring or not.

As she was wiping the tables, the bells rang again at the entrance.

"Sorry, we're closed already -you again?" she whisper-yelled, recognising those eyes.

He brought a bag which contained three boxes.

"I bought cupcakes." he said, his eyes turning into half-crescents.

"See, Mr, if you keep coming when the cafe is already closed, I will have to report you." she defended, squinting her eyes at him.

Ignoring her threat he sat down on a chair while putting the bags on the table.

"I am Dylan Elrod, and you?"he said.

She just stood there, staring at him hoping to find his motive of introducing himself even though she never asked.

"You haven't told me your name yet, beautiful." he interrupted the awkward silence, tapping his fingers on the table.

She rolled her eyes, finally answering him.

"Ashley Lopez" she muttered, seeing him smile.

"There we go. Nice to meet you, Ashley Lopez. I am Dylan Elrod and I like you." he bluntly confessed, his smile stretching to his eyes.

She stood there, not believing how bold this man was. She barely knew him and here he was flirting with her? Ridiculous.

"I don't care if you are for real or pranking me right now but can you please leave quickly so that I can close down the cafe?" she pleaded, seeing his smile falter.

"Only if you accept these cupcakes." he raised the bag kept in the table and waved at her.

She groaned, stomping her feet a little.

"Fine" she said through her gritted teeth.

"Okay, then, see you tomorrow beautiful." he winked before walking out of the cafe.

"What a day" she thought.

The next day, alighting from the bus, Ashley was about to open the cafe door when she noticed Dylan sitting at a bench near the cafe.

Seeing her, Dylan excitedly waved at her, skipping over to where she was greeting her.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Can you stop calling me beautiful? I'm really not." she said but her cheeks tinted in red blush said otherwise.

"Don't really care. I only speak facts, baby." he winked before turning towards the closed door."Now, quickly open the door, I'm so hungry."

She rolled her eyes at him, turning the keys as the door finally opened. As soon as the door opened Dylan ran inside and sat on one of the benches resting his head on the table as he watched her do the necessary things.

Later,

It was almost 11 pm, she quickly packed her things only realising heavy downpour going on outside.

She was about to walk out when she noticed Dylan sleeping with his head on the table, his arms squishing his cheeks. She felt bad so she quickly walked over to him, tapping him on the shoulder slightly. "Dylan? Wake up. I want to close down the shop."

He shook a little before opening his eyes, seeing her in front of him. He pressed his lips before looking out the window, seeing the heavy downpour.

"Let me send you home." he offered, standing up from the chair while taking out his car keys.

She shook her head, waving her hand at him as a sign of 'no'."I can take the bus, don't worry." she said .

"Let me send you home, come, let's go." he grabbed her hand, walking to the nearby shelter.

"Wait for me here, I'll go fetch the car, okay?" he said before turning around and running in the rain.

Soon, the red porsche arrived in front of her. He got out of the car with an umbrella in one hand, waiting for her to get under it. He quickly walked her to the passenger seat, opening the door for her.

When both of them sat in the car, he spoke, "I need your address, beautiful."

A while later, they arrived at her home. Walking to the door, they both awkwardly stared at each other for a while before Ashley finally broke the silence. It was raining heavily and feeling quite bad to just let him go without repaying his kindness. Mentally slapping herself, she bluntly asked, " Do you want to stay over until the rain stops?"

He slightly raised his eyebrows before breaking into a smile. "If you are okay with that." he confirmed.

Ashley slightly nodded, opening the door and making way for him to go in too.

"You can sit on the couch. Would you like some hot chocolate?" she offered as he obediently dT on the couch.

Seeing him nod, Ashley strolled to the kitchen and took out two mugs and began making hot chocolate. Meanwhile, Dylan stared at the blanket TV screen in front of him.

He never expected for her to offer him, a stranger, into her house. They both just met a few days ago and he wasn't expecting her to open up to him so quickly.

It was the first time he ever took interest in someone, but why did it feel to right to him?

Meanwhile, Ashley made hot chocolate for them and came to the living room and sat down on the couch, putting both the mugs on the coffee table. Dylan took one of the mugs and uttered a soft 'thank you' before taking a sip of the chocolatey goodness.

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Meanwhile, Ashley made hot chocolate for them and came to the living room and sat down on the couch, putting both the mugs on the coffee table. Dylan took one of the mugs and uttered a soft 'thank you' before taking a sip of the chocolatey goodness.

The rain didn't seen to stop but instead got heavier as time passed by. They both took the opportunity to get to know more about each other while waiting for the rain to stop.

"I think it'll be better for you to just sleep here for the night." she suggested, seeing that the rain was still as heavy as before.

"Only if that's fine with you, Ashley." he smiled.

She brought him to the guest room where he settled down there. He took off his coat, giving her a small smile before closing the door.

Rubbing her eyes, Ashley entered her bedroom. She reached for the light switch, feeling a tingly feeling on the back of her hand.

"What-" she cut off with a shriek, seeing the cockroach on her hand.

She frantically shook her hand, shaking the coackroach away.

"Dylan! there's a cockroach!" she yelled without thinking, hearing the guest room door brust open as she heard footsteps coming towards her.

"Cockroach!" she pointed to the insect crawling quickly under her bed.

She shivered at the thought of it crawling onto her while she was sleeping.

Thinking of ways to calm her down, Dylan came up with a solution, tapping her shoulder gently.

"How about you just sleep in the guest room. I'll sleep on the living room." he pursed his lips, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Okay." she quickly agreed, sprinting to the guest room.

Dylan walked off to the couch of the living room, trying to find a comfortable position for himself to sleep.

Meanwhile, Ashley stared at the ceiling for a long time before concluding that you weren't able to sleep.

She got out of the guest room and walked to Dylan, tapping him gently to wake him up. "Dylan",she whispered.

Dylan slowly opened his eyes, sitting up when he saw her in front of him.

"Can you sleep with me, please? I'm scared." she sounded ridiculous getting all worked up by an insect but she was desperate at this point.

Dylan sleepily agreed, following her from behind as she made her way to the guest room.

Lying down on the bed, Ashley put two pillows in the middle to separate them, but soon after took it off as she still felt terrified.

"Dylan, can you hug me?" she asked in a slow voice.

Hearing it Dylan's eyes shot open, seeing her already looking at him. He blinked for a couple of times before nodding, remembering the cockroach incident before.

He picked up the two pillows, putting it to the side before opening his arms. Ashley quickly scoot over, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Dylan felt his cheeks heat up. This was the first time he felt this way. Why? He had gone for multiple missions, having to seduce women to get to his rivals.

They both stayed in that position throughout the night. Dylan fell asleep soon after, burying his face in her hair.

The next morning, Ashley woke up to an empty space beside her. Still half asleep, she wondered why she was in the guest room and not her own room.

She was brought out of her trance when she heard the clanking of pans. On instinct, she quickly reached for the lamp on the bedside table. She softly tiptoed to the kitchen, ready to attack whoever it was but seeing the blonde hair and black t-shirt, she lowered her hand.

"Dylan?" she whispered, seeing him turn to her.

"Good morning, Ashley. I'm making some pancakes, care to join?" he flashed a smile before turning back to the stove.

He plated the pancakes. Then, told her to sit down on the dining table. He decorated the pancakes with whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries, before serving them both.

"Thank you so much, Dylan. You really didn't have to." Ashley said while stuffing her mouth with the pancakes.

He chucked a little before doing the same. There was a period of silence between the two of them as they were both eating.

Ashley noticed that throughout the silence, Dylan was in a deep though for a while before taking small bites of his pancakes.

"Are you okay, Dylan? you seem to be thinking about something." she asked putting down her utensils.

He looked up at her, chewing the food in his mouth before swallowing. "Oh, it's really nothing." he flashed her a reassuring smile before taking another bite.

"Actually, it is something. Would you like to go on a date with me?" he licked his lips, staring deep into her eyes.

Ashley blinked for a second, trying to process what he just said. It wouldn't hurt to give a try, right?

"Sure." She replied.

Dylan widened his eyes, looking at her in disbelief. "Really? Are you really going on a date with me?" he covered his mouth.

"Why not?" she shrugged, seeing his cheeks turn a darker shade of red. You chuckled at his cute behaviour, going in for another bite of the pancakes.

THE DATE;

Dylan wasn't sure where to bring her, so she suggested for a simple park date. Her cafe was closed for the day since he had asked her out for a date.

Walking with linked hands, his phone suddenly rang.

"I'll take this call." he leaned down to her ear before walking away.

"What is it, Jake?" he sounded infuriated, being disturbed on his first date.

"THE LEE GANG made a move here. I think they're coming for you, boss." Jake said through the other side of the phone.

He closed his eyes, frustrated. Opening them, he looked over to you who was licking her ice cream.

"Can you take care of it? Make sure I'm safe, got it? You're protecting two lives now." Dylan ruffled his hair before ending the call.

Taking in a deep breath, he walked over to Ashley. He grabbed her shoulders, making her flinch but slowly calm down as she realised it was him.

"How's your ice cream?" he asked, leaning in to have a lick too.

She smiled at him, but it quickly dropped as she heard a gunshot.

"Dylan there's a-" by the time she turned to him, he had already collapsed into her arms.

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