"Are you ready to go Madame?", Basile asks.

"Huh?", is my oh so eloquent reply.

Well you can't blame me. I'm ecstatic with giddiness. I need to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming and this is all actually happening.

And so I do.

OW. THAT HURT.

Gosh be gentle with yourself June. You know how easily you bruise. You don't want to give people any... wrong ideas.

Thanks for your concern... about my social status. My wellbeing is of no importance anyway.

Why do I sense sarcasm?

Why do I keep talking to myself in my head?

"Monsieur Lee asked me to drive you home. I'm sure your friends are worried about your whereabouts."

Oh no. Neha and Adrian. I completely forgot about them.

I just upped and anteed outta there without any explanation.

But I think Neha already knew who was on the other side of that call.

My intelligence must be rubbing off on her.

Yeah right. Now you're dreaming.

Never supportive I tell you.

"Oui, mes amis. I completely forgot! I need to get home as soon as possible Basile. And how many times do I have to tell you to call me June? Madame makes me feel old."

His name may be Charlot, but I kinda like Basile better.

He raises his eyebrows at my statement and smiles kindly at me as he holds the door open for me to take a seat.

I smile back as I get settled. He's just so nice. I feel like I've known him for years even though we just met.

Now that's personality goals right there.

"Well June", he tests it out on his lips coming to some sort of conclusion I'm not aware of. "Any music you'd prefer on the trip back?"

I blush. Noah's music tastes are so eccentric and unique. Unexpected. Mine are well...

"Uh, if it's not a problem, could you please play callmebabybyexo?"

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that."

I sigh. Stop being a drama queen and just let it out for God's sake.

"Call Me Baby by EXO, s'il vous plaît."

We make eye contact through the mirror and he gives me a knowing smile.

"Of course June. Call Me Baby it is."

Yes okay? I like K-Pop. Noah's Korean so obviously if my sixteen year old self was going to marry him (I know I'm pathetic), I at least needed to know a bit of the language.

And what better way to do it than through songs?

But then the songs were really catchy and so... yeah. I forgot all about my quest to learn Korean. Although I can speak a few lines of it.

I quickly forget about my embarrassment as I jam along to the song; bobbing my head, tapping my feet and humming the melody as I lose myself to the music.

It seems as if no time had passed as Basile pulls up in front of my apartment complex. And I finish the last line of BTS' heart stopping new release, FIRE.

"Bow wow wow."

Basile chuckles as I finish my passionate recital of those three syllables.

"Bravo June. Thank you for your entertainment. You have quite a voice", he praises.

"Oh shut up", I wave him off but I find myself blushing. "Thank you so much for the ride Basile. Tell No- I mean Monsieur Lee that I look forward to working with him."

Why do I keep slipping up his name?

"I will June. He'll be pleased to hear it."

I scoff. "Yeah sure. Pleased is one way to put it."

His expression softens as he says, "I do wish you'd give him more credit. He's been through a lot. There's a reason he is who he is. I should know. I was always close to him. Even before I became his driver."

I get out of the car and lean down to look at him through the window.

I sigh and say, "I'm trying Basile. I really am. I just-"

"Well try harder dear June. No one gets what they want without working for it", he says more firmly but not unkindly.

"I guess you're right. I will. Au revoir, mon ami."

"Au revoir, la belle June."

And I watch as he drives off.

As I reach my door, I pull out my keys and unlock it. Careful to be quiet as I didn't want to disturb my friends.

Upon stepping inside, I realise that they've both turned in for the night.

Poor guys. They work too hard. They really deserve a break.

I silently slip my shoes off and tiptoe through the living room where I find a box of pizza on the table with a note attached to it.

Here's some leftover pizza. Honestly, you don't know how hard it was to get Adrian to stop hogging and save some for you. I know you went to see Noah. Where you went? God knows. But you better tell me all the details tomorrow morning pronto. Okay? Love you June. Good night. Sweet dreams. Try not to think about him too much ;)

Love, Neha <3<3<3

I open the box to see four slices of slightly cold, but scrumptious looking extra cheesy Margherita pizza.

Awww Neha is the sweetest cookie ever. What did I do to deserve her?

Exactly. What did you do? Hypnotise her or something?

Ha ha. Very funny. Will you just cut it out and leave me in peace for just one day?

Nah. You're too stupid. You need me to function properly.

Whatever.

I hold the pizza in my left hand and make myself comfortable on the couch as I grab my controller with the right and press PLAY on the Assassin's Creed Syndicate main menu.

Time to kick some virtual ass. I feel lucky tonight.

~ ~ ~

Say you'll remember me, standing in a nice dress staring at the sunset babe...

As much as I love Taylor Swift, right now I want to bash her head in.

How dare she break my peaceful slumber?

Funny. I don't remember changing my alarm to Wildest Dreams. It used to be my ring...

Oh.

Wait till I pick up my goddamn phone. This asshole's gonna get it.

But I, being the lazy arse I am, don't on the lights and instead, scourge my bedside table blindly for my phone.

Such a genius I tell you.

The only thing I manage to find is the floor as I land once again, on my arse.

Ah, dear floor. Missed me?

... tangled up with you all night, burning it down...

Oh right. My phone. The asshole.

My palms finally come into contact with something cool and glassy.

Hallelujah.

Now's really not the time brain. Which reminds me.

I glance at the digital clock on my phone and feel my temper increase by tenfold.

5:34 a.m. I repeat. 5. 34. A. M.

I rashly press talk and quite literally, scream into the phone like a banshee. I even had the hairstyle to match.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME UP AT THIS UNGODLY HOUR?! I SWEAR I WILL TEAR YOUR FUCKING VOICE BOX OUT AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR FUCKING EARS SO HARD, THE ONLY THING YOU'LL HEAR WHEN YOU WAKE UP IS YOUR IDIOTIC FUCKTARD SELF!"

Yup. Definitely not a morning person.

I don't think I've ever said 'fuck' that many times in a single occurrence. But then again, I don't think I've ever woken up before 6:45 a.m. either.

Silence. That's all I hear on the other end.

And on your end, all one can hear are your Neanderthal breaths.

Shut it, will you?

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine in the morning, Juniper?"

I hold my breath. That voice. That goddamn voice.

You know, you really should save his number in your contacts. Especially since he's your boss now.

Well aren't you extremely helpful?

My heart beats rapidly and I can feel the blood rushing through my chest as it tries to keep the amount of carbon dioxide inside me to a minimum.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

Please oh please don't tell me I swore like a sailor in front of him.

No I won't. You just swore like a sailor during a phone call with Noah Lee. There's a difference you see.

And the world record for the fastest time in which a person who got their job, lost it, goes to the one, the only, Juniper Eno-

I. Said. Quit. It.

How does he know my full name?

"As a CEO, I make it my obligation to get to know my employees and interns. And isn't knowing one's full name fall under that category?"

Oh. Right. God I'm such a moron.

He snorts and is it my imagination or did he just say "a genius moron" under his breath?

Okay okay. Calm down. Your thoughts aren't staying as thoughts. Apologising always works doesn't it?

I cross my fingers and hope it does.

"Uh, sorry?", I grunt out.

Zero points for style.

After what seems like years but is actually a few seconds, he responds in that deep, silky voice of his, causing goosebumps to appear on my arms.

"Well I'll do you a favour and pretend I didn't just clutch my throat when you threatened to yank my voice box out. It's quite precious to me. I don't think you'd understand."

Oh I do Noah. I do.

"And I'll also pretend you didn't just call me by my first name."

Shit. Did I actually say that out loud?

"Yes you did. Now stop distracting me from my original intention of calling you", he says, voice laced with irritation.

I imitate zipping my mouth up and throwing away the key and later thank the gods he wasn't there to see my childish action.

"Go on. I'm as attentive as I'll ever be at this dreadful hour of the morning", I reply groggily, still half asleep.

He chuckles lightly. It sounds so heavenly. Just imagine his laugh.

I catch myself before I go off to Noah Dreamland.

Now's not the time.

"Brutally honest. I like it."

I hastily correct his assumption. Why? I don't really know.

"You've got it wrong Sir. I'm only this truthful when I'm caught off guard. Like in the mornings or when I'm drun- under the influence of alcohol."

Why do I keep smudging my reputation more and more?

"I don't really know June. You're quite the anamoly, you know?"

I feel heat rising in my cheeks. Is that supposed to be a compliment?

"Well you could take it as one if you want", he replies in a tone I can't quite place.

God I really should stop thinking aloud. Stupid Morning June.

And this time, thankfully he doesn't hear my thoughts.

"Hello? Anybody still there?", he says in a lighter, less serious tone.

It's odd. He sounds so cheery. It's like we've switched personalities in the morning.

Woah.

I like this Noah. Slightly sarcastic and slightly flirty. Infuriatingly smug in that attractive way. I can practically feel his half-smirk, half-smile through the phone and see that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Still oozing confidence but in a much more playful atmosphere.

I knew it.

He's my kind of guy.

Your taste is impeccable.

Oh please shut up.

What? It's true isn't it?

Yes. Of course it is.

Especially with your track record of ex boyfriends who all seemed to have extremely fair skin and black hair and work in the video game industry. Nope. Definitely not trying to replace the void in your heart because of a certain someone.

That's history. Stop bringing those memories back, brain.

Such a pity that void isn't one size fits all.

Now is not the time to be thinking of such things. What's in the past. Is in the past. I've moved on. I have another chance.

My mind starts going to dark places and I would've been stuck there for quite some time if it wasn't for that certain someone's beautiful voice ringing through my ears, full of concern.

"June? Are you alright? You haven't said anything in a while. Did I say something to offend you? I really am sorry I woke you up."

God how I wish Noah was like this all the time.

I'm falling. Hard. And this Noah is just dragging me deeper and deeper.

I calm my shaky breath and softly say,

"I'm alright Mr. Lee. Thanks for your concern. I just kinda spaced out."

At this, he lightly chuckles and in an equally soft and velvety voice that lulls me deeper,

"You seem to have a knack for spacing out. Try to hold on a bit longer yeah? I haven't even gotten to what I wanted to tell you. You are the epitome of a distraction, you know that?"

And I swear if we were face to face, he would be winking at me right now and the thought turns me into a puddle of goo.

I clear my throat as my face heats up even more.

"Sorry about that. I'm all ears."

"Excuse my unprofessionalism, but my laptop crashed due to the large number of high memory files it contained. On hindsight, I should've seen it coming. But my point is, I was unable to send you the details of your internship."

"So after much consideration, I've decided to give you the files personally. But the problem is, I'm only free early in the morning. Hence, the phone call. I know this really quaint café in Champs-Élysées. It's one of my favourites. The croissants there are incredible."

And then there's a long pause during which I hear him take a deep breath.

"Jun- I mean Ms. Holmes, would you be willing to rendezvous at the café? Around 6:30? I hope that's enough time for you to get ready. I'll text you the details if you agree. I'm sorry it's so last minute. I just couldn't think of anything else."

His voice held the slightest hint of desperation.

It's so adorable how he thinks that I might say no to him.

Yeah right. In a million years.

"That's great! And I'm anything but adorable." He says playfully, feigning offense with a tinge of relief.

Damn it. My brain to mouth filter must be broken this morning.

Why is he so unsure of himself? He has no reason to be insecure.

Basile was right. There's so much I don't know about him. But I'm oh so willing to find out. To solve the mystery that is Noah Lee.

I'm brought out of these thoughts by his rich baritone.

"And don't you dare think of backing out. Breakfast's on me. There. That should be more than enough to convince you."

I laugh softly.

"Oh Noah, as tempting as free food is, I'm going for you, not for free coffee and baguettes. That's just an added bonus."

He suddenly grew very quite. And then his husky tone rings through my ears as he says,

"Alright then, it's a date. I mean not like a date, but I- you know what I mean right?"

Yup. I'm falling for this guy way faster than what I consider normal.

But didn't you already finish falling?

Yeah. But I'm falling in a different way now. I can't quite explain it yet.

I decide to have some fun.

"Actually, I don't. Care to elaborate... Professor?" I tease him.

The temperature in my room escalates at a rapid rate upon hearing the low groan he emits.

Well, I wasn't expecting that. But YES PLEASE.

Looks like you still got it in you Holmes.

"Holmes please. I know you do. Don't act dumb. I'll see you there. Wear something casual", he growls out in a low, sultry and authoritative way.

I fan myself. My room's suddenly feeling very stuffy.

Okay then.

"And try to contain the sarcasm, smartass. Or I might have to take care of it", and I can practically see the shit-eating smirk on his face.

Goddammit thoughts, stay in my head!

Before I could respond, he hangs up.

Asshole.

All I can say is, I'm definitely awake now.

The invisible heat is almost suffocating.

I need to take a shower. ASAP.

~ ~ ~

Although tomorrow was going to be the first day of June (not me, the month) and summer was fast approaching, the rising sun was hidden from view today as silvery grey clouds decorated the Parisian sky.

Though some may desire to stay at home this fine Saturday morning, me included, I had to admit, it felt nice to go outside for a reason other than university.

The weather set a gloomy atmosphere, but the mood was anything but that for me as a thousand happy thoughts run through my head.

It was warm enough to not wear a jacket, so I settled for a beige cardigan under which I wore a periwinkle blue blouse and my favourite pair of skinny jeans (which took nearly 10 years to get into by the way; must've been that pizza) and Neha's comfy boots that matched my cardigan.

My face was natural with almost no makeup except for a bit of eyeliner and a touch of light pink almost nude lip gloss. Both of which I stole from Neha and thankfully didn't mess up.

And my blazing red hair, which unfortunately, has a mind of its own, is put down. Like wavy tendrils of fire cascading over my shoulders.

Overall, I look pretty decent for someone who detests mornings with a passion.

Not bad Holmes. Not bad at all. You clean up nicely.

I had managed to get ready by 6:00 and thus decided to walk to the café and enjoy the fresh air instead of hailing a taxi.

Time was on my side today.

I arrive right on time and spot Noah lounging in one of the chairs outside of the café wearing a suit (Seriously?! At this time of the day?) looking immaculate and handsome as ever.

I resist the urge to hide behind the bouquet of roses near me and ogle him.

Because that's just creepy.

As I'm crossing the road, we make eye contact and he ushers me over.

Being quite early in the day, the usually busy avenue of Champs-Élysées was peaceful, with florist shops and boutiques casually opening for rush hour.

Unsurprisingly, we're the only ones here.

I take my seat across from him and give him my best smile.

He smiles back and makes the butterflies in my stomach do somersaults.

"Hey", I say softly, blushing.

What has gotten in to you? You're acting like a crushing teenager.

To tell you the truth, anybody would turn into a crushing teenager if that smile was directed at them.

"Hey", he says in a deep, sinful voice contradicting his angelic face.

"Right on time. Impressive. I thought late was supposed to be your middle name."

I snort, roll my eyes and say, "Actually it's Enola. And I can be punctual if I try."

"Good. Because I expect you to be", he says in a business-like manner.

Oh God not this again.

"What do you mean by 'not this again'? Didn't I tell you to leave your sass at home?"

Get a grip on your thoughts Holmes! This is not good.

I smirk and reply, "Sir you told me to leave my sarcasm at home. And that, I did. I still brought my sass with me. So you see, I'm not breaking any rules and you need to learn to be more specific next time."

I can tell he's trying to fight a grin as he says in that masculine voice of his,

"I'll keep it in mind."

And, as an afterthought, he adds,

"I can already tell you're going to be a handful. But then again, I like challenges."

His eyes meet mine with a smouldering gaze and I'm left breathless and paralysed.

God he has such beautiful eyes.

A light shade of pink dusts his cheeks, as he scratches the back of his neck and runs his fingers through his raven tresses in what seems to be a nervous gesture.

Never thought I'd use Noah Lee and nervous in the same sentence.

"Uh thanks? I guess. I think they're quite boring, but that's your opinion."

What? I said that out loud as well?

And it's this thought that has me turning as red as those roses I wanted to hide behind earlier.

How come he turns delicately pink, but I turn a brash shade of red? It's not fair I tell you.

Then he clears his throat and avoids my eyes as he says,

"Let's get down to business, shall we? Our food will be arriving shortly."

I nod my head as I bring my chair closer to the table so I can see the papers he's brought.

He keeps his hands in such a way that they have no chance of accidentally brushing against mine.

Then he proceeds to give his explanation, in his patented monotonous, purely business tone™.

Great going June.

I made things awkward between us. I'm sure Morning Noah isn't going to make an appearance for the rest of the day, but Morning June just might, as my mood clouds over like the sky and I become disgruntled.

It's all my fault because I let my thoughts get the better of me.

If only I hadn't been thinking aloud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Well I updated this way quicker than the previous chapter. If you're wondering why, I just felt like writing and then BOOM, new chapter. I really hope you liked it!

June likes K-Pop! Who would've thought? Shoutout to all the EXO-Ls and ARMYs here ;) If you aren't a K-Pop fan yet, give those two songs suggested above a listen. I'm pretty sure you'll fall in love with them. They are amazing.

Wow June swears a lot. Especially at 5:34 a.m. I should probably put a warning at the top, but I'm too lazy and I hope you're not too traumatised my younger readers. Forgive me? puppy eyes

June can't seem to keep her thoughts in her head. She doesn't even realise she's saying what she's thinking, aloud. Waddup chapter title reference! Sometimes I find myself doing the same thing and it's so embarrassing I swear.

The Junoah phone call in this chapter is goals, don't you think? And Morning Noah is so adorable. :D All cheery and sarcastic. But don't tell him I said that. The same can't be said for grumpy Morning June. But I guess she's adorable in her own unique way. They really do switch personalities in the morning.

If you're wondering how their date- I mean "business meeting" goes, stay tuned for the next chapter!

Vote, comment, add it to your reading list, library etc. You can also follow me if you want :)

Whether you follow me or not, I love you for just reading this <3