Zara had a list of conditions.

Unfortunately, she was about to meet the one man in Velora least likely to care about them.

The café was too loud for serious conversation. Leke had picked it, of course. Somewhere in the background, an Afro-fusion playlist tangled with the hiss of the espresso machine.

He was already there when she arrived, seated by the window, sunlight catching in his curls. He had his laptop open, but his attention was fixed on the street outside until she walked in.

“You’re early,” he said, sounding faintly surprised.

“I’m always early,” she replied, sliding into the seat opposite him. She set a neat folder of papers on the table. “These are my terms for working together.”

Leke grinned like she’d just handed him a puzzle. “Terms?”

“Yes. Rules. Boundaries.” She pushed the folder toward him. “If we’re doing this podcast, we need structure. Scheduled recording times. Topic outlines in advance. And no” she gestured vaguely “ambushing me with personal questions.”

He flipped the folder open, skimming. “Wow. This is… thorough.”

“It’s necessary.”

He closed it without reading the rest. “See, that’s where we’re different. You like rules. I like…” He leaned back, tapping his fingers against his coffee cup. “Vibes.”

“Vibes don’t keep an audience engaged,” she said tightly.

“Actually,” he countered, “vibes are why our episode went viral. People liked the chaos.”

She gave him a flat look. “I am not chaos.”

“You’re the eye of the storm,” he said, smiling. “Which makes me the storm. And people like storms.”

She exhaled through her nose. “We can’t just… improvise everything.”

“Sure we can. I’ll improvise, you’ll correct me, and everyone will be happy.”

She stared at him. “That’s not a plan. That’s barely a sentence.”

“It’s a winning formula,” he said, grinning wider. “The lawyer and the wildcard.”

Zara took a sip of her tea, trying not to show how much his easy confidence got under her skin. “Fine. But I have a condition you must agree to.”

“Name it.”

“No flirting. On air or off.”

He tilted his head, amused. “That implies you think I’ve been flirting.”

She didn’t answer.

He leaned forward, lowering his voice just enough to make it irritatingly intimate. “Zara, if I ever flirt with you, you won’t have to guess.”

Her pulse ticked up before she could stop it. She reached for her folder, deciding she had given him too much time already. “We start Monday. Ten a.m. sharp. And if you’re late—”

“you’ll sue me?”

“I’ll cancel the recording.”

He laughed, leaning back again. “Looking forward to it, partner.”

As she left the café, she told herself she wasn’t annoyed. Not really.

But somewhere in her chest, under all the structure and control, something was awake.

I have always wanted to achieve great success and I belive I can do it through this channel, I just have to be strong and hope for a better result.

So she thought.

Oh I almost forgot to pick up something from the store, as she continued her journey to get some food stuffs from the supermarket