26 Office Romance

Anton has yet to hear from Yanmei. It was already lunchtime, and she had confirmed no appointment with him. His hands itched that his fingers opened the surveillance cameras inside Yanmei's office.

He wondered what she was so busy with that she had not made a call to Junsu at this time. After minutes of keeping the window open, Yeona came inside and he immediately noticed the smile on Yanmei's face. The audio recording from the camera was loud enough to hear their conversation, and he thought to listen in to their chat.

"Ms. Yanmei, I did not get to finish my task the other day, I was hoping I could get an extension," said Yeona.

"Of course, Yeona. How about this? Let's work on it together, and you know what? I prefer a different environment. How about going to a coffee shop or better yet at my apartment?" Yanmei suggested.

Anton's eyes narrowed at the thought of the two of them being alone together. He swore he had to talk to Yanmei about having an office romance.

After Yeona left, Yanmei made a call to Junsu. "Hello, Junsu. I'd like to confirm the 3 PM appointment with Mr. Yeong."

Junsu, who was not aware of the appointment, got confused. He was about to call his boss when Aton beat him to it. He saw the other line blinking, and he asked Yanmei to stay on hold.

"Mr. Yeong?"

"Tell Yanmei 3 PM appointment is confirmed and have her proceed to the parking lot when the time comes," said Anton.

Junsu was alarmed. His boss was once again monitoring him through the cameras. He wondered how he had the time to keep on watching him.

"Y -Yes, Mr. Yeong. Thank you."

After Junsu confirmed with Yanmei, the supposed coffee appointment, Anton no longer monitored Yanmei. He went back to work as usual and at exactly 2:30 PM he got ready.

He made sure to fix his tie and his coat before running his fingers through his hair. When he was done, he realized something, 'Wait… am I anxious? Am I fixing myself for a woman? Worst, a lesbian?"

He quickly messed his hair and walked out of the office.

He made his way to the parking lot in ten minutes. He started the car and waited inside and soon began a countdown of when Yanmei would arrive.

"2:40 PM."

"2:45 PM."

"2:50 PM."

"2:55 PM."

Anton was literally checking his watch every five minutes. At exactly 3 PM, he opened the door to his side and waited.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Yeong." Yanmei arrived at exactly 3:02 PM.

He turned to her, shaking his head. He said, "You are late."

Yanmei saw the time and realized what he meant, she said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Yeong, Yeona had some questions before I - "

"Yeona, Yeona, Yeona… You realize, you often talk about Yeona," Anton said as his eyes narrowed at her.

Bewildered, Yanmei asked, "I do? I did not notice that - "

"In any case, I want you to know that office romance is strictly forbidden!"

Yanmei's mouth hung open at his words. She immediately realized he was referring to her gay self. "Pfft! Haha! Right, Mr. Yeong. Right… I'm not into Yeona though… We are just friends."

"Really?" He asked without looking at her.

"Yes, really."

"Good! Good. Let's go." Anton drove to the streets in silence, and brought Yanmei to a different coffee shop, nearly four blocks away.

When Anton pulled over, He said, "I like the coffee here."

Just before he got out of the car, Yanmei called him out, "Wait! Wait!"

"What?"

Yanmei cleared her throat and slowly opened her bag. She took out her comb and handed it to him. She said, "I think you'd look better after using this."

She had earlier noticed his messy hair. She was not about to go in public with a man who could not fix his hair, even if he was handsome.

He did not use her comb. Instead, he used his fingers to brush his hair and looked himself in the mirror. When he was satisfied, signaled for them to get off the car.

Upon entering the establishment, Yanmei was caught by surprised seeing the marbled tables and chandeliers from the ceiling. The place was also spot-clean. The tables and chairs were arranged in perfect angles and the color theme was black and white. Somehow, it reminded her of Anton's office that she then blurted out, "I bet the owner has OCD."

Anton walked a few steps forward, leaving her slightly behind.

"Mr. Yeong! Good afternoon," said one of the attendants. He quickly made his way to the door and gestured for him to take a seat. "Your usual table."

When the attendant saw Yanmei, he said, "Good afternoon, miss. The seats over here are not take - "

"She is with me."

The attendant nearly slid from the glossy floor, shocked at hearing Yanmei was with Anton. "Ah, Mr. Yeong? She - She is with you?"

"Do - I - have - to repeat myself?"

"No! No, definitely not. Mr. Yeong. Please, take your seats ."

After taking their orders, the attendant went back to the counter and prepared their requests.

Yanmei could not help but notice that all the staff were men. It once again gave her a feel of the office. "I think the owner of this cafe likes men."

He disregarded her remarks and merely proceeded to their agenda. He looked at Yanmei saying, "You read my email?"

"No, I did not read your email - "

"It was marked read."

"So, apparently, you knew it was read… So why exactly did we have to meet after having read your email?" asked Yanmei.

"I want to know if you have accepted my explanation," Anton asked as he crossed his arms against his chest. He had earlier practiced on how to repeat his apology in front of her but he could not say the word "sorry".

'Say it! Say it!' He told himself, but eventually, he caressed his forehead and said, "It is what it is in the email so let us put it behind us."

Before they could continue, the attendant brought the pastries and coffees at their table.

Yanmei's eyes grew wide seeing the beautifully arranged rainbow-colored sugar cubes at the base of the coffee mug. It suddenly reminded her of Garry. She said, "Haha! The owner of this shop might as well be gay - "

"I - own - this - coffee shop," said Anton.

"Or not! Just because you serve rainbow sugar cubes, it does not make you gay. Definitely not!" Yanmei took back her words frantically. She told herself, 'Sheez. He could have just said the place was his from the start.'

Anton immediately turned to the attendant saying, "No more rainbow cubes! Only black ones. Understood?"

"Mr. Yeong? I don't think there are black ones - "

"Contact the sugar company and order only black sugar cubes!"