V : Is it working?

I walked towards the male toilet, waiting outside while doing my work on my tablet. Axel must be inside. It was ridiculous, I knew that, but something about pushing Axel's buttons made my boring days just a little brighter.

I could feel eyes on me from across the office. People were starting to notice, their heads popping up from behind their desks like curious meerkats. I smiled politely at one guy who had been staring way too long. He quickly ducked back down, probably pretending to be busy.

A minute passed. Then two. Was Axel hiding in there just to avoid me?

Just as I started debating whether to actually knock on the bathroom door—purely for comedic effect, of course—Axel reappeared, walking out with the air of someone who had just won a small battle against a very annoying opponent.

He paused in the doorway, instantly locking eyes with me.

"You really waited?" His voice was a mix of disbelief and exasperation.

I flashed him a cheerful grin. "Told you I would."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other employees whispering to each other, their glances bouncing between Axel and me like we were the main act in some bizarre office drama.

Axel groaned, rubbing his temples. "You're seriously unbelievable."

"Thank you," I replied sweetly. "It's part of my charm."

He shook his head, looking both amused and defeated. "You're the weirdest really, Even when you're waiting for me, you're still working." I just nodded proudly acknowlegde what he said. No matter what situation I faced, I couldn't let go my work.

As he walked back to his office, I followed him, but he didn't stop at his desk. Looking like he wanted to grab something in another room, Axel stopped in his tracks, glaring at me.

"You're still following me?"

"Well, I'm just doing my job. Assisting you. Diligently."

A normal person should have looked annoyed, I would be. But not him, I thought I was mistaken when I saw a big grin on his face. He's something else, He totally enjoyed this.

"Then follow me, as you want." He sprinted and suddenly got back to his desk, and I was just walking still following him. "If you want to follow me, you have to do it properly." He really reminds me of Golden Retriever puppy

"Why should I? I'm your assistant, not your shadow."

"Not fun." He finally sat down, and continued his work without saying anything.

I got back to my new seat on his sofa, and did some work. I wish we just continued the work silently, but he played some music from his computer, while humming the song, and his feet and head bobbed to the beat of the song. Normally, I'd be irritated. I'm someone who needs silence to concentrate. But strangely, today, the noise didn't bother me. For the first time in a while, being here felt... comfortable.

"Here you go," Axel said, handing me a stack of documents. I glanced at the small watch hidden under my wrist. An hour left before work officially ended. Our days had been so full, crammed with tasks, that we hadn't had time for anything but work lately. And yet, I still needed to teach him those leadership lessons.

I flipped through his work—better than yesterday, but still not quite there. Some revisions were needed. Knowing him, he'd probably want to go home soon. But maybe we could go over the lessons after hours?

"You did great, but I need to talk to you about something," I began, setting the papers aside. Before I could continue, Axel grinned, eyebrows went up and down mischievously. He will start to tease me again I am sure.

"Go on, are you gonna ask me out on a date this time, too?" His grin was infectious, but I wasn't going to fall for his teasing. Not this time.

"Actually," I ignored his quip, "we haven't had time for those lessons. We're too busy during work hours, so I thought maybe we could fit in a session after work."

His smile faded instantly, eyebrows furrowing in frustration. "You've gotta be kidding me," he groaned.

"You have been working non stop, and now you're asking for more?" He looked really irritated

"I get it, Is it because I didn't eat with you yesterday. That's why you asked for my time today" Such a big narcissistic.

"No, of course not." I denied as fast as I could.

He leaned back, shaking his head in disbelief. "Who in their right mind asks their boss for more overtime?"

"Well, you're not my only boss," I countered, keeping my voice steady.

He let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Fine, but once a week. That's it."

"Three," I countered. Tried to negotiate.

"Two," he shot back. "Deal!" He extended his hand. I clasped it firmly, sealing the agreement.

"We start next week," Axel said, taking his hand and leaning back.

"Not today?" I asked, a bit surprised.

"Nope. I've got plans with a woman tonight," he replied, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"Okay then." Not saying anything more and trying to get back to my work.

He stared at me, confused. "You're not upset?"

"Why would I be?" I asked, genuinely perplexed.

"Don't you have feelings for me?" Him being so needy made me rolled my eyes

"Right! Why do you go with her?!" I acted like I was jealous

Axel blinked, not expecting that. "That's... not how this works," he said slowly.

"What do you want me to do then?" I replied, baffled.

"Just help me out," he sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "You're a woman, right? Where should I take her for dinner?"

I bit back a laugh. "I think your lady would appreciate an all-you-can-eat meat buffet."

He frowned. "Like a steakhouse?"

"No, like a buffet where it's all meat," I explained, already imagining the rows of sizzling cuts. "Every woman loves meat. Trust me."

He looked at me skeptically. "You've been on dates before, right?"

"Of… of course I did." to be honest I don't remember the last time I went on a date with a man, have i ever been to one before?

"I know you don't" Axel read me like a book.

I turned my attention back to my papers, desperate to escape his probing gaze. "Didn't you say you had plans? You should probably go."

"Right. Because leaving is exactly what I want to do now." After saying that, He really left for his date.

I shook off the odd flutter in my stomach and focused on my work. Less than an hour later, I was finally done. Feeling a sense of accomplishment, I must go home too so I went through my usual end-of-day routine: shutting down my computer, tidying my desk, sorting out the documents, and packing my bag.

By the time I made it to the elevator, I was ready to leave the day behind. A few other employees were already there, and I offered them a polite smile, nodding as I always did. Just another normal evening.

Once outside, I started my walk to the bus stop. As I waited, I reached into my bag and pulled out my old, tangled cable earphones. I shoved them in my ears and scrolled through my playlist, trying to find the right song to match my mood. Something good

Suddenly, the sound of relentless honking broke through my thoughts. At first, I ignored it. But the honking persisted, louder and more. Then, just as I was about to turn up the volume, I noticed the car responsible for the noise pulling up to the curb. The person in the car rolled down their windows and a pretty handsome man with a big smile on his face showed up. It's Axel.

"Cora, Here!" He called me loudly, which made me feel quite embarrassed. I looked around, kind of worried if our company's employee noticed us. But, I didn't see anyone that looked familiar. I ran to his car, "What are you doing here?"

"Get in first, Now!" He said then honked his car two times more.

The cars behind him honked furiously because he stopped in the middle of the street. I couldn't wait for any second longer and decided to just listen to him, opened the car door and got on the passenger side.

"Axel, you're blocking the traffic, just go!" I panicked while trying to wear my seatbelt, he was completely unfazed by the chaos outside that he made, and instead he helped me with my seatbelt. "Safety first." he said while his hands brushing mine as he clicked it into place. I could feel the heat rise in my face.

He put the seatbelt to the lock and finally started to drive. I let out my long relieved sigh.

"Why on earth would you do that?" I stared at him in disbelief. Did this man even realize how insane he was?

Axel shrugged, as if the answer were obvious. "Just picking you up just like what I told you."

"But you said you will have a date with a woman?" I reminded him, still trying to make sense of what was happening.

His eyes flicked over to me briefly before returning to the road. "Exactly. And you are a woman, aren't you?"

My mouth fell open slightly, and I could only blink at him. "You... you said it was a date."

"It is." His voice was so calm, like this was the most logical thing in the world.

"You're my date, Cora. I'm taking you out." Axel gave me a sweet smile that I have never seen before.

I felt my heart skipped a beat.