SHOWING CARE II

"Eh? Me? The problem is what I want to eat? Are you sure? Are you okay? Do you have a fever? Do you need me to buy medicine before going home?" Cayenne asked him a series of questions because she thought he was being delirium.

"I'm fine. I'm not having a fever." Stefan responded which made the lady manager stifle her laughter. In front of her, their boss was showing her concern for her girlfriend, instead of getting a thank you, she thought that he was having a fever. It was obvious that their cold boss was never the romantic type of person. Perhaps, he was trying his best for her.

The only difference is that, Cayenne wasn't really her girlfriend.

Cayenne looked at her phone screen to see the name. It was surely her boss' number but it seemed like she was talking to a different person. "I…u-uh..I'm..I'm not really picky. You can choose whatever you like. I don't mind."

"Do you hate sweets?"

"Nope. I like them so much. It's just a little expensive so, I don't buy them."

"Alright. I'll buy some for you. Don't stay out for too long. It's getting colder and you said it yourself that it would be bad for both of us if you get sick. Make sure to keep yourself warm."

"Okay. I'll remember that."

"And one more thing, send me a message, one hour, before you leave the hospital. I need to finish my work before I can pick you up."

"You can just ask the taxi driver to come and pick me. I don't really mind."

"But we promised to buy groceries together."

"Okay."

"Alright. I'll see you later."

"See you." Cayenne waited for him to end the call since he was the boss. Stefan was waiting for her to end the call since she was the lady. The two of them were both waiting! When she looked at her phone after a minute, the call still continued. "Stefan? Why aren't you ending the call yet?"

"Why aren't you ending it?" Stefan returned the question back to her.

"Uh..because you are the boss?"

"But you are the girl here. Shouldn't you end the call?"

"Won't it be respectful to you as you are the boss?"

"Isn't it the same with you as you are the girl?"

The two of them were going back and forth with each other. No one wanted to end the call first. The café manager and Chris were looking at Stefan with horrified expression. Who was he talking to which seemed to tame their boss? The cold ice king was slowly melting because of a flame queen that they haven't met yet.

In fact, Stefan wasn't really a cold person but the environment he grew up molded him to become one. He had to act cold in order to survive in the harsh world that his brother left him.

On the other hand, Cayenne was still hesitating to end the call when Arthur appeared behind her. "Who are you talking to?" Out of fear of being discovered, she ended the call in a spur of the moment.

Stefan looked at his phone and just shook his head. "Pack me one slice of all the cakes that we have. Make sure it's packed nicely."

"Yes, sir." The manager responded and called one of the servers to give the order. "Pack a slice of each cake that we have. Make sure to pack it nicely. The boss is sending it to his girlfriend." The manager whispered before signaling the server to go and do what she was told to do.

Meanwhile, Cayenne was holding her chest from being startled. "Arthur, it's you. You startle me there. Why are you here?"

"I thought I told you that I would like to talk about something. I went to your mother's room but you were not there. I checked the garden and you were nowhere to be found so, I guessed that you'd be here."

"I see. What is it that you want to talk about?"

"I'm sorry if I interrupted your call with your boyfriend."

"Ha? That wasn't my boyfriend! That was my boss? I asked him if I could take a day off next Friday."

"Oh." He feigned ignorance and smiled at her. 'It was clearly not your boss. There's no need to look flirty when you talk to a boss. And you shouldn't call your boss by their first name.' Arthur mentally noted while keeping his smile on his lips. "I wanted to talk to you about us." His words rendered her speechless for a little while. As far as she could remember, there was no 'us' between them.

"What are you talking about?" Cayenne asked hesitantly. "There was never an 'us'."

"It's not really how I mean it. What I want to talk about is the past relationship we had. I know that I am making things difficult for you when I confessed. I didn't really want that to happen at the same time, I want you to know how I feel. Even so, just because I like you, doesn't mean you are obliged to like me back. I just want us to become friends again. The few times that we've met, I felt the tension and your discomfort. I am really sorry." He seemed sincere with his words so, Cayenne put her guard down.

"I am really fine being friends you. It's just a little difficult to go back to what we were before you left for States. I don't hate you or anything. I just feel a little guilty that you had to like someone like me who doesn't know how to value someone's life aside from my family."

"That's not something you should be guilty." Arthur responded with a smile. "Can I visit you sometimes?"

"That's really something difficult for me. I work day and night. I only come home to change clothes before going out to work again. Weekends would be spent here with my mother so, I don't think you'd still see me at home."