CHAPTER - 7 [ GETTING UNDER THE SKIN... ]

People looked at Ryan strangely the next day at work, and it was no surprise that news of his rage over Ms Williams spread like wildfire throughout the office. "James, the lady who liked your a$$ is here. Ew! What exactly did I just say? Whatever, she's here," Mark explained. James did not respond as Mark expected because he was immersed in the world of perfection, sitting on top of the table working on the stones. Mark was still waiting for his reaction when he called again to ask, "Aren't you going to meet Luna?"

James looked at him puzzled, and after a moment of staring into Mark's eyes confused, he realised who he was talking about with his eyes opening widely. "My Queen has arrived. Where the hell is she?" He jumped like a monkey from the table. Mark returned to his desk, saying, "Forget about it, because you can't enter Ms Williams' office without an appointment."

"I forgot to get her phone number, Mark. What am I supposed to do?" To assist him, he looked at Mark with puppy eyes. But they couldn't care less about his existence.

"Will you open the doors, or should I break them?" Luna was arguing with Ms Williams' security team about not being allowed in on the other side. Ms Williams came out and let Luna in after hearing her voice.

"Believe me, they are overstepping their bounds," Luna slapped her purse on the desk, and when she noticed their best friend, she asked, "And, how the hell did Benji enter your office?" who had been busy stuffing a burger inside his mouth. "But I truly feel for you, my love" and Luna laughed at Ms Williams, who was struggling with her bodyguard. "Did you just make fun of me? See a look at my situation, asshole," Ms Williams was furious as she sat on her couch.

"I should never have helped you two, and look at that idiot from the very start," Ms Williams pointed to her friend Benji, who seemed unconcerned about what was going on around him and was enjoying his ham.

"Look at him, he's eating like a beast, and that's his third burger FYI," Ms Williams leaped from her perch. When Luna looked at him, he was listening to music on his phone and when he looked at them, he had cute doe eyes that shimmered and looked like a baby with those mouths full. When he smiled at her and offered her a bite of the burger, Luna's heart softened for him, "Bro, take a look at him. He's such a sweetie! You can't scold him," This time, Luna was on the defence.

"You've nevertheless got a lovely office, girl. It's fuckin' enormous, " Luna commented, but Ms Williams was still upset, ruminating on the same issue. She kissed Ms Williams' ears to get her attention and hugged her to comfort her right away.

"Ladies, get a room. I'm still here," Benji said as he read the newspaper.

Ms Williams collapses onto the couch, exhausted, and Luna asks, "Ignore that ass and now tell me."

"Tell you what?"

Luna smacked the table with both hands and asked, "What's going on between Ryan and you?" Ms Williams was surprised when Luna asked her the question because she had covered her face with both of her hands.

Luna's cunning smile revealed her motive, and Ms Williams was astute enough to notice it. "It's a typical professional relationship between an employee and an employer, " With a straight face, "And nothing else, " Ms Williams ended it.

Luna was dissatisfied with her response and replied, "No. I looked him in the eyes and you already know how I am. I can make a snap judgement on someone in a fraction of a second. I could see the love in his eyes for you, if not love at least the care. And I guess he hasn't realised he's fallen for you yet too."

"I had no idea you were so good at making up stories. Why don't you try your hand at writing?" Ms Williams, on the other hand, was completely enraged. As Luna approached her, she said, "Lecture me later. Tell me the truth. Even if you have feelings for him. You aren't going to ignore it, are you? You think I didn't notice your smile when I told you that guy in the blue suit was staring at you?" She also massaged Ms Williams' shoulders.

"Um Luna. Enough. I'm not interested in my models, and to be honest, he's the only one amongst the four who respects me," and Ms Williams made her point emphatically. Luna spanked her head with her index finger and demanded, "tell me the truth. I'm not ready to hear your lies."

"Listen, he's not the type of guy you think he is, and he's certainly not my type either. I'm way out of his league, and he's not the type to believe in love I suppose. He's more suitable for a fling. Not to forget he is a model and would have definitely dated sexy, extremely beautiful models. I just don't fit into that category," Ms Williams made her point to Luna, but something was still hitting her on the inside.

"What if you were misled by his actions? What if he, like you, were an introvert? I don't think Ryan is the type of person who goes out with his friends a lot, but he likes to spend time with his loved one at home, cooking favourite dishes together and spending quality time with cherished ones," and Luna began her game. She completely tried brainwashing her and to make her fall in love with Ryan. Ms Williams almost believed everything she said, but in the end, she said, "No, no, no way. You're attempting to sway my opinion."

"He and his team think I'm a devil, a bitch and a torture who keeps piling work on them that I actually do, proudly. So, all I'm saying is don't make a theory about him and me," and she downplayed Luna's theory. And this time, Luna gave up and said, "OK, I need a photo with Ryan but."

Ms Williams smiled and looked her up, saying, "I know what you're trying to do, darling. It's not going to happen," she stood up and adjusted her top. Luna tried her best to persuade her, but she abruptly stopped in the middle and exclaimed, "I have all your dirty secrets!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Take it. You both get lost." and she paused for a second before turning around and asked, "What?"

"I understand how you found him, and I also know everything there is to know about him. Should I say anything? Or should I personally tell them how you stalk him all the time?" Luna also used her tramp card.

"Luna!" Ms Williams yelled her name and stated, "I did that for work and it was 100% professional. I didn't do it because I was fond of him."

Luna remained silent and looked at her, waiting for her expected response.

"FINE. An autograph would be appropriate." Ms Williams made her point.

"A photo"

"No, Autograph."

"How about a photo and an autograph?" Luna inquired.

Ms Williams was deafeningly quiet until Luna inquired, "Are they downstairs? On which floor?"

"FINE! Let's go, and remember, don't come back into my office again," Ms Williams said as she walked forward.

When Ms Williams entered the design hall, it was piercingly quiet, and Ms Williams was taken aback by their mannerisms. Normally, when she walks into the design hall, no one bothered to look at her, but all eyes were on her this time.

Ms Williams ignored and walked straight towards Ryan, hitting the desk with a piece of paper.

"Sign it," she said as she looked at the other side.

Ryan turned to his right and noticed Luna along with Benji standing near the door. When he returned his gaze back to her, she signalled to him to sign again.

"Are you going to throw Ryan out?" James appeared out of nowhere in front of them. "Why is he required to sign?" and after a brief pause, he realised what she was talking about. "I see what you mean now. Ms Williams, I apologise on his behalf, and he reacted yesterday because he was high. I understand that whatever he did was wrong, but it's inappropriate to let one of the best..." James zipped his mouth shut when Ms Williams glared at him.

Luna was about to enter the room to get them as soon as Ryan signed the paper, but Smith came to the design hall from nowhere. Luna tried to stop her, but because it was SMITH, she simply moved her hand, and Luna fell onto Benji's arms.

Smith said, "Ma'am, you must leave immediately, and if you wish to meet with anyone from the design team, they must meet you in your office," and Ms Williams agreed. Ms Williams handed over the paper as they exited, and Luna excitedly hugged her.

"I love you, honey," Luna said as she kissed Ms Williams on the cheeks.

"Luna, behave properly and come with me," she tried to pull her along with her, but she escaped her grasp. Smith lost her cool and attempted to evict Ms Williams from there. That's when she noticed Benji's devious smile, "Wasn't it you? Did you call Smith here?" she inquired, and he blew her a kiss.

"Such a scumbag of a person I swear," she yelled as she dragged him along with her to the office.

Luna walked into the design hall as soon as they left and asked Ryan if she could take a picture with him. Obviously, Ryan was surprised by what was happening to him, so he politely declined her offer, saying, "Sorry, I'm actually in the middle of something important, and hope you don't mind," and returned to work.

She took Ryan's file in her hand and said, "Let's make a deal. If you take a picture with me, I will reveal a secret that you will enjoy hearing," and Ryan was still perplexed as to what she was talking about.

Ryan was about to ask a question when she interrupted him, saying, "It's about Ms Williams," as she whispered into his ears. Ryan's straight brows indicated that he understood what she was saying. He looked at James, who was on the verge of passing out from excitement and confusion of the happenings. Ryan agreed, and they took a few photos together instantly. Later, the other three joined in on the action, taking pictures with her. After checking the pictures, she approached Ryan and almost hugged him, saying, "That guy? They're just colleagues. You know, more like brothers and sisters," she said in a sexy tone, and Ryan was taken aback as to how to react to her sexy gestures.

Ryan's face brightened after a minute of processing the information she told him, and she was pleased to see him smile. "All the best, Ryan, and I'll be waiting for you," she said as she caressed his shoulder and blew a kiss to the rest.

As soon as she walked away, Ryan exclaimed, "OK! I'm crazy in love with her. She's exactly my type," he said as he exited, his face turning bright red. Mark had no idea how to persuade James, who was caught off guard when he learned Luna was exactly Ryan's type.

"Mark?" Did you hear what Ryan said now?" He couldn't believe his friend would do such a thing to him.

Mark tried to encourage him, but he ended up laughing on his face, and James threw the files at Mark in rage. "Let's get back to work," Eric said, trying to get them back to work.