Let's go to the beach again

"Oh no...I..I am really sorry sir!!! I didn't realised it was your hand.." Ayana gasped upon seeing his shirt wet and splashes of water on his face. She had long forgotten she just had some severe coughs earlier, as another serious problem had emerged in front of her.

Not only did she hurt her boss's pride but she also made his clothes all wet thanks to her uncontrollable coughing.

'Just why did I had to be so over-reactive on his response?!' she was really frustrated as she couldn't figure out what to do next.

'He'll catch a cold very soon if he doesn't change his clothes, but we still have a long way to reach the bottom of this forest hill.' she wanted to apologise repeatedly so badly but it was futile since her boss seemed out cold at the moment.

His eyes were locked on his snow white skin turned red hands and his lips were pressed hard and he appeared to be holding his anger back.

The car was filled with silence as if it was calm before the storm and Ayana was on her tip toes to face him snap out of daze any moment.

She remained still until her brows twitched from the sudden exhale on her left. She didn't dare to see him in the eyes, but her body was on point of a needle, waiting for his response.

She heard few weird noises as if he was moving on his seat but still kept the eyes focused on her clenched fists on knees until a deep voice called her off guard.

"It's alright. I know you didn't do that on purpose..." He said monotonously with a blank face. Ayana was surprised as she had imagined a lot more than this.

'Those words... He said the same back then too.' Ayana recalled the same pain somewhere lingering in those words in the past as well but she couldn't figure it out what exactly did he meant by those words.

Ayana was deeply perplexed from this thought but Eric knew it was useless pondering over it so hard since she would never get the meaning behind that sentence. It wasn't like he planned it to say such things in advance. Instead he himself was displeased as it clearly showed how disheartened he was from this situation.

It would be strange if he didn't noticed Ayana constantly putting up her guard whenever he's close by and now slapping his hands instinctively out of distrust. He wasn't a fool to misunderstand Ayana's actions as it was pretty clear even though Ayana was unaware of her behaviour. They were just not meant to be together no matter how many times you push it.

She was honest right from the beginning whenever it came to express her feelings, so honest that Eric sometimes wished if she could atleast fake it a little bit.

'Just why am I even trying so hard? Sure, the ones I have are all for name but still pretending to be a different person just to get an honest friend is even worse. Sigh, In the end, I am still not prepared to own the company just like my father said.' He mumbled to himself as he bring down his arm from armrest.

"Anyways, do you think there would be a clothes store down at that beach?" He said struggling to bring back that innocent smile but he couldn't. For strange reasons, this act was getting more and more exhausting for him. He never thought he would get tired of this so easily within a day.

The first time when he realised his natural clumsy side bought more attention to Ayana, he bet his plans over this small act and naturally unveil his true self after this deal would be signed, but then again, as expected of Ayana she had once again defeated him in this battle of dominance.

He felt so pitiful of himself that how childish it was of him to behave as such. He truly regretted his decision but no matter what he definitely couldn't show the disappointment on his face. He'll have to divert himself from this path before it gets too late.

All he need to do is to pretend to be the same innocent boy as per Ayana's perspective and forever leave her world after today. Yes, that would probably be for the best.

While Eric was busy figuring out how to convince his heart, in the meantime Ayana had turned dumb as stone since Eric looked way more serious than ever before. The gravity was so intense that it didn't take long for her to realise the trouble she had gone into.

She swallowed the dry lump in her throat and stuttered as she speaks "I don't know sir, we'll probably have to check."

"I see. Very well then." He said and so their journey continued again. To remove the awkwardness, Ayana had played some popular songs playlist upon Eric's permission and was now fully focused on driving.

Ayana's mind was filled with so many questions that she feared them leak through her sealed lips. She was dubious about his true nature right from the beginning, but from this recent accident her suspicions were getting stronger about his act of innocence. He was such a puzzling character that even if this was to be their last meeting, she would never forget him for her entire life.

Boss or not, she unknowingly had gotten determined to know this man.

The windows were pulled down to get some fresh air and prevent from catching cold, and they headed silently all the way to that beach.