She slammed the door of the taxi cab shut and waved to her friend still seated inside. Standing on the pavement to watch the vehicle drive off for a second before she her heel to head towards the building, Amber Liu’s head was b with images fresh from the fashion show she had just attended. Spring/summer was the fashion news editor’s personal favourite season, especially since the shows were held in the beginning of autumn the year before. She didn’t particularly enjoy autumn because that season heralded the beginning of icy winter that she absolutely hated. So having the privilege of having a sneak peek into the colourful offerings that the next year would bring, warmed her up and kept her looking forward.

As she entered through the automatic sliding doors, the sound of the heels of her ankle boots went clickety-clack on the marble floor. She was making mental lists of which pieces she should pre-order as she walked through security and towards the lifts, only to notice one of the elevator’s doors closing as she got nearer. Absentmindedly, she called out, “Please hold the door!” and sped up to run straight into the elevator. Only to regret her haste when she saw the individual inside.

“Mr Cho.” Greeting the man, she quickly turned around to face the doors, clutching the handles of her bag extra tight.

He returned a “Miss Liu” with a slight nod.

Amber kept her eyes in front, watching the LED numbers change as the lift began to move. When it passed the second floor, she felt a faint exhalation on the back of her neck and heard a murmur, “You are wearing my favourite perfume today.”

He had closed up the gap between them and was now standing only an inch away from her. Wondering why she had not stood with her back to the wall so he couldn’t sneak onto her like that, Amber said in a controlled voice, “I use this everyday.”

Of course he wouldn’t back down like that, and whispered, “For me?”

Now he was pressed up against her back, his lips almost touching her ear lobes. She shut her eyes, willing her heart to stop beating so fast. Yet he didn’t move away on purpose – he was teasing one of her erogenous zones.

“Mr Cho, please behave yourself.” She forced herself to resist his advances; and the shivery tingles her body was experiencing.

He wasn’t deterred and continued to breath down the nape of her neck. “I want you … tonight.”

Swallowing hard, the woman struggled with her composure – the lift was taking awfully long to reach the 27floor. With her tone still surprisingly even, she said, “Kyuhyun, we can’t do this anymore.”

“But why? I want to.” She had always found his deep voice remarkably y and it took all her willpower not to throw herself on him, like she had done countless of times previously.

With a barely audible sigh and still staring at the space before her, she fought the desire that was building inside of her. “We have been through this before. I don’t want to repeat why we can’t.”

Even with her seemingly cold response, Kyuhyun refused to give up. “That’s what you said but I didn’t agree and I still want you.”

There was a “ding” and the lift rumbled to a stop. She ignored his last statement and walked out with her head held high. Don’t turn around, she commanded herself - if she took one look at him, she could come undone.

And as though he didn’t hear what she said too, the man insisted, “I’ll wait for you after work.”

Seemingly unruffled, Kyuhyun stayed where he was in the lift, his expression placid. The only sign of emotion was the clench of his right fist – upset that Amber was treating him so coldly.

Amber hurried past the reception, through the hallway and into her office. Dumping her bag onto a stack of magazines, she sunk into her chair. A look into the mirror on her desk confirmed that her face was flushing. Damn that Cho Kyuhyun, she cursed silently.

“Amber darling, I just saw Yoona’s tweets.” The magazine’s editor-in-chief sailed in all excited. “Tell me more about Lee Joon’s collection.”

Attempting to smile at her boss, the woman seated handed Victoria her mobile. “I took some photos too. The second last dress? It’s to-die-for and totally up your alley.”

As Victoria chattered on, Amber’s mind started drifting away. Her line of vision fell on the framed picture next to her laptop. The image of Henry smiled right back at her – her sunshine boy. He would be so heartbroken if he had known what she had done. But he didn’t make her pulse race like the other man did. Rightfully though, she belonged to Henry – that’s why she bowed out of the game.