He walked out of his office. As he looked to his right, he could see the light from the computer monitor, almost lighting one part of the room. Then, he noticed a familiar figure, with her head lying on the desk. He let out a smile as he walked towards that direction.

 

“Ella...” he called as he woke her up. Groggily, Ella looked up. She yawned, and then rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. “Sorry... I was busy working on the layout...” she explained. Danson smiled at her, and nodded his head. Her partner, Sam, is leave for two weeks, leaving her with all the work for the layout. “Finish that tomorrow, you still have more time in your hand.” he said. Ella smiled, and nodded her head. “Come on, I'll drive you home.” Danson said. Ella looked at her, her eyes were wide open. “Oh, no... no... you really don't have to do that.” she said. “I insist. Besides, it's already late...”

“You really don't have to. Besides, I brought my car with me...”

 

She gathered her bag, and stood up from her seat. As she looked up at him, she could see the disappointment in Danson's eyes upon hearing what she said. He looked at her, and then let out a faint smile. “OK... I understand... if you don't want me to drive you home, then maybe I can walk to your car?” he asked. Ella let out a smile at him. “Sure... I don't mind at all.” she said. Danson helped her to carry her things, then the two left for the parking lot. 

 

--

 

Ella paced back and forth. George, who was busy playing his Xbox glanced at her. He shook his head, then turned his attention back to his game. She let out a sigh, which made George look at her again. “Spill it out. I know you've got some problems.” he said. Ella folded her arms, and joined George at the couch. “I feel guilty...” she said sadly. He paused his game, and looked at Ella. “Guilty about what?” he asked in a confused tone. “Boss. I mean, I've been turning him down recently. When he asked me out for dinner, I turned him down because we are having dinner together. Tonight, he asked me if he could drive me home, but I brought my car, so I turned him down. It's the second time I've done that, and when I looked at him... he looked... kinda sad... that I turned him down...” she explained. After hearing what she said, George smiled at her. “Well... if you feel guilty about it, how about inviting him for lunch or something?” he said. 

 

With that, Ella's face lightened up. “Lunch, huh?” she said, scratching her chin. “Yeah. At least if he turned you down, then two of you are even.” George said. As he was about to turn back to his game, he realized something. “Ella...” he called. Ella looked at him. “Yeah?” she asked. “Why do you bother with him anyway. I thought you're not interested in him?” he asked. Ella just shrugged her shoulders.

 

--

 

It's been three hours since Ella have been staring at Danson's office. From the glass window by his door, she could see how busy her boss is. It's either he is “arguing” with someone over the phone, checking his email, reading and signing documents, and talking on the phone again. “I guess he is busy...” she thought. She let out a sigh as she turned her eyes on her PC. 

 

“Ella, lunch?” Hebe asked. She looked up at her, and let out a smile. “You guys go ahead. I need to do something.” she said. Hebe gave her a skeptical look. “Ella, you've been staring at the boss's door the whole morning... if you want to ask him something, you know you can easily approach him. After all, the two of you are really close.” she said. Ella shook her head. “No. I'm good.” she said. Hebe let out a sigh, and left her alone. 

 

Soon after, she was left alone in the room, as everyone went out for lunch. She took a deep breath, and stood up from her desk and approached Danson's office. She looked at the door before her. She was lifted up her fist to knock, but hesitation came over her. “I don't think asking him for lunch is a good idea...” she thought. She turned her back from the door. She brushed her hair with her fingers, and then took a deep breath. “Maybe he really is busy... maybe he doesn't want to go out with me. But how would I know if he doesn't want to go out with me if I don't ask him, right?” she told herself silently. She took another breath, and as she turned around again to knock, she bumped into something, or someone. She looked up, and saw Danson looking at her with a smile. “Still not having your lunch, Ella?” he asked. She gaped upon seeing him. “I... uhh....” she stuttered. He looked at her, as if he was amused by her shocked reaction. He folded his arms as he waited for her to speak. “I... was wondering... if you want to... go... out with me... for lunch? My treat.” she asked, smiling at him. He scratched his chin as he contemplated on his answer. “Well... the offer is very tempting...” he said. She looked at him with hope in her eyes. “But... I'm kind of busy right now, and I have a late lunch meeting later with the board of directors. I'm sorry, Ella...” he said. 

 

She let out a faint smile at him, and nodded her head. He noticed the disappointed look on her face as she turned her back on him. And seeing that look made him smile even more. “But...” he continued. Ella paused. “If you are free tonight, maybe we can go out for dinner. My treat this time.” he said. Ella looked at him, and smiled. “I... yeah. Of course! Dinner... tonight... it's... great. Just great.” she said. “Well then, I'll see you tonight for our dinner.” he said. “I'll wait for you.” she said. Then, Danson went back to his office, and as the door behind him closed, Ella jumped with glee. “Yes!” she said silently. Meanwhile, Danson leaned on his door, and smiled to himself. 

 

--

 

She splashed cold water on her face, and then stared at her face for a long time. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She couldn't believe that she had the guts to ask him out. He is Danson Tang, Taiwan's richest man, not to mention, hell of handsome bachelor. While she is just plain Ella. What she couldn't believe at all, is that he agreed to have dinner with her. Actually, it was him who had been constantly asking her out for dinner, and offering to drive her home. She would just turn him down, because she was so shy, and she doesn't want her colleagues, or the other people think, that something is going on between them. After all, she does not compare to those socialites, models, and artists that he have been dating before. 

 

She could feel her heart beating fast. She doesn't know why she's feeling this way. “It's just a dinner, Ella... calm down. It's not like he's asking you to marry him...” she thought. She composed herself, and then took out a deep breath. Then, she got out of the powder room. She saw Danson waiting for her. She let out a smile as she walked up to him. “You scared me. I thought you escaped me.” he told her. She let out a nervous laugh. “Why would I run away from you?” she asked him. Danson shrugged his shoulders. “I don't know. Maybe you know the answer. You seem to be running away from me each time I get close to you...” he said. He held out his hand for her. Ella stared at his palm for a while, and then looked up at him. “Shall we go?” he asked. She smiled and nodded her head. She took his hand, and then he held it tight. 

 

They entered a posh restaurant just a few blocks away from their workplace. As they got inside the restaurant, Ella became wary of the jealous eyes being thrown at her by the girls. If only looks could kill, she should have been dead by now, and lying on her pool of blood. She let out a sigh, and took her seat. “Something wrong, Ella?” Danson asked as he sat opposite her. Ella shook her head. “You seems a little uncomfortable... do you want to go somewhere else?” he asked. “I'm OK with eating here... don't worry. It's just that...” She turned to look around the place. “The girls are looking at me as if I've done something wrong...” she said. Danson let out a laugh. “They're just jealous.”

“I know. Because I am here, sitting with Taipei's most eligible bachelor.”

“Yes. And also because of all the girls in the whole of Taipei, I chose to sit and have dinner with a pretty girl like you.”

 

Ella felt herself blushing as Danson held her hand. “So...” Danson said as he leaned towards her. The smirk on his lips is enough to make her heart beat fast. “Shall we order now? I'm starving.” he said. She let out another nervous laugh as she nodded her head. “OK...” she said. She leaned on her chair as she took the menu from her side. Danson couldn't help but smile at her. “Uh... Ella...” he called. Ella looked up at him. “You got the menu upside down.” he said. Ella looked at the menu, and was bewildered that she was holding the menu upside down. She let out an embarrassed laugh, and corrected the way she held the menu. “Relax, Ella...” Danson told her. “Just think of this as we're two old friends having dinner.” he said. Ella let out another laugh. “OK... sorry...” she said shyly. 

 

She flinched as she read the menu. From time to time, she would secretly glance at her boss. She doesn't know why, but each time she catches a glimpse of his smile, her heart could only beat fast.

 

--

 

“It was really embarrassing, Ariel...” Ella said as she shook her head. “First, I read the menu upside down. Then, when I was laughing at his joke, I knock my glass down, making his pants wet with water. Then, I almost choked on my food. I am such a klutz!” she said, shaking her head. Ariel couldn't help but laugh at the embarrassing things that happened to Ella during her dinner with Danson. “I think you're trying nervous around him. I don't know why, Ella...” Ariel said. Ella gave her friend a confused look. “You were trying so hard to act cool around her, but deep inside, you seem nervous. What's wrong?” she asked. Ella shrugged her shoulders. “Beats me...” she said. 

 

Ariel leaned over her, and let out a playful smile. “What?” she asked. “Ella... I think you have a crush on your boss.” she said. Ella was surprised at what she said. “Me? Have a crush on him? No way!”

“Don't deny it, Ella. I know you. When you have a crush on someone, you tend to be a klutz. And I think, you fell for Danson Tang's charms.”

Ellla looked away from her best friend. “Me? Have a crush on him?” she asked again. “I think he likes you too, in the same way that you like him. If not, then why would he constantly ask you out? And now that you agreed to go out with him, maybe he'll make his move now.” Ariel said. “Danson also have a crush on me?” she asked. Ariel nodded her head. “If you don't believe me, then observe the way he treats you. A guy won't waste any effort to a girl he doesn't like, right?” she said. 

 

--

 

Ella was busy editing some photos when someone place a paper bag on her desk. She looked at it, and saw Danson's hand holding it. “Breakfast for you.” he said. He smiled at her before entering his office. She let out a smile as she peeked inside the paper bag – it had coffee and bread inside. She giddily took it out of the bag, and ate it. As she turned her eyes on her PC, she saw a message from Danson on her messenger.

 

DansonTang0902 says: lunch later?

 

She let out a giddy smile as she typed her answer.

 

thegreatellachen says: you're not busy today?

DansonTang0902 says: no... got a free time in my hand today

thegreatellachen says: sure... my treat this time, all right?

DansonTang0902 says: ok. it's a date then.

 

She find herself being giddy upon reading the word “date” on her messenger. “Could it be that we are already dating? Come to think of it, since he started working here, the last girl that was linked to him is Maki... hmmm... I guess Ariel is right... maybe he does like me...” she said to herself.

 

--

 

“You're spending way too much time with her...”

 

A caress on the cheek.

 

“There are times that I don't get to catch you... you're always with her. I am very jealous...”

 

He turned that face towards him. He could see the anger and envy in that person's eyes. “Do you always have to spend a lot of time with her?”

“We've talked about this, right?”

“Yes...”

“Don't you trust me?”

 

Silence.

 

“You know that we are working together...”

“Are you sure it's just work?”

“Just work.”

“But you had dinner with her the other night!”

“She asked me out.”

“You could have said no.”

 

A sigh. 

 

“Are you falling for her?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Just answer me.”

“No. I am not. She is... just... a friend. You know that I am interested in what she's doing, that's all...”

“It doesn't look like that to me.”

 

He hugged the figure from the back, and let out a smile. “What do I have to do to appease your anger?” he asked. 

 

Silence.

 

“Do you want me to stay away from her?”

 

No answer. 

 

“Please, baby... don't give me the silent treatment...”

 

He turned the figure to face him. 

 

“OK, I'll stay away from her... all right? Just don't be mad at me... I don't like it when you're mad at me...”

 

A smile.

 

“Do you really love me?”

“I do. I love you. And I won't get tired telling that to you...”

 

A hug.

 

And a kiss.

 

--

 

Danson entered the office, and everyone around greeted him. As he walked past Ella's desk, he heard her greeting him. “Good morning, boss!” she said cheerily. He paused for a while, fighting the urge to look back at her. He let out a sigh, and continued inside the office without bothering with her. With his action, Ella became confused. “What's wrong with him?” he thought. She was in her deep thoughts when she felt someone nudging at him. “What's wrong? You two had a lover's quarrel?” Hebe asked. Ella smiled, and shook her head. “Lover's quarrel? What are you talking about. He have not heard me... that's all.” she said. Then, she let out a laugh. At the back of her mind, she wished that Hebe have not noticed the way Danson ignored her. 

 

They had a meeting that afternoon, but unlike before, where Danson calls on her, and asks her opinion, Danson have been ignoring her. If he have questions regarding the layout or about the photos, he would ask Sam, instead of her. Ella felt so bad, because she doesn't know what she did o said wrong to Danson, that's why he's ignoring her.  The whole day, Ella have been staring at Danson's office. She was waiting for him to come out, so that she could approach him and ask him what's wrong, but he seems to busy to even come out of the office. 

 

She was in her deep thoughts when she heard her phone ring. “Hello...” she answered it. “Mei! I need your help!” the voice on the other line said. The caller was none other than her elder sister, Kelly. “Kelly? What's wrong?” she asked. “I caught my husband cheating on me. I want to catch him in the act this time so that I can file for divorce.” she said. Ella narrowed her eyes as she listened to her sister. “Wait... wait... you mean to say... Michael have another woman?” she asked. “Yes. And I've been tailing him down for weeks. He'll meet that at the hotel tonight, so you have to come with me to confront him. I'll pick you up at your office this afternoon.” Kelly said. “But... jie!” she argued back. Before she could continue speaking, The call ended. She could only groan at what's happening to her. “You should have asked me if I wanted to come or not...” she said to herself. She looked at Danson's door, and saw him coming out of his office. “I'm out for the day. You guys can do whatever you want, just don't forget your deadlines.” he said. Everyone said goodbye to him. He walked past her desk, and she was hoping that he would glance at her, but he ignored her once again. And it was somehow breaking her heart. “Fine...” she said as she looked at her phone. “I'll go with jie... maybe I can forget about today if I do...” she let out another groan as she leaned on her desk.

 

--

In one of the rooms of the hotel, Danson sat at the edge of the bed, with only the blanket sheet covering his lower body. Another figure sat up on the bed and reached up to him for a hug. He looked at the figure, and smiled. “I missed you... and I missed this...” he said. The figure smiled at him, and then cupped his cheeks, and gave him a long and passionate kiss on the lips. He wanted the moment to last forever, but he knew they only had a short, stolen time together. He decided to make up for all the lost times they had. As the figure hugged him in his waist, his kiss deepened. He could not contain himself any longer, as he pushed the figure on the bed, with him on top. He brushed the hair away from the figure's face, his finger trailed on his cheek as he looked into his handsome face. A smile formed on his lips as he watched Danson stare at him. “I love you...” he whispered to Danson. A smile formed in his as those words escaped from his mouth. It was like his own brand of heroin, making him even more addicted to him. “I love you too...” Danson said. Then, he leaned down to him, and kissed him once again.

 

Kelly dragged her sister inside the hotel, and Ella was struggling from her. “Jie! You don't have to drag me!” Ella shouted at her. Kelly stopped, and looked at her angrily. “You are so slow, Ella. Before we could reach them, they're gone in their room already!” she said in a stern tone. “If you are too anxious to catch Michael in thehe act, then why did you wait for me?” she asked. “Because I need a witness.” she said. Kelly held Ella by the wrist, and dragged her towards the elevator. “Do you know which room they are in?” Ella asked. “I know. !203.” Kelly said. “And is this even legal? You know... barging into your husband's affair?” she asked. Kelly glared at her. “Yes! This is legal because I am the legal wife!” she shouted at her. Ella walked to the corner of the elevator as her sister shouted at her. She knew that if Kelly gets really angry, she could turn from a sweet girl to a monstrous one. As they reached the 12th floor, they began to search the room where her brother-in-law and his other woman is.

 

Meanwhile the two figures lay side by side on the king size bed. Danson had his arms around him, watching him as he breathe and sleeps. A smile formed on his lips as he kissed him in the forehead. The figure looked up at him, and smiled. “I wish we could be this way forever...” he said. Danson pulled him close to him to feel his warmth. “I wish too, baby... I wish we could be alone forever and ever...” he said. He looked at him, and smiled. “Just you and me... without any care in the world...” Danson continued. “Then, how about if we run away from this place... go to Canada... and you know... get married...” the figure said. A smile escaped from his lips upon hearing what he said. “If you are ready, then yes... let's go and run away from here... we could live happily ever after there...” he said. The figure let out a laugh. “You know I can't... my dad will kill me... especially if he found out that -”

 

“Jie! Are you really sure this is the right hotel and we have the right room?” Ella complained as she tailed her sister behind. “I am sure. Don't you trust me and my woman's instinct?” Kelly said. Ella let out a sigh as she followed her sister at one of the rooms. “There it is! 1203!” Kelly said. She took a deep breath, and then made a loud knock on the door. 

 

“I ordered for food... I think that's it...” the figure said. He sat up on the bed, and so did Danson. “I'll go get it.” Danson said. “Yes, please...” he said. Danson walked up to the door, and reached for the knob to open it. 

 

“Jie! I don't think Michael ge is here.” Ella said. Kelly glared at her sister. “Shut up.” she said. She knocked loudly again. Ella heard a door open, and when she turned around, she saw Danson standing that room opposite the room where her sister is knocking. Ella was shocked to see him, especially since he only had a sheet covering his lower half. Danson was just as surprised as she is when he saw her. “E-ella?” he asked. “B-b-boss?” Ella said in a shocked tone. She suddenly felt weak upon seeing him that way. “So... he have another woman...” she thought. She felt all her hopes and dreams crashed before her. She didn't care if Kelly is fighting with her husband at the other room, and shouting at him. Her heart is bleeding, that the medicine wouldn't be able to heal her broken heart. Of course, she likes Danson, and all the while, she thought Danson likes her too, but she was wrong. 

 

“What are you doing here? And what's going on in that room?” he asked, pointing at the other room. She looked up at him. She opened to speak, but words got stuck on . She wanted to run away to cry, but she couldn't even move her feet to run. “Baby... is that my food?” she heard another manly voice calling out from Danson's room. Danson froze in his place as footsteps comes nearer to him. He felt his hands embrace his waist, and he peeked out of the door. Ella looked at the two men, who were both . The sadness in her face was replaced by shock. She lifted her hands, and pointed at the two, as if they committed a crime. “J-jiro Wang?!” she exclaimed. Jiro looked at her, and was shocked to see her. “What are you doing here?!” Jiro asked. “Y-you two...” Ella stuttered. She took a deep breath and began to speak. “You two are gay?” she asked. Danson and Jiro looked at each other, as if contemplating to tell her the truth. She saw Danson took a deep breath before looking back at her. “Yes.” Danson said firmly. “I am gay, and Jiro is my lover...” 

 

She fainted.