Six

Gabby’s POV

Once inside, Rei’s presence crawled all over my skin. He wasn’t looking at me and even if he wasn’t, I feel shorter every step I take.

"Take a seat," he said. "Lay the photos out on the table,"

His swivel chair was turned away and that actually made it easier for me to move and place the pictures on his table.

My movements were too fast as I lay the photos down but did what was asked anyway--well, a bit clumsy.

Once I was seated, that’s when he finally turned around.

I sucked in a breath when his eyes landed on me. He was staring—straight at me and I wonder how he could look so calm when I feel myself hyperventilating.

"You don't have to be so stiff when I'm around," he said, his gaze steady and unreadable.

I tried to relax, but my muscles were frozen in place.

 Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one being stared at like the way he does to me.

That was the last thing I expected him to say and I was caught off guard.

"Let’s keep things formal. Pretend I was not the guy you met in Bora but your boss and I’ll treat you as my employee," he said.

His voice was cold—like ice. No hint of warmth. This is normal, right? It was how we should act towards each other anyway.

I didn’t know why, but something inside me hurt.

Was he really saying we should just ignore what happened between us in Bora? Pretend like it was nothing?

He took something so personal from me—my womanhood—and now it’s so easy for him to say those words like it meant nothing?

Hold on a second, Gabbriel Lane! Why were you so affected? So what if it meant nothing to him? Wasn’t that what you wanted too?

Right. I could definitely do that. Right?

Damn it.

If pretending was the game—then let’s play. Bring it on.

I looked him straight in the eyes—fierce, but smiling. If he wanted formal, I’d give him formal.

"No problem, Sir," I said, still holding his gaze.

My voice was calm and steady, even if everything inside me wasn’t.

What happened between us didn’t define me. It didn’t define anything.

I was here to work—and I wouldn’t let him mess that up.

I didn’t know why, but he seemed taken aback. And why was that?

I didn’t care.

"Let’s proceed to the photos, Sir," I said.

He finally focused on the photos after a moment of staring at me. I continued explaining each shot, and kept my tone professional.

 "This one captures balance allure with attitude; they're bold enough to grab attention but still classy enough to reflect the brand."

 God, I didn’t even know what I was saying anymore but I just kept going.

"Your shots are good," he commented, his eyes not leaving the prints. "I can feel the lust in it, yet the presence of romance was even more captivating. This can arouse every man in town for sure."

I froze and looked at him. Only to be met with that gaze that sends shivers down my spine. It felt like I was drowning in his eyes.

There was something in them that pulled me in, like I was being drawn into his very soul.

I tried shaking the feeling off but it was there like it was tattooed on me.

I blinked rapidly.

"Thank you, Sir," I said, then quickly turned my eyes back to the photos.

"Anyway, let’s use this one. This should be the cover for the Summer Special of MM," he says, tapping the chosen photo.

I gave a small nod, still avoiding his gaze, focusing on steadying my breathing.

"Got it." I say.

I was about to clean up the photos scattered on his table when a girl suddenly walked into the office.

"Rei Baby!" she shouted like Rei was miles away instead of just across the room.

The girl wore her makeup thick, and her dress was so short you could almost see her soul.

“Suzzette! I didn’t think you’d be this early,” Rei said, sounding surprised.

"Of course! For you, I'm fast like a horse," she added.

You look like a horse! My inner bitch screamed. I didn’t know where the irritation came from. I need to get out of here.

My eyes widened when the girl put her arms around Rei's neck and kissed him on the lips. Torrid and hungry. Rei looked surprised too. His eyes were wide as he stared at me. I looked down, embarrassed. I hurriedly grabbed my things and ran out of his office.

Who was that girl? And why was she kissing Rei? And wow, he didn’t stop her. Were they together? In a relationship?

And what were these heavy feelings in my chest?

Why should I even care about them? Why should I care about him? We’re not even together! We just had sex once, and I was aware of this set-up.

When I got inside the elevator, I rushed in and was thankful no one else was there. Then suddenly, my vision blurred and I reached a hand up to my eyes.

Tears?

Why the fuck are you crying for, Gabbriel Lane?!

I quickly wiped my tears away.

Did I expect something with Rei? I knew how one night stand works so why would I be affected by this?

Damn it! Damn!

When I heard the elevator chime, I immediately wiped my tears and checked myself in the mirror.

It wasn’t obvious that I cried. Which was great, of course.

I stepped out of the elevator. I had only taken a few steps when I immediately saw Kesha.

She walked toward me excitedly. I tried to smile, but all I could manage was a faint one.

"Hey! What's wrong?" she asked, stopping my tracks.

Everything’s wrong in my head. I thought and sighed. I shook my head, then leaned against the wall. We were in the hallway now, close from the elevator.

“Tell me some news!” she said, quick to recover from worrying.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“About what?” I asked.

“How’s Sir Reigan?” she asked. “Does he looked as good as he was yesterday?”

I felt like all the color drained from my face the moment she mentioned his name.

I bit my lip—hard. Kesha kept talking, but I couldn’t hear her voice anymore. It felt just like in the movies—everything around me faded.

My mind drifted somewhere else, lost in thoughts I couldn’t control. The scene of Rei kissing that horse-faced girl replayed in my mind.

I bit down on my lip even harder. But I didn’t want Kesha to worry about me—so I refused to worry in front of her.

“Gabby? Hey! Gabbriel! You’re not listening!”

It was only then that I snapped out of it.

“W-what was that?” I asked.

“I was saying, aren’t you crushing over Sir Reigan? I mean, come on—he’s so handsome! I bet he has a killer body, and he’s rich, too! A total catch, right?”

She even squealed and giggled like a lovestruck teenager.

“Y-Yeah,” I replied, just going along with what she said.

I forced myself to push any uninvited thoughts away. I just focused on listening to Kesha.

She was so talkative—just going on and on about all sorts of things. Before I knew it, I was smiling.

And then, moments later, I found myself laughing.

“Damn! Kesha! Stop it already. I’m about to cry from laughing!” I said, still chuckling.

“Well, it’s true! That woman who visited Sir Reigan had such long legs—she looked like a horse,” she said, laughing too.

I burst out laughing again.

This girl really was my best friend. We were definitely thinking the exact same thing.

"Gabby!"

I turned toward the voice that called out to me, and just like that, my laughter stopped.

It was as if I’d seen a ghost.

Even Kesha fell silent.

We just stood there, frozen, staring at the man walking toward us. Or more like… toward me.

“Sam…” I muttered softly. His name barely left my lips.

“I’ve been looking for you, Gabby!” he said, then pulled me into a hug.

I froze, completely stunned like I had turned to stone.

Sam.

My ex-boyfriend from three years ago.

We were together for a year. I loved him so much. But then he broke up with me—accusing me of being a gold digger.

He said he meant nothing to me just because he was poor.

But that wasn’t true.

Sure, maybe I dreamed of having a rich boyfriend or husband someday, hoping for a better life.

But it was just that—a dream. A harmless wish.

And our breakup hurt me deeply. Not just because he left, but because he gave me a label that wasn’t even true. He called me something I wasn’t.

A gold digger.

*TING*

I glanced at the elevator straight ahead—it was right at the end of the hallway where we stood and I was facing the door.

My eyes widened when I saw Rei.

He was about to rush out of the elevator, but the moment he saw us, he froze.

The way his expression darkens didn’t escape my eyes. His lips formed a flat line and I swear! The shivers that ran up my spine felt like lightning.

Why was he looking at me like that? Because of what? Because someone else was hugging me?

I struggled to pull away from Sam, afraid of what Rei might be thinking. But Sam wouldn’t let go.

I wanted to shout and to call out Re’s name. But it was too late. He had already pressed the close button.

“L-Let go of me, Sam!” I shouted, using all my strength to break free from his embrace. Sam finally let go.

I stood staring blankly at the elevator. Was Rei about to come for me? Was he?

No… that’s impossible. He wouldn’t come after me. There was no reason for him to come after me. I was just assuming things again.

He already had a woman with him in his office. He wouldn’t chase me. Maybe he just stopped on our floor by accident.

Yeah. That must be it. Just a coincidence.

I was confused. My emotions were all tangled up.

Why couldn’t I find a single reason for why I was so baffled in this situation?

I didn’t know anymore…