Chapter 12 Synchronizing Hearts (Unauthorized Access Denied)

          The clock on the wall read six forty-five. Outside the window, the evening sun was casting a warm, peach-orange glow across the ocean's surface. Inside Villa 101, however, Lalita was pacing back and forth in front of the king-sized bed like a rat trapped in a maze.

Three or four dresses lay discarded in a heap on the mattress. The young woman reached up, aggressively ruffling her hair until it lost its perfect shape. The overflowing confidence of the top-tier PR queen had been utterly obliterated by a single parting sentence from the deadpan man next door.

'Tonight... you'd better prepare yourself. Because I fully intend to update our status so clearly that that bastard sees it.'

What the hell did he mean by 'update our status'?!

Lita collapsed onto the edge of the bed, burying her burning cheeks in her hands. Her processing system was a chaotic mess. Was he going to pretend to be her boyfriend just to fool Krit? How far would he go? Holding hands? Wrapping an arm around her waist? Or...

The image of those deeply cut lips leaning down to sweep the sauce from the corner of her mouth behind the frosted glass of his office flashed irresistibly into her mind. Lita shook her head violently to dispel the dangerous fantasy. But the harder she tried to banish it, the more her little heart hammered against her ribs until it ached. She couldn't deny that, deep down, she was secretly hoping and waiting for him to actually cross the line.

"Ugh! Lita, what is wrong with you? Get a grip!" The young woman slapped her own cheeks lightly to snap herself out of it.

She decisively grabbed a flowing, pearl-white slip dress. It was a deceptively simple piece—not overly revealing, yet it clung perfectly to every dip and curve of her hourglass figure. She swept her hair up into a messy bun, leaving a few soft tendrils to frame her face. She kept her makeup natural but emphasized her plump lips with a vibrant, peachy-orange tint.

If he really was going to update their status, she at least needed to look stunning enough to handle it.

Knock... Knock...

The two sharp raps at the door made Lita jolt. Her heart, which had just managed to calm down, immediately kicked into overdrive. She took a deep breath, walked over to the door, and peeked through the peephole exactly as he had commanded.

The sight of the tall man standing outside made Lita swallow hard. He was wearing a dark Hawaiian shirt with the top two buttons undone, offering a tantalizing glimpse of his fair, muscular chest. He stood waiting with his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his black slacks. This laid-back yet lethally sexy look was absolutely devastating her internal balancing system.

The moment Lita opened the door, the piercing eyes behind his clear lenses swept over her from head to toe. His fierce gaze narrowed slightly. A flash of profound satisfaction and raw, undeniable desire sparked in his eyes for a mere fraction of a second before instantly resetting to his usual stoic mask.

"Khun Lita... this dress..."

"W-What? Is it too revealing? Does it look unprofessional?" Lita stammered, nervously bringing a hand up to cover her cleavage.

"Not at all." The corner of Bhakin's mouth twitched into a smirk. "It looks... highly suitable for a status update. Let's go. The team is waiting at the beach."

That half-compliment, half-tease made Lita's face burn so hotly that she had to duck her head, following him in complete silence. She didn't even dare utter a single word of banter.

Down by the resort's beachfront, the dark blanket of night had begun to fall. The ambient lighting around the property flickered to life, creating a breathtakingly romantic atmosphere. On the grassy lawn near the sand, a mid-sized stage had been erected. A massive LED screen was currently running graphic loops to test the lighting system, casting washes of deep blue and gold across the area.

Nick, Job, and Tum were busy typing away at their keyboards at the control desk situated nearby. Meanwhile, Krit—dressed in a sharp, cream-colored casual suit—stood waiting in front of the stage, a glass of wine in his hand, exuding the arrogant aura of a victor.

The moment he saw Lita approaching side-by-side with Bhakin, the smile on Krit's face twitched. However, he quickly adjusted his expression, plastering on a wide, welcoming smile as he stepped forward to intercept them.

"Perfect timing, Lita. The stage lights were just set up. This golden lighting makes your skin glow... you look as beautiful as a princess."

Krit purred his drippingly sweet compliment, intentionally taking a step forward until he was practically invading her personal space.

"I remember back when we went to the Maldives for our anniversary. You wore a flowing white dress exactly like this one."

Lita pressed her lips together, deeply uncomfortable with his blatant attempt to dig up their past. She prepared to take a step back to maintain her distance, but...

Grab!

Bhakin's large, scorching hand reached out, wrapping firmly around Lita's narrow waist. With just a slight, effortless pull from the tall man, her delicate frame stumbled directly into his broad chest, pressing flush against him.

Lita's eyes widened. She inhaled a sharp gasp of shock. Her back was pressed tightly against his side, and the radiating heat from his muscular body sent a violent tremor straight to her heart. She looked up through her lashes at his sharp side profile in absolute stunned silence.

Krit's face went rigid. He pointed a furious finger at Bhakin.

"What the hell are you doing?! Take your hand off Lita's waist right now!"

Bhakin paid exactly zero attention to the barking dog. The tall man simply tightened his arm around the young woman's waist a fraction more, pulling her closer, before casting a lethally cold, piercing glare at her ex-boyfriend.

"Is there something wrong with your eyesight, Khun Krit? Can't you see that the data in this sector has already been successfully synced?"

Bhakin's voice didn't rise into a shout. It was dead flat, heavily saturated with authority, and served as the most blatant, uncompromising declaration of ownership.

"What the hell kind of bullshit data sync are you talking about?! Lita is just your coworker!" Krit bellowed.

"In the past, perhaps. But as of right now, the system has received a massive update."

Bhakin tore his gaze away from Krit, looking down at the woman in his arms who was currently trembling like a baby bird. His fierce eyes, which had just been blazing with aggressive possessiveness, melted into something so profound and tender it could dissolve the person looking into them. He lifted his free hand, using his fingertips to gently and lingeringly tuck a stray lock of hair behind Lita's ear.

"The ocean breeze is getting a bit chilly tonight. Are you cold, 'darling'?"

That single word—'darling'—slipping from the deeply cut lips of the Ice Man completely crashed Lita's nervous system. Her little heart hammered so fast it threatened to punch right through her ribcage. She stood there with her mouth slightly open, her cheeks flushed as red as ripe tomatoes. She searched the depths of his eyes, desperately looking for any hint of a joke or an act. But there was none. There was only raw, unapologetic desire and an overwhelming, heavy sincerity.

Krit stood gripping his wine glass so tightly his knuckles turned white. His face contorted with sheer rage and the utter humiliation of being ruthlessly shown up in public.

"Are you two... actually dating?!" Krit gritted out.

Lita panicked, opening her mouth to stammer out an answer, but Bhakin smoothly intercepted.

"Our relationship is End-to-End Encrypted."

Bhakin shot Krit a look of absolute, mocking disdain.

"Maximum security protocols. Only she and I possess the decryption keys. And an outdated hacker like you doesn't even have the clearance to look."

Without waiting for Krit to spew any more vulgar curses, Bhakin smoothly turned around. He pressed his hand against Lita's lower back, guiding her away from the stage area and heading straight down toward the darker, far more private stretch of the beach. He left Krit standing there, face purple with rage, fists clenched in front of the resort staff.

Meanwhile, the three IT minions sitting at the control desk stealthily gave each other silent high-fives. Proud, beaming smiles stretched across the faces of the three nerds.

"Our boss is so undeniably savage. Absolutely lethal," Tum whispered, choking back a laugh.

"Savage to the whole world, but a total softie for his wifey," Nick added. With a few swift keystrokes, he executed a graphic command, throwing a massive, flashing, sparkling heart up onto the LED screen—a sly, indirect display of ultimate support for the big boss.

Over on Lita's end, she had been half-guided, half-embraced all the way to a cluster of large rocks by the shore, far away from any prying eyes. The young woman finally tried to push herself out of his strong embrace, but the arm around her only locked tighter, pulling her back flush against his broad chest once more.

"You can let go now, Khun Bhakin. He didn't follow us," she murmured, her voice trembling faintly. She didn't dare turn around to look him in the eye.

Bhakin obliged, loosening his arm around her waist, but only so he could turn her delicate frame around to face him. He raised both large hands, planting them flat against the rocks behind her, flawlessly caging her within his territory amidst the darkness, illuminated only by the faint, silvery glow of the moon.

"You were shaking back there."

Bhakin's voice was a husky rasp. He leaned his face down until his scorching breath fanned across her smooth forehead.

"Were you shaking because you were scared of him... or were you shaking because of the pronoun I just used to address you?"

The incredibly direct question forced Lita to look up through her lashes, meeting his gaze unavoidably. There wasn't a single trace of the deadpan Head of IT left in his eyes right now. There was only the blistering heat and feral dominance of a lion king who had successfully cornered his prey.

"Y-You were just... acting, saying that to make him lose face, right?" she challenged, desperately trying to scrape together some bravery, though her sweet voice trembled. "I know exactly what you were doing. You were just getting back at Krit."

"I never fake things like this, Lalita."

Bhakin closed the distance by another fraction, until the bridge of his sharp nose brushed agonizingly close against the soft skin of her cheek. Lita held her breath, her body going as stiff as a frozen statue.

"I already told you. I'm here to update our status."

His deep voice whispered intimately against her slightly parted, plump lips.

"And in my system... once you've successfully logged in to a new status, there is no cancel button. You can never revert back to just being an acquaintance ever again."

Lita's heart pounded so loudly it rang in her ears. The chaotic mix of agitation, confusion, and desperate anticipation that had been swirling in her chest all evening had finally received a crystal-clear answer. It struck her so intensely and so suddenly that she had absolutely zero defense against it.

He wasn't just acting. He was dead serious!

And before the seductive PR queen's conscious mind could even begin to process a reply, the deeply cut lips of the stoic lion king crashed down onto hers. He stamped his official status update over her plump lips with a firm, demanding kiss, completely severing all her escape routes and seizing absolute control of her heart's system once and for all.