Chapter 2

The office burst into whispers.

“No way! Is that who I think it is?”

“It can’t be…”

“It is! I saw him at the company’s annual party last year!”

“Why is the CEO talking to our newest recruit…?”

Everyone stared at Cyrrus, who continued to smile beatifically as he walked over to Aria’s table. “You didn’t call or text, so I was a little worried. Is everything okay?”

“Uhh…” Aria looked at Phoebe uncertainly. Was this normal? What happened to the three-day rule?

Phoebe just seemed shell-shocked. She shook her head and hands violently, unable to form a single word.

Meanwhile, Cyrrus was completely oblivious to the effect he had on everyone else in the room. “I just remembered that I didn’t get your number after I gave you mine. Since I didn’t know how else to contact you, I thought I’d just drop by.”

Was that right? Aria racked her brains. It was true that she had forgotten to give him her number, and since she didn’t call or text him after that, he had no way of getting it. That was her mistake. For the blind date, Jesse and Phoebe had arranged the time and location, so they had no contact before that either. And Cyrrus knew that she was Phoebe’s colleague, so it made sense for him to seek her out here, short of intercepting her at home before work.

Everything worked out on paper. So why did she still feel like something was off? And everyone else’s reactions only strengthened her suspicions.

It must be obvious to everyone but her. Aria realized she just lacked the common sense to put her finger down on it, and she inwardly clicked her tongue in frustration.

“Cy— I mean, Mr. Lied!” Phoebe squeaked. “We, uh, we’re still in the middle of working hours, so… maybe you could, you know, have this conversation later…”

Everyone else in the office looked at Phoebe with a newfound respect. It took guts to say that to the CEO; usually, it was the bosses’ hard-earned right to be able to use that line.

Aria wasn’t particularly impressed, since she knew that Phoebe and Cyrrus were acquainted outside of work, but she was grateful. Thanks to Phoebe, she figured out why everyone was behaving so strangely, and why she felt something was off about this situation.

It was because they were at work. As the CEO, Cyrrus shouldn’t be discussing his dating life during work hours. It made for a bad example.

“Oh, of course. Pardon me.” Cyrrus smiled apologetically while Aria nodded to herself. It was good grace to apologize when he made a mistake, even if he was their boss’ boss’ boss. “Shall we continue this during lunch, Aria? You can come to my office.”

“Sure.” Aria agreed without a moment’s hesitation. It was always a good practice to scope out the target’s usual haunts, and as a working man, Cyrrus would naturally spend most of his day in his office. She was thinking of a way to get in, and now she wouldn’t have to break in at night. “I’ll see you at twelve?”

“I’ll be waiting.” Cyrrus beamed at her and gave everyone else a cordial wave. “Sorry for the disturbance, everyone. Keep up the good work.”

Phoebe managed to return the wave weakly, while the manager stood at attention until Cyrrus walked past the door. Everyone else in the department remained frozen for a good couple of minutes after.

Aria went back to her documents. She was already a little behind on her tasks, and now she wouldn’t be able to catch up over lunchtime, so she thought she should get as much work done as she could before twelve. 

Two and a half minutes later, once they heard the ding of the elevator and the whirr of the doors closing, the entire HR department exploded.

“What the fuck was that?!”

“Is Strong the CEO’s girlfriend?! Is that how she got into the company despite that terrible interview? I was on the panel, and I still don’t understand how she passed!”

“No, didn’t you hear? He doesn’t even have her number! They barely know each other, so there’s no way he pulled any strings for her.”

“So they just started dating?”

“Umm…” someone piped up weakly. “Office romances are forbidden according to company policy. Especially relationships between a boss and their subordinate…”

A brief silence fell upon the HR department. 

Aria instinctively counted again. Five seconds later—

“So, they’re having lunch together. Any guesses about what’s on the menu?”

“Even I’ve never been to the CEO’s office before…” the manager said wistfully.

Phoebe buried her face in her hands.

*

At twelve o’clock sharp, Aria stacked her documents neatly and put them aside. Then, as everyone in the department watched, she stood up, went to the lobby, and took the elevator up to the CEO’s office.

Aria heaved a quiet sigh of relief when the doors closed, cutting off everyone’s stares. She was used to hiding in the shadows or standing like a statue behind Madam Dahlia, blending into the background. All that attention made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

She was still rubbing her neck when the elevator reached the top floor. 

“Miss Strong, right?” A neatly-dressed secretary stood at the door, bowing politely as she gestured Aria onward. “This way, please.”

Aria appraised the secretary. She was probably in her late twenties to early thirties, professionally yet stylishly dressed. Her arms were too skinny to wield any decent weapons, and her heels were way too high for her to move with any efficiency. They were buckled, too, so it wasn’t like she could just kick them off. 

This woman was no threat. Aria nodded in satisfaction.

There were a few other secretaries working outside the CEO’s office too, including a frazzled man in a suit. Strangely, Aria did not see any guards. 

Was it because there was only one point of entry, the elevator? Aria subtly took note of the cameras — their placement, number. There was an emergency staircase too, but it was partially blocked by a shelf.

Hmm. It seemed that this CEO was surprisingly blase about his safety. All the better for her.

“Mr. Lied, Miss Strong is here to see you.”

The secretary knocked on the sleek glass (reinforced but not bulletproof, thought Aria) door. There was a brief pause in the general hum of activity around the office floor, but it resumed without any whispers or stares.

The people working the CEO’s office seemed to be more professional than those gossipmongers at the HR department, even if they didn’t look all that useful in a fight.

“Come in.”

The secretary opened the door and stepped aside respectfully, motioning for Aria to go in. Which she did, though not without bracing herself for an attack.

“Glad you could make it, Aria.” Cyrrus was sitting at his desk, looking through some reports, but he promptly put his work aside and stood up once she came in. 

“Nice office.” Aria looked around, taking in the classy and warm wooden decor. It wasn’t particularly opulent, but somehow she expected the depressing black-and-white minimalist style preferred by self-professed rich guys these days. There was even a picture of himself as a child, sitting in the grass and grinning at the camera.

Hmm. This was better.

“You like it?” Cyrrus was visibly pleased with himself. “I picked out most of the furniture myself.”

He hadn’t changed much since he was a kid, huh? Aria looked at him for a moment before saying, “So, what’s for lunch?”

His smile faltered, and he grimaced. “Unfortunately, it seems I have more work than I expected, so we won’t be able to go anywhere far. I asked my assistant to pack us some lunch boxes. I hope you don’t mind.”

Aria shrugged. “Work comes first, and food is food. If we can finish up here sooner, I can get back to some of my tasks too.”

The learning curve was harsher than she expected. Aria got a headache just thinking about all those KPIs.

Chasing those thoughts out of her mind, she noticed that Cyrrus was staring at her. Aria frowned instinctively. “Is something the matter?”

“No, not at all.” There was a twinkle in Cyrrus’ eye that Aria couldn’t quite read. “I was just thinking that you’re really interesting, Aria.”

Aria raised an eyebrow. “Is that a good thing?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Cyrrus admitted as he handed her a lunchbox. “But to be frank, I’m intrigued. That’s why I’d like to get to know you better.”

Aria opened it and saw a perfectly grilled lobster tail on a bed of garlic rice. She swallowed when she caught a whiff of the lemon butter. 

Phoebe was right about the seafood, at least. 

“Sorry you have to make do. After I asked you out for lunch, too.” Cyrrus sounded apologetic. “To make it up to you, why don’t we have dinner tonight as well?

“I’ll be busy for a while after this, so I was hoping we could spend some time together before I get swamped.”

He was very forward and modest for someone in such high demand. Aria took a bite of the lobster, which was still steaming hot, and savored it before replying.

“Sure. Where do you want to meet for dinner?”

“It’s your treat this time, right? Honestly, I’m curious about the instant ramen you mentioned.” Watching Cyrrus eat his lunchbox, Aria could almost imagine they were in fact at a fancy seaside restaurant. After clearing his mouth, he said, 

“In that case, I was thinking I could go over to your place tonight. You could make me some of that ramen.”

Aria almost spat out her lobster.

Her apartment was packed to the gills with weapons!