1

"No. Not anymore. We will talk but not here." He tells her.

"Excuse you? We have to clear the misunderstanding between us now and here. You can't do this and..." Mr Smith cuts her off but in not a rude way

"It's not that. I want us to talk but not in this manner. I mean we are both not in the very best mood now so it won't work out well for us. When we are both in a good state of mind, we will speak. For now go back to your work. We will talk over dinner. I will pick you." He tells her. The way he spoke to her melted her heart replacing the anger she felt earlier.

He was now acting like the man she liked. "Okay." She replied to him. Just as she made an attempt to leave, he stopped her. "Victoria," he held her by her wrist making her feel tingles all over her body.

"Yes." She answered him.

"I kissed you not because I thought you were easy to but I did it because I wanted to and I did it again to prove that to you." He tells her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat before licking her dry lips. Her lips parted slightly as their eyes locked, none attempting to take their eyes off the other.

"We will talk over dinner and make things right." He tells her and she nodded her head, her eyes still boring him. His eyes flicker slightly to her lips and he licks his lips. He was tempted to but he didn't want to because it was working hours as she had been in his office for too long.

"You can go now." He tells her to take his eyes off her lips.

"Okay." She gulped before leaving. She almost lost her balance and fell in the process. Once she was out of the office, she placed her hands on her chest, calming her raging heart.

Clara's eyebrows creased in confusion once she saw Victoria come out of Mr Smith's office looking hazy. She scrutinized Victoria and realised that her lipstick was smeared. She hadn't realised that Victoria was still in Mr Smith's room. She wondered what could have happened and her curiosity got the best of her.

"You have been in that room for how long? Since Rebecca?" Clara asked as her brows raised in a questioning manner.

Victoria's eyes widened in shock once she realised that Clara was just opposite Mr Smith's office. She had totally forgotten about Clara and now she was left in an awkward position. She gulped as she wiped her hands that were sweaty on her skirt.

She thought of what she could say to Clara but she had not realised that her lips were smeared.

"Yes..yes." Victoria stuttered, suddenly feeling very cautious as Clara gave him a wary look.

"Really? Did Mr Smith punish you again?" She asked.

Victoria cleared her throat as she feigned cough. "No. Not at all. We were...he asked me to... He and I were working on something." She decided to go with the second lie that came to her mind.

"Hmm." Clara nodded her head as she didn't believe what Victoria was telling her. She felt something else happened and she was curious to know what it was.

"What is it? You sound like you don't believe me." Victoria tells her, noting the obvious.

"That is because I do not. Tell me what happened Victoria. Did Mr Smith treat you badly?" Clara asked inquisitively and with a hint of concern laced on her tone.

"No. Not at all." She told her.

Not wanting to pressure her into speaking when she didn't want to, Clara decided to let go. "Okay. Take care. Just know that I have your back when it gets too much, okay." Clara tells her and she smiles at her.

"Thanks Clara." Victoria tells her.

Just as Victoria attempted to leave, Clara stopped her. "Also, your lipstick is smeared." She tells her.

Victoria's eyes widened in shock when realization dawned on her. "Thank you." She said, hurriedly walking away to reapply her lipstick.

"He was indirectly talking about Toria. He kept talking of a woman who made his life fun and made him smile. Like could you believe it? He wants me Victoria but he is just too afraid to tell me. You should have seen how nervous he was; he even complimented me!" Elizabeth tells her friend how her date with Mr Smith had gone few days back.

"And how sure are you that you are the woman?" Victoria asked, hoping she didn't sound dismissive because her tone had sounded that way.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her. "Oh come on! Victoria. I know it and he gave hints. He kept asking me what I liked indirectly by asking me what ladies wanted and he couldn't even look me in the eyes." She defended.

"Okay dear. If you are happy, I am happy for you." Victoria tells her sincerely.

"Thanks so much Best friend. Yes! I just remembered. He also spoke about our kiss! That was enough to prove it." She tells her.

"Oh my goodness! You guys kissed?" Victoria's eyes widened in shock.

"How come, I didn't know?" She asked her as she folded her arms across her chest making Elizabeth laugh.

"You look so cute when you frown." Elizabeth tells her still laughing hard as she placed her hands on her stomach.

"You kissed him and I wasn't aware? Like what kind of kiss? French kiss or chaste kiss or what? Come on, tell me already!" Victor urged her, making her laugh harder.

"Be calm Tee. Gosh! You are hilarious right now with the way you are acting. It's nothing serious my dear. We kissed and that's it. We kissed and that was all. Nothing much, nothing less." She tells her.

"Really? Is that your excuse? How would you feel if I kissed someone and didn't tell you?" Victoria asked.

Elizabeth clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Are you for real? Oh my goodness! Did you kiss someone and I'm not aware of it Toria?" Elizabeth asked inquisitively as she made advances towards her friend.

"Well..it's not..." Victoria stuttered as she began to play with her fingers. She didn't want to let it slip as she didn't know what was going on but now she has and she had to tell her friend everything.

She sighed deeply. "Yes." She confessed.

"Oh my goodness! You literally kissed someone and I didn't know and then you attacked me for not saying? So now we are both keeping secrets from one another?" Elizabeth frowned.

"It's not like that Bee. It's just..." Elizabeth interjected.

"Of course it's not like that. So tell me every little detail. Who is he and what does he do? I do not want a little information out of the whole story or else this apartment won't be enough for us." Elizabeth warned.

"Okay. It's my boss and it's been kinda long, maybe a few weeks." She tells her, looking at her nails as she suddenly found something interesting to look at.

Elizabeth gasped and her eyes widened in shock. "Oh my goodness!" She swallowed the lump in her throat as she tried to comprehend all that she had just heard.

"You..." Elizabeth pointed at Victoria with her index finger. "You kissed your boss? Oh my goodness! Why wasn't I the first person to know?" Elizabeth asked, a hint of disappointment laced on her tone.

Victoria sighed. "It wasn't that I didn't want to tell you but it was complicated. It was crazy and... I didn't know how to take it. Imagine your boss kissed you and you kissed him back, grinded on him too. It was embarrassing and it took me days and now I'm not over it. Then he kissed me again today and now he wants us to meet tonight." She informed her friend.

"Wow! He kissed you not once but twice. Wow! This is like reading a romance novel where the boss falls in love with his employee." Elizabeth said.

"He also wants to see you today! To talk about what? Oh my goodness, does he like you?" She gasped.

"I do not know. That's what I cannot tell and it's baffling." Victoria tells her. She has not been feeling good since this morning and everything that might take place at the dinner date worried her. Before she had left the office, she had told him not to pick her up as she would find the location herself and he said he was fine with it.

Elizabeth hugged her friend. "Gosh, you kept this from me and I'm hurt but I believe you have a reason for your action. I cannot begin to think of the many reasons that might have made you not tell me but I understand you my love and I support you a lot. You have me and I have you. So worry not about anything because I will make sure to go as far as I can just to make you happy." Elizabeth tells her.

Victoria heaved a sigh of relief. Hearing all of this from her best friend was enough for her. "Thank you so much. I love you so much Elizabeth." She tells her friend.

"I love you too. So now let's get prepared for tonight." Elizabeth tells her to make Victoria heart clench. Elizabeth always supported her irrespective of the man but she has never done the same for her friend. A lone tear rolled down her cheek which did not go unnoticed by Elizabeth.

"What happened? Come on, tell me Victoria." Elizabeth urged her.

"It's nothing." Victoria shook her head.

"Really? You know I have your back. So tell me what it is that is bothering you." Elizabeth spoke.

Victor sniffled a little. "It's because you always have my back that is why I am crying. You love and take care of me like no other and it terrifies me in a good way. I'm always grateful I knew you and have your friendship. I wouldn't trade it for anything.".? Victor tells her.

"I wouldn't trade you for anything too even if you get on my nerves." Elizabeth said and they both chuckled.