Zach’s mind was in disarray. He couldn’t believe that his father had drawn the conclusion that he and Darien could be dating. Darien didn’t like him like that. The question was also putting Darien in an awkward position as a closeted gay. The billionaire looked extremely uncomfortable right now. He needed to correct his father’s assumption as quickly as possible. “We’re just friends,” he told him. “He’s not my type anyway.” That wasn’t quite the truth there. Darien was very much his type with his intelligence, wit and increasing kindness. He noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Darien looked disappointed. He didn’t know why. They weren’t supposed to be each other’s types. “I see,” his father said. “Are you going to introduce him properly now? I didn’t ask much last night as I wasn’t in the mood.” “This is my friend. He also works at Harper Publishing and was passing by at the right time,” Zach informed him. There was no way his f

The two of them left for London the following afternoon. Zach looked back at his family home as Darien drove around the corner. It had been nice to spend time with his parents again although he wished he hadn’t been so fraught with worry for half the time. Darien had been declared his mother’s favourite out of his friends. She had been horrified to find that Darien had been enlisted by him to clean the house and had apologised profusely. She had even packed snacks for their journey back to London despite her condition. Zach was looking forward to the chocolate cake. When he had thought about going back to his hometown to visit his parents during his internship he had never imagined it would be with a billionaire. Darien had enjoyed his stay. He had given Darien a brief tour of the town’s attractions in the morning. The amount of money Darien had spent in the gift shops was impressive. The billionaire seemed to want to build a collection of seaside the

Darien was too surprised by the declaration to reply immediately. They had just decided they were friends after three weeks and now after another week, Zach thought they were best friends. Was this what being stuck in the friendzone was? He had heard the phrase before and had never thought he could ever apply to him given his lack of interest in romantic relationships. Now he knew what it felt like. It was flattering to know that Zach really had warmed up to him which was a miracle given what had happened when they first met, but he wanted to be more than his best friend. He became aware that Zach was looking at him with his big eyes. The intern clearly wanted a response to his declaration. “I thought we were just friends last week,” he said casually and licked his ice cream before it could drip on his hand. “I know I know I said that, I just feel like we’re closer than that. You just served me ice cream and you’re letting me use your

The billionaire led him inside the patisserie. Zach looked around in wonderment. He didn’t know what it looked like on a normal day but tonight it looked impressively horror themed. The walls were covered in black drapes and the only lighting was provided by artificial candles lit up in varying shades of red. The staff were also dressed up for the occasion and Zach felt at home already. He hadn’t even eaten anything chocolate yet. “I’ll find a table before it gets too busy,” Darien said. “I think we know each other well enough for you to pick something on my behalf.” The queue for the counter was already growing at a rapid pace so Zach hurriedly joined it. He looked at the special menu on the wall so he would save time when it was his turn to be served. The menu was full of themed cakes, chocolates and light refreshments. He chose for himself quickly and took more time with Darien’s potential order. Darien was much more open to sweet treats now, but h

Darien didn’t sleep well either, but for a very different reason. Dressing up for a special event had brought back memories of the masked ball again and he was being bothered by something.Zach looked very alluring in his outfit with his make-up. Darien had stared at his lips a lot and the more he had stared, the more familiar they looked.He had quickly brushed off the resemblance between his dancing partner at the masked ball and Zach before as the intern hadn’t shown any signs of recognition and he wasn’t the type of person to break off communication over a rushed exit. Zach had forgiven him almost immediately over his taunts about Austin which suggested he didn’t hold grudges against people.It couldn’t really be him, it didn’t match psychologically. There was just a strong resemblance between him and the masked person. He was overthinking everything.He frowned. He had remembered something important. Zach had gone