Chapter 14: Facing the Music

Sandra, you must be strong.

I repeated to myself desperately as I watched him approach me. My body slumped in defeat as my determination started to falter with his every step. From the night I met Arthur, I already knew that there was something special about him. He had this gentleness that made her heart reach out. He listened and spoke to me as if the things I said mattered -- like I mattered. Every movement he did is loving, understanding, and compassionate.

I bit my lower lip, trying to suppress the grin on my face. How could I ever resist that handsome face? He looked so handsome tonight as well. He wore a midnight blue suit with a thin green windowpane pattern. His inner shirt is white, with lavender stripes running up it. The tie is deep purple that is solid and sleek. It perfectly matched the complexion of his skin well along with his ocean-like eyes. I couldn’t help but sigh dreamily. To be honest, all it really took was one look and I’m already his.

I started to realize that I was staring at him for too long and so I quickly turned away, masking the embarrassed expression that took over my face.

“Hey there, beautiful.” He greeted as he sat down in front of me. I slowly turned to look at him to see a genuine grin spread across his face, turning it from handsome to divine. At that moment I felt my body flush warm. I’ve never liked someone this much before. I felt like a schoolgirl that had her first crush. This ‘thing’ between us just felt so new, exciting and innocent.

“Hi.” I respond timidly. I didn’t know what to say anymore. I was so determined to reject Arthur a while ago. I can’t believe that my resolution was thrown out of the window the moment he walked through that door.

“So, what do you want to order? I’ll pay.” He furrowed his brows as he scanned the menu. My hand was about to reach for it as well but I stopped midway. My hand lightly fell on the menu with a soft thud, making him glance at me.

I opened and closed my mouth to speak but no words came out. I pursed my lips into a thin line. Sandra, just do it!

“I…” I trailed off. Just say that you’re going to reject him. It’s not that hard.

He tilted his head in confusion. “What?”

“I…” I took a deep breath. I can do this. “I like you too.” My voice was barely even a whisper, my cheeks flooding with the color of pure rose. My eyes widened in surprise when I realized what I’ve just said. I felt my heart sink as everything remained silent, the only sounds being the conversations of other people in the restaurant.

Arthur just stared at me in shock, making me feel more uncomfortable as regret started to set in. I covered my face with both hands in embarrassment, unable to handle my own stupidity anymore. Did I misread his actions?

“I’m so sorry.” I mumbled. I want to walk out of the restaurant but I can’t seem to move my legs. I wanted to cry so bad because I feel so ashamed. It was then that I felt someone caress my arms to soothe me. I removed my hand from my face slowly to see who it was only to find out it was Arthur. His look softened when we held each other’s gaze.

“Don’t be sorry.” He murmured as he held both my hands. They were very warm and comforting. “I like you, Sandra.” He announced, looking seriously into my eyes. Oh my God! He likes me too. Panic started rising in my chest as my heart beat erratically, I couldn’t think straight. My hands started sweating so I pulled my hand away.

“What…” I muttered as I stared at him trying to see if there were any signs of lying in his face. Did I hear it right? Am I just dreaming? Does he really like me? All these thoughts came flooding all at once when I saw no signs of deception in him.

“I really like you, Sandra.” He said firmly, taking my hand to kiss it gently. “I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while now but I hadn’t had the courage to do so.” He added sincerely, making my heart well up at his words.

“I…” I trailed off not knowing what to say. I opened and closed my mouth as if trying to tell him something but no words came out. I zoned out as my mind kept repeating his sentence as if it was a broken vinyl record. What should I do now? What happens to us? These thoughts popped out of nowhere, making me feel anxious.

“Would you like to be in a relationship with me?” He asked all of a sudden, making me snap my head back to reality. My eyes grew wide in surprise. Did he just say what I thought he said?

“Come again?” I retorted, just wanting to be sure of what he said. I feel like I’m riding a roller coaster as my emotions shift so quickly. Earlier I was so sure of rejecting him then I blurted out that I like him then he confessed that he liked me too. “I’m sorry, I was just overwhelmed.” I added apologetically, looking down at the dinner table.

“I said, will you be my girl.” He replied confidently, smiling handsomely. My heart felt like it was gonna burst into a million pieces. How can I resist this charming man?

“Yes.” I nodded in response to his answer. Making him beam with happiness. He cupped my face to his hand and gently pulled me towards him. I closed my eyes waiting for his warm lips to touch into mine. I can feel him smiling as he kissed me sweetly. I managed to pull away gently from him as I breathed in heavily. His kisses always do wonderful things to me.

“You’re mine now.” He whispered softly in my ear and placed one last kiss on my forehead, making the butterflies in my stomach grow wild.

“Ditto.” I grinned at him. I still can’t believe that Arthur, who is my boss and one of the most eligible bachelors in town, is now my boyfriend. It was then that it only dawned on me that he’s still my boss. “Wait, you’re my boss and I’m your employee. Isn’t that unprofessional?” I asked him, making my heart sink again. This was one of the main reasons why I wanted to reject him in the first place. I can’t believe I forgot about that most important thing.

“Hmm…” His eyes turned serious as he trailed off. He looked deep in thought. “Let’s just keep it a secret for now.” He said, making me frown in return. Upon seeing my expression, he held my hand. “It’s only for a while that we had to keep it private, only until I thought of a way to get through this.” He added quite sadly. I know he also doesn’t want to hide our relationship but I still can’t help but feel quite disappointed that we had to keep our relationship hidden for a while.

“It’s okay, I understand.” I gently squeezed his hand to show that it’s fine with me. I gave him a small smile in which he also returned. “We need to set some rules in order for us to not get caught by anyone.” I told him seriously to which he just looked at me in confusion.

“What?” He asked, still puzzled at my idea.

“For example, no sneaking and making out in the office.” I shrugged my shoulders as if it wasn’t a big deal. He laughed out loud, drawing other people’s attention to us. I bowed apologetically to some of them and turned back to Arthur and shushed him.

“I’m sorry, it’s just way too funny for you to be thinking about that. Of course, I know that is forbidden, this isn’t Grey’s Anatomy. He said in between chuckles. “But for your sake, I’ll take note of that.” He winked, making my face turn crimson red. I guess that was such a bad example. Who in their right mind would make out in the office, right?

“Anyway, that’s just an example so you have an idea.” I uttered, trying to move on from the topic. “Do you have any good ideas for our ground rules?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at him as if to provoke him to see if he can do better at providing examples.

“Well, since you asked for it, let me tell you some I had in mind.” He smirked as if he was ready to take on my challenge. I just laughed at his remark.

This is going to be a long night.