chapter 26: Her Workplace

It was morning already. The heart to heart talk between Blaze and Diva made their connection stronger than before.
"Blaze, did you ever visit Diva's office before?" Emerald suddenly asked in the dining hall.
"No," Blaze replied casually, although inside he was dreading to get out of there, well aware where the situation was leading to.
"Then, you should visit it today. Her colleagues should get to know you as well," Emerald suggested, while Diva eyed the two of them, knowing her opinion wouldn't matter to any of them. Even so, Diva would love it if Blaze went to her workplace.
"I'm not very sociable," Blaze made up an excuse which was partially true.
"It's a great opportunity to strengthen that," Emerald encouraged.
"As much as I would love to, I'm afraid my schedule is packed today. I don't think I will have any free time," Blaze lied straight through his teeth. The truth was, he didn't have any workload that day.
Diva quirked an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Uh, I see." Emerald didn't force him anymore.
Just then Blaze's cell phone, which was on the table, chimed and the screen lit with a message from Atlas, which read, 'Today's schedule: No meeting. Only a few documents will need your signature.'
A grin evolved on Diva's face as she took a peek of the message, and announced happily, "Blaze has no meeting today. He has a free schedule."
"That's great. You should totally go to Diva's office today then," Emerald added.
Atlas, you're very diligent in your work but screw you for getting me into this mess, Blaze cursed Atlas in his mind while faking a smile at the two of them.
Therefore, after their breakfast, Blaze and Diva set out for Diva's workplace, the office of Rainbow Magazine, where she worked as the editor-in-chief.
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The whole car ride was filled with Diva's banter like always, and Blaze just concentrated on driving, eventually saying a word or two in response to her questions.
When Blaze parked his car in the parking lot of Diva's office building, he suddenly started getting cold feet for some reason.
What am I even supposed to do here? It's so weird to be here, he thought. He felt it was weird to visit her office. It was not like he had any work here, neither was he interested in her professional life. He couldn't understand what he was supposed to say to anyone if they talked to him. Was he supposed to say, 'Hey, I'm Diva's husband. Nice to meet you.'?
"Blaze? Blaze!" Diva's calls brought him out of his bubble of thoughts as she knocked on his side of the windshield. "Do you plan to stay there forever? Come out," she urged.
Blaze exasperated a sigh and unfastened his seatbelt, before getting out of the car, and locked the doors. His eyes roamed around the dark parking lot, noticing a few people staring at him. He averted his gaze back to Diva, who flashed him a bright smile and took a hold of his arm before dragging him to the inside.
As they got in the small elevator, most of the people were unknown. So Diva scooted closer to Blaze, who was standing in the furthest corner. He was startled as her back collided with his chest.
From childhood, Blaze hated proximity with people. So he, most of the time, kept everyone away at an arm's length. Since it was Diva, he didn't feel that uncomfortable, but he just had to say something. So he said, "You're cornering me."
"Bear with it for a while. You don't want me bumping into some other guy's chest, do you?" Diva whispered to him.
Blaze just nodded. He wondered how long it has been since he got in a public elevator, crowded with people. Now that he was successful, he didn't have to bear that trouble of pushing his way through the elevator.
Finally, Diva and Blaze reached their destination, which was Diva's office floor, and got down. The receptionist gawked at the couple as they walked past her. One by one, most of the people in the area noticed them and stared at them. Blaze was used to the spotlight by now, even so, it irritated him.
On their way to Diva's cabin, she was stopped by Lina on the way. "I thought you weren't coming today," Lina said.
Diva sighed. "Grandma's order. Oh, by the way, this is Blaze Hudson, my husband. And this is Lina Stephens, my best friend," she gushed, grinning gleefully.
Lina's eyes went to the person standing behind Diva, a celebrity icon that she has always seen on the news. She would be lying if she said she wasn't mesmerized. Surprised, she stumbled a step back and stretched out her hand for a formal handshake, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hudson."
"Same here, Ms. Stephens." He shook his hand with her.
"What's with all these formalities? Blaze, my best friend is your best friend. Who calls their best friend by their last name?" Diva furrowed her eyebrows between the two.
"People don't just become friends at the first meeting," Blaze objected, retreating his hand back to his pocket.
"They do. I and Lina became besties on our first day at kindergarten," Diva told him.
"Well, I'm not you, nor did I meet your friend in kindergarten." Blaze rolled his eyes and strolled into the cabin next to him, which belonged to Diva.
After he went inside, Diva turned to Lina with her head down and apologized, "Sorry. He's just like that."
Lina waved her hand dismissively and said, "It's okay. I didn't mind. You're an idiot for trying to make us friends at our first meeting. Try putting yourself in his shoes, sometimes. Everything takes time." Lina bumped her fist on Diva's head playfully and flashed her an encouraging smile.
Diva smiled back at Lina. She opened her mouth to say something more but was cut off by someone grabbing her shoulder.
"Diva, why is your husband here today?" asked a colleague of Diva.
"Eh? You know he's my husband? I didn't introduce him to y'all yet," Diva let out, fully dumbstruck. The disadvantage of announcing one's wedding telecasted worldwide was one missing the surprised, shocked reactions from people when they see her husband in the flesh for the first time.
"Duh, everyone knows that," another colleague chimed in.
"I'm really mad that you never told me you were dating Blaze Hudson this whole time," whined yet another female colleague.
Many of them bombarded her with questions.
Diva was surprised at their enthusiasm. She never really talked to them much before, neither did most of them bother replying to her greetings, or did they ask her about her wedding when she came to the office as a married woman for the first time.
Plus, what was a person supposed to do when her husband was extremely rich and practically a celebrity? The obvious answer was to brag about it.
"Of course, I couldn't just tell you guys about him, you know. I only told the people who were close to me. Right, Lina?" Diva looked for Lina who was cast aside.
"Yes, of course," she replied, hiding a frown that was threatening to show on her face, and sauntered away from the spot.
"Also, Blaze might be shy, but he's very romantic and fulfills my every wish. He's just perfect. If I told you, wouldn't you get jealous?" Diva bragged. She could see the frown on her female colleagues. Even though Diva was very outgoing, she didn't like her female colleagues since most of them were very stuck-up and always looked down on Diva for not having a degree in literature yet being the chief editor.
As Diva continued to show-off, she heard someone clear his throat but she brushed it off. "As I was saying, Blaze is��"
"Diva," someone called out from behind her. Diva froze and turned her head only to see Blaze shooting daggers at her. She let out a nervous chuckle. Blaze put on a fake smile and grabbed Diva's hand, before saying, "If you don't mind, I'll be borrowing her," with that, he took her inside her cabin.
Closing the door, Blaze glared at her. "Just what were you saying?" he questioned, sitting in Diva's office chair.
"Hey, that's my chair," Diva objected, and Blaze gave her a 'so-what' look. She pursed her lips and said, "I was just trying to show off a little, you know. Everyone does that. I'm sure you feel like bragging as well since I'm so beautiful and all."
When she saw him raising an eyebrow, she breathed out, "But it's a shame you don't talk much, so you don't brag."
"What is the password of your computer?" Blaze asked, ignoring her explanation.
"Why should I tell you?" Diva clicked her tongue at him playfully.
"Suit yourself," Blaze told her.
Diva raised her eyebrows in suspicion as she saw him tinkering with her computer. "What are you doing on my computer?" She went to stand beside him only to find that he had already unlocked her computer. "How did you do that?"
"Who do you think I am?" Blaze smirked and opened his Gmail account. "Now, since I don't have anything else to do, I'm going to work on your computer."
"Where am I supposed to work?" Diva pouted.
"How should I know? It wasn't my decision to come here." He rolled his eyes.
Diva heaved a sigh and turned off the PowerPoint of the computer, earning a groan from Blaze. "Since you're already here, you might as well as take a tour of the whole office."
"So that you can show off in front of your colleagues?" he retorted.
"No. The main purpose of today is to show you my workplace."
Diva pulled him up by his arm. She locked her hands with his and walked around her own cabin, telling him stories behind everything, sharing how she decorated her workplace. Later on, she took him on a tour of the office floor.
All the while she blabbered, Blaze couldn't help but wonder why he was not annoyed with her as much as he used to be. She was the same annoying chatterbox. Where was the change? Why didn't he have the urge to tape her mouth each time she talked anymore?