This is for @swingerden Thanks for reading and voting. IDK if that's your cat in your pfp but he/she looks super cute (fellow cat fan/worshipper XD)

"Why would you do that?" I asked, my anger barely concealed.

He looked at me impassively, his eyes glittering in amusement.

I had spent the entire Saturday seething about how he tricked me and he didn't even care.

Well, two could play the game.

If he wasn't going to answer me, well I wouldn't bother to ask him.

I organised the papers in a neat pile and rested my arms on the table. I could easily do this for an hour. He definitely didn't expect that, from the way he was looking at me so quizzically.

Finally, a win for me. I hid my small smirk as I looked everywhere but him. I knew he liked it when I looked into his eyes, especially from the way he was staring at me so brazenly.

At least twenty minutes had passed before he slightly started to cave in as he gestured for pen and paper.

"Are you going to answer my previous question?" I asked.

He shook his head as if to say no.

"Well, then no".

Silence again. There was a perceptible change in his mood. His eyes turned cloudy and dark, promising something wicked. I snorted quietly. He was all talk, no action.

As fast as he became angry, his mood switched to something else. Something almost - What was he doing?!

Underneath the table, I felt his legs nudge mine and my breath hitched. I was about to tuck my chair out further to avoid him when I felt his legs encircle mine and hold me there snugly.

"What -"

My voice faded out as he squeezed his legs slightly. I wished so badly, that I wore trousers and not a pencil skirt. My bare skin was on his as my skirt hiked up a bit when I sat, and despite his thin layer of clothing, I could feel the heat emanating from his leg.

I felt the blood rush to my face as I looked at him in shock.

"Got you", he whispered, his voice silky and low. That bastard, he knew how alluring his eyes were. Once you looked, there was no going back. One glance and my resolve crumbled. As much as I wanted to tear my eyes away, I couldn't.

Technically, you have a boyfriend. How's Karl going to feel about this?

Fuck Karl. He didn't hold a candle to the masterpiece in front of me.

I remembered a teacher giving a lecture on the Golden Ratio and how none had achieved the perfect ratio of beauty but the man in front of me begged to differ. Every feature on his face was perfectly aligned, symmetrical even in a way no man's face should be.

It just didn't make sense. Why, oh, why was I so drawn to him? The magnetism was off the charts and it seemed the closer I got, the harder it was to fight the attraction.

His leg leisurely rested on mine, discreetly, such that anyone watching the footage would not notice. There was a small tug on his lips as he watched me, almost with reverence, longing and melancholy.

It was electric, there was no other way to describe it. And it then hit me, like a ton of bricks, that I might actually lov- no like this man. As strange and unfamiliar the attraction was, it was an attraction. And as a plethora of questions like why, how and when started to flow through my mind, I also realised the conclusion I made earlier. Holston's had a strong grip on him and was never going to let him go. Could I like someone who would never be a free man?

I could tell this was no longer one-sided but was he the kind of person I could show to my family and friends?

Hi Mum, Dad. This is Malik. Yes, we met at work. No, he wasn't a colleague of mine, he was my patient. Also, I think they might have done experiments on him and he might be mentally unstable.

No. It wasn't feasible. It wasn't even realistic. I stared back at him sadly and untangled my legs from his, standing abruptly.

"Thanks-", I cleared my throat. "I'll see you at the next session".

I walked out heading for the bathroom, feeling gloomy. As much as I had deluded myself before, I liked this man with something fierce. I was attracted to him like nothing I had ever felt before. I noticed every little detail about him and I was driven to do all this investigating, because, in the end, it concerned him.

I really was an idiot.

As I stumbled to the bathroom, a hand reached out to stop me.

"Arya, are you okay?"

I looked up to see the kind eyes of Dr Patel. He really must be bi-polar, being nice to me one minute and being suspicious the next.

I cleared my throat. "Yes, I am. Thanks for asking".

"Oh, do you mind if I talk to you about something?"

I nodded yes, simply because I didn't have a choice anyway and followed him. His hair was dishevelled from stress most likely and there were worry lines etched into his otherwise youthful face.

"I am going to be straightforward here. You cannot come into work on Wednesday".

That was odd, I only did three days a week. And why particularly Wednesday?

"Oh, is something happening?" I asked intrigued. "Are other members of staff getting a break too?"

"No", he sighed. "Just you".

Alarm bells rang in my head. Did I do something wrong?

Yeah, you just admitted to having feelings for a patient.

Did they know somehow? I felt panicked because I could get fired for that. That also meant a horrible taint on my record for all future employment.

"No, don't worry", he said, cutting me off. "Nothing bad is happening".

"So, why am I, exclusively getting a day free?"

"It's complicated".

"Dr Patel, pardon my rudeness, but uncomplicate it then. I still feel as though I have done something wrong".

I have done something wrong, but he doesn't need to know that, does he?

"I am not going to tell you any more than this, so do not question me further, okay?" He waited for my nod, then continued. "A very powerful guest is coming on Wednesday. He should be coming after your shift but I have to be careful. Not when you might be Mal- The point is, it won't be safe. Call in sick on the day and I'll make sure that you still get your pay and an extra sick day. Also, do not tell anyone. Understand?"

I nodded mutely, feeling slightly overwhelmed by his intensity.

"Good", he said, patting my shoulder. "Off you go then".

Bathroom forgotten, I decided to head home instead and mull over what I had been told.

Dr Patel seemed an easy-going man most of the time. What had gotten him so riled up? And why was he particularly worried about me? If he was scared about me as a woman, why hadn't he given other female staff a break? And the guest wasn't even coming in my shift anyway.

I was going to take his advice anyway as I had never seen him so worried, especially about me.

But you won't see Malik.

Although that was true, I was kind of happy about that. It gave me relief from the constant battering to my emotions I got every time I saw him. And it would give me time to sort through my feelings.

I couldn't deny the strong force of attraction between us. But I couldn't say really that I wasn't going to walk away from this hurt. My mum had always said I was blunt to the point of being rude. A pessimist. And I agreed with her. There was no point deluding yourself by saying the cup was half full. It can only become empty at the end of the day.

Maybe I should resign before it gets too late.

I opened my laptop to the old resignation letter I wrote which I managed to recover and decided to edit it to match the current times. As I went to save it, I saw another document named contract which clearly I forgot about. I scanned over the document quickly trying to find the clause that would allow me to resign. Right at the bottom of the page, it told me that I needed to give at least a week's notice and I would have to give suitable reasons why. I also needed to come in in-person to hand in my resignation.

I couldn't come in this Wednesday so Thursday then. Forget what other people think. It felt like I was constantly on a rollercoaster of emotions, wanting to resign but needing to stay. The way I felt so conflicted troubled me the most as I am normally a very decisive person which further signified why I needed out. Every human was selfish at their core. I needed to protect myself before it I get hurt no matter how much I hurt now.

The doorbell rang, breaking my reverie.

I opened the door to see Karl beaming at me as he held a dozen of flowers in his hands.

ARGHHH

I died a little bit writing this.

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