He had hardly looked at her for the next two days. Instead of coming to her office and giving her a direct order, he sent his requests by email. This afternoon, she entered his office to bring the files he had asked her for, he kept his eyes on the screen as he said, "Put it on the desk. Next time just ask Maria to do it."

Maria Gonzales was her replacement and she was giving her proper training starting this week. Monday and Tuesday were fine. But since that day she had refused to have a late breakfast with him, he had been ignoring her, and having Maria around made everything feel more real. It made her realize that she only had another month left before she would leave Summers Entertainment for good.

Everyone in the office did not find anything odd going on between them, after all, they had never been close. Their relationship had always been strictly professional. With them agreeing previously that they would keep their relationship a secret with an exception of his family, in her head she knew that everyone was supposed to believe they did not like each other. Yet after the last time they had been together, she was not sure it was an act on his part. Finally, when the weekend came and he did not call nor did he ask her to come over or spend the weekend with him, she knew that it was over.

Friday night after work, Andin went to the Italian restaurant nearby the office. Damon had gone there and reserved a table for the two of them. Tanner had gone to San Francisco for work and would only be back on Tuesday thus both Andin and Damon always had dinner together. Andin crossed the street while holding her small purse against her side. There were a few tables outside and she spotted her friend almost immediately. "Dee!" She walked towards their table and then took a seat next to him so they both could watch the outdoor part of the restaurant and the pedestrians passing by. "Have you been waiting for long? I had to create minutes of meeting and send them to all attendees before I could head back."

"No worries, Andin Mia Bella, I have been enjoying the view." Damon wiggled his eyebrows towards a handsome brunette guy sitting behind her who looked like he had just walked out of a magazine.

"Dee! You have already gotten Tanner, remember?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Does not mean that I can no longer look and enjoy window shopping."

Andin shook her head exasperatedly and sighed. A waiter came to their side and took their order. She ordered pesto linguine and bruschetta while Damon went for risotto. They both ordered mushroom soup for an appetizer and a bottle of Chardonnay.

"How was your day, darling?"

She refrained herself from sighing again. Normally she would find a day like today to be quite average but with the silent treatment she had been receiving from Sebastian, the day felt longer than usual. "It was fine. Lots of meetings and call conferences." The waiter came back and poured her a glass of wine which she accepted gratefully. "How about you?"

"Boring as fuck, to be honest with you. I was trying to call Tanner but he was so tied up with work so I ended up doing some online shopping." He waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, I have been curious. Why have I not seen Mister Hottie coming out of your flat these days? Has the sex run out?"

"Maybe you could call Tanner now. He should be off work now," suggested Andin then took another sip of the wine.

Damon moved his forefinger left and right. "No. No. No. You can not change the subject or try to distract me, Missy! Tell me what happened. Did you two break up?"

"How could we?" She scoffed. "We have never started dating."

"Then what were those I saw happening for the last month? Sneaking around? A couple of one-night stands?" He leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "Please do not tell me you both were watching movies inside your flat because I know damn sure whatever you were watching would not make such noises."

Her cheeks heated. She had never realized that they had been noisy. Perhaps it was a good thing that whatever this was had ended. "It was just casual sex."

"Uh-huh. You are going to be as stupid as Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis in that Friends With Benefits movie, are you?" Damon rolled his eyes in utter disbelief.

Andin frowned. "What?"

"You know how you both are convinced that it was just pure sex and feelings will not get in the way. Let me tell you something, it will not work." He leaned forward, his hand captured hers on the table, and gave her a little squeeze. "How do you think Tanner and I ended up now? Married for life. Even though in the beginning we said that we only wanted to use each other for sex."

What Damon had said reminded her of what Sebastian had said the last time they had been together.

I do not get my feelings hurt when a gorgeous woman like you tells me she just wants to use me for sex. Although I have to admit, you are the first. It has never happened before. It has always been the other way around. Women usually want something from me. But not you.

"See," said Damon with a smile. "I know that look. You like him."

"I do not," she argued.

"Oh yes, you do. I can tell. And I bet he likes you too but is too dumb to realize it." Damon sighed. "As for you, you are just too afraid to admit it."

"I am going to say this once, I do not like—" Whatever she was going to say stuck in her throat as her eyes caught a figure moving closer towards them. It was Sebastian. She quickly grabbed her glass of wine and looked elsewhere.

If she thought that he would greet or at least acknowledge her, she was sadly mistaken for he simply walked without looking at her to the table two tables in front of hers and then sat. His back was on her. A quick hello would not have killed him. Unless she had made him so angry he did not want to be with her anymore. She gave him a final look, watching him as he gave his orders to the waiter and unfolded the newspaper he had been carrying. No doubt he was going to read the entertainment section and checked how well the new movie Summers Entertainment had launched today was being received by the public.

"Oh, dear," said Damon through a whistle. "Speak of the Sex God."

Ignoring her friend, she fixed her gaze on the mushroom soup that the waiter just placed on their table. "Do you know I just realized that I have not been watering my plants as much as I was supposed to?" Why did the thought of never being with him again make her want to cry even as it made her want to throw something directly at him? Preferably something big and heavy. "They died two weeks ago and I trashed them," she rambled. "I should probably buy some new ones. My balcony looks really empty without them. Oh, and I love those with little flowers too though I forgot what those are called." Had she done something? Other than not wanting to have lunch with him in public? "But on second thought, I think I will prefer lilies. They are very pretty and manageable." His newspaper rustled and something in her chest pinched. She supposed all she could do was put up a front and act as if last month had not happened. That was how she was going to face him. "I like roses too but I do not really like their thorns plus they are hard to maintain. Oriental lilies are the best. Though trumpet lilies are also pretty."

Damon stared at her, his eyes not blinking. "Darling, are you okay?"

"Yeah." She wished she had chosen a different restaurant. Perhaps somewhere closer to her place rather than her office. "Why?"

"You seem irrationally upset about your plants in the balcony that died."

Andin tore off a piece of her bruschetta and shoved it into her mouth. No, she was not irrationally upset about the dead plants. She was irrationally upset because the man sitting in front of her, flipping through the paper, had not talked to her since he had dumped her on the sidewalk by her building last Wednesday. Yeah, okay. So she had kind of made it plain that she only wanted sex, but he still should have called. He could have said hello this morning or at least looked directly into her eyes when he spoke to her. And for god's sake, he could simply pick up the phone and call her to give her orders instead of emailing her. Then there was this one thing where he had told her to ask Maria to drop files in his office instead of her doing it. Why had he done that? He did not have to go to that length.

"I was just trying to be nice. Now I do not have to worry about it anymore," he had said, and she guessed he was serious. She was irrationally angry because even though she was extremely aware of his presence, aware of the texture of his suit and the back of his dark head, she was not sure he even knew she existed.

The rustle of newspaper in front of her drew her attention back to reality. She took another sip of her wine, then finished off her mushroom soup as she ended her trail of thoughts.

Having sex with her boss had always been a bad idea. She had known that from the beginning. If they were discovered, she would suffer huge embarrassment. It would have been fine if he loved her but he did not believe in love which made things difficult. In her head, she knew that it would be best if he wanted to end things with her. Best for her and him. Too bad the rest of her body did not want what was best.

* * *

The next morning she woke up slightly later than usual and with a hangover. Both she and Damon finished off a bottle of Chardonnay and unlike their university days, this time it did knock them out cold. With her eyes still half closed, she walked towards the bathroom then washed her face, and brushed her teeth.

Her stomach growled in protest, confirming her suspicion that either last night's dinner was not enough or she had been sleeping for too long. Andin walked towards the kitchen then her stride came to a halt on her way there. Turning to her left, she could hardly believe her own eyes. Her balcony which had been empty the last time she checked (which was last night) since she had trashed the dead plants two weeks ago was now filled with plants. There were at least eight different types of lilies there. Oriental lilies, trumpet lilies, oriental lilies, Turk's Cap lilies, longiflorum lilies, and so many more.

She smiled at the thought of Damon phoning around town for lilies then carefully using the spare key she had kept under the slide of the front door arranged all of this, thinking she had been freaking out about her empty balcony when she had really been freaking out for a totally different reason.

She made a simple breakfast for herself that consisted of pancakes and sunny-side-up fried egg. After finishing her breakfast and having a cup of green tea, she changed her clothes to a simple turquoise T-shirt and jeans then glanced at herself in the mirror before moving through the sitting room towards the front door. She got out of her flat then walked her way to his door and knocked.

"You look good," Damon said as he swung the door open and he took in her T-shirt and jeans. "At least much better than how you looked when you were drunk last night."

Andin laughed. "Oh, do shut up. You never say that to a lady."

Damon wore a pair of black trousers and a red silk shirt. Tame, for him. "Have you had breakfast?" He asked as they moved into his flat.

"Just some pancakes and eggs. I still could eat some more." She brought herself down on his couch, then leaned her head back. "What do you have in mind?"

"I am thinking about that waffles Tanner and I had last weekend."

"Oh! The one you have been telling me about but never once took me there?" teased Andin with a wink.

"Darling, that is precisely why I am going to bring you there today." Damon touched her nose with his forefinger and then walked towards his bedroom. "Let me get ready, okay."

"Aren't you already? You look good," commented Andin truthfully. She could not understand why he needed to change his attire.

"I have not put on my sunscreen. It is so hot outside, Darling. I am not heathen, I need my daily dose of SPF," he yelled out as he moved into his bedroom.

"Sunlight at this hour is good for your body you know," she yelled back. "Oh, by the way, thank you for the lilies. That is so sweet of you, Dee!"

His face showed up on the door, there were dots of white cream on his forehead and cheeks. "What lilies?"

"The lilies on my balcony. That was a nice surprise in the morning. They are so beautiful. Thank you."

A frown formed on his forehead. "Darling, are you still drunk? I recall us nearly hitting our heads on the pavement in front of the building on our way home but I don't know anything about lilies except hearing you mention them at least a dozen times in your complaint about the emptiness on your balcony."

Andin blinked. She was a bit confused. If the lilies were not from Damon then who?

For a split second, she thought of Sebastian but quickly dismissed the idea of the lilies coming from him. He had been so wrapped up in his newspaper, she doubted he had even known she was sitting two tables behind him, let alone paying the slightest attention to anything she said. She pushed the mystery from her head and leaned her head back and closed her eyes. All she wanted now was for this hangover to disappear.

But first thing first, she needed to change the lock of her door. Clearly, everyone knew where she had put her spare key. And she was not going to let some psycho enter her house to surprise her with something more dangerous than lilies.