Holden's POV

"Good evening, sir," a soft voice greets.

It had been two months since that dinner with Zeph and Ellie. Three days after I approved her as my assistant, she began working.

At first, she was incredibly clumsy-always messing up: scheduling the wrong dates, mixing up the order of files. It was like working with the living definition of Murphy's Law: whatever can go wrong will go wrong when she's involved.

I can imagine why she hadn't been hired before. Her clumsiness must have overshadowed her accolades.

"Good evening, Ms. Brooke," I greet. For some reason, she's found it hard to warm up to me. Normally, by the third week, I'm already on a first-name basis with my assistants. Sure, you'd think it's unprofessional, but I like my employees to feel comfortable around me. I don't want to end up like Zephyr or Gramps.

"Going home?" I notice the bag slung over her shoulder.

"Yes. I just wanted to say goodbye and..." She trails off.

"And what?" I ask, amused. The tips of her ears tint red.

"And don't overwork yourself," she says meekly, barely above a whisper.

"I'll make sure not to," I reply.

"G-good," she stammers, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. She closes the door behind her as she exits.

Chuckling to myself, a warmth fills my chest. Even though it's winter, I never feel cold around her. Although she's socially awkward and closed off, she's caring and isn't afraid to speak her mind.

----

I enter the penthouse like always, walk into the kitchen, and slowly stalk toward him. I creep up to his neck and not-so-quietly say, "Boo!"

Startled, Zephyr lets out a small yelp. "Holy shit!"

I chuckle. "Good choice of words."

"Jesus Christ, Holden. What the hell, man? How'd you get in?"

Dodging the question, I say, "Don't use our Lord's name in vain."

"What are you doing?" I ask, peeking over his shoulder.

"Warming leftovers," he shrugs.

"Got some for me?" I ask.

"No. Where did you come from?" he asks.

Again, not responding, I walk toward the all-black living room. "Hooh." A breath of relief escapes my mouth as I collapse on the couch.

"I'm beat," I complain.

"Get out of my house, Holden," is all Zephyr says.

"Oh, come on, dude. Can't you help a brooding guy out?" I ask.

"Go to your own house," he says.

"Nah, no one's home," I respond.

"Yeah, no one's home because you aren't there. How'd you even get into my house? I remember specifically telling the housekeeper not to give you a key or let you in," he says as he drops onto the sofa beside me with his plate of lasagna.

Deciding to answer him, I say, "I've got my ways."

"What ways?" he asks skeptically.

"Advice for next time: leave your windows closed." It's worrying how it's always open.

"My room's on the second floor." His tone is a mix of worry, fear, and amusement.

I just shrug my shoulders and grab the second spoon. I knew he wouldn't eat without me.

We dig in. "Pretty nice. So, how's everything been?" I ask, slightly worried. Since everything happened, I've been worried about his mental health. He'd been dating Ji-Woo since sophomore year. She'd basically become a part of his everyday life.

"It's bad table manners to talk while you eat," he replies.

I roll my eyes but comply nonetheless.

----

"You can go now."

"No, are you really going to make me go home this late at night? Alone?" I ask.

"Yeah, you are a man. Aren't you?" Then he pats my back.

"I am. But I'm not going home without hearing your report. Even if I wait till tomorrow or skip work." Lately, I've been so swamped with work that the last time I properly disturbed Zephyr was that dinner with Ellie. The times I spam him or pop up at his work don't count.

"What about your beauty routine?" he smugly asks.

"I can miss one day. This handsome face won't spoil because of one day," I grin.

"You really just don't wanna go to work," he replies.

"Yup," I chirp.

We sit down on the couch, the movie we were watching before making quiet background noise as I wait anxiously for Zeph's narration.

"After the whole fiasco, I won't lie, I was still feeling quite down. I'd still scroll through Ji-Woo's insta page, hoping for something, visit the stores she frequents, hoping I'd catch sight of her. Stage an encounter, confront her, maybe she still felt the same as me."

I shake my head in disappointment. I can't believe he'd do that, after everything she put him through.

"I know, I know. It's pathetic, but what could I do? A man in love is..."

I nod in understanding. A man in love is truly a fool.

"I've stopped though. But then," he continues, and I listen carefully, propping myself up to hear properly, "It turns out there was someone who witnessed my vulnerability that day." He chuckles, as if it wasn't a moment of sadness in his life.

"This little dirty blonde creature." His tone is more cheerful, and he has this faraway look in his eyes.

I crease my brows in confusion. "I'm sorry. Creature?"

"Oh, did I say creature? It's just that she's soft, cute, kind, and pretty. She's just, you know..." He trails off.

I shake my head. "I don't know." Did Zeph hit his head or something?

"Well, she saw everything, and like it turns out, she was my employee. We had a talk, and now we're friends."

He gives a curt summary, like he doesn't want to give too much details. I can wonder about that later but my main train of thought is Zephyr made a friend? Who'd want to be friends with this grinch? Apart from me, of course. "You made a friend?" I ask thoughtlessly.

"Yeah, well, I think we're friends. I didn't even ask her, so I'm not sure. What if I've just been thinking we're friends all on my own?" he worryingly rants.

"Dude, what's wrong with you? You're acting like a schoolgirl." I've never seen Zeph-the Zephyr Lane-get so worried over something. This was the way he behaved when he fell in love with Ji-Woo.

"I am?" His cheeks turn a light shade of pink, and he buries his face in the pillow.

What the hell? Just who is this lady? I'm worried now.

_________

>_< ^.^

I finally, finally updated.

I broke the jinx.

Don't mind the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.

I'll edit soon.