Erin McAfee

Peaceful. Calming.

That's what I was feeling whenever I drink my tea. I didn't know why but I guess that's what teas do, right, to make you feel at ease. I wonder how these dried leaves has a power to make us feel in tranquility.

"Hey!" I heard Jowee's voice as I was busy pondering how a mere tea can calm your nerves down.

I shifted my eyes from the tea and saw her took a sit in front of me and gestured for the wait staff to take her order.

"Where's Livy? Have you ordered already?" She asked after the wait staff took her orders.

"On her way, I guess. And yes, I already did." I replied while I took a sip of my tea.

We were at Ladurée to have brunch today. This is what we always do whenever we have free time, we always make it a point to see each other and squeeze in a brief get together whether over brunch or dinner.

She took her phone and dialled Olivia's number, I assume, then put it down when she saw her strutting towards our table.

"Why are you late?" Jowee asked in irritation as Livy took a sit beside me.

"Take a chill pill, Jowee. I saw you just entered while I was parking my car." She announced and I chuckled.

"Whatever. Stop laughing, you bitch!" She enunciated in annoyance.

I heard Olivia sighed and spoke.

"You and your temper. Anyway, how are you two?" She asked and gestured for a wait staff.

"I'm fine, nothing much to know." Jowee replied then looked at me.

"I'm okay, I guess. But there's this one annoying man in the office who kept on asking me to have dinner with him." I told them and they both looked at me in curiosity.

Olivia squealed while Jowee clapped her hands. It's embarrassing because they attracted some customers when they did that.

I put down Jowee's hand while I shushed Olivia.

"Guys, keep it down, for God's sake, they're looking at us." I told them but they just shrugged.

"I don't care." They both said in unison and squealed because they both said it at the same time. Which by the way, gained more onlookers.

Ugh, but to hell with it, I don't care also as long as I'm with my friends.

"So, what's his name?" Jowee asked as they stopped squealing then, our orders came.

"Jordan Smith." I pronounced his name while I put a piece of croissant in my mouth.

"Details." Said Olivia in a duh tone.

I rolled my eyes at her and spoke.

"He's the new department manager. He was the Ohio branch manager then got transferred here in our headquarters in New York. He's been here for like three weeks now, I guess? Anyway, I don't know why he got transferred here though." I told them and proceeded to eat my omelette.

"Oh my God. How does he look like? Handsome? Sexy? Hot?" Jowee asked before she drinks her hot chocolate.

"He's handsome and attractive." I answered.

"But?" Olivia added it to my sentence before I put another piece of my omelette in my mouth.

"He's so full of himself. He keeps on bothering me. Kept on calling to ask me to have lunch or dinner with him and I kept on turning him down. He just didn't know how to accept No for an answer. It's irritating." I said in irritation and heaved a sigh.

"Why don't you just give him a chance?" Olivia asked.

"Because he's not your brother." Jowee said all of a sudden and it made me choke.

Olivia quickly gave her water to me and I took it. Once I composed myself, I took a deep breathe and spoke.

"What's her brother have to do with this?" I pointed at Olivia when I answered Jowee.

"I don't know, you tell me." She answered.

I took a shaky breath discreetly and answered her. I looked at Olivia and she was smirking at me. I know that look, that's how she reacted when I accidentally blurted out that I have a crush on Zac when we were in highschool. It's her I-knew-it-look.

"Whatever, Jowee. That's like ages ago." Oh for God's sake, that's the only words I can think of? My God.

I tried to look them in the eye confidently, without giving away my nervousness.

"Yeah, ages ago. So why are you blushing?" Olivia teased then took a sip on her tea.

"I am not blushing!" I snapped and harshly poked my omelette with my fork.

Ugh. I really hate blushing, it always, ALWAYS give out what you're feeling and it's embarrassing.

"Yeah you're not. She's not, Livy." Jowee agreed fakely and proceeded to eat her food.

Geez, why can't they forget about it? I believe I did a good job concealing my feelings towards Zac. I avoided him like a plague, I don't look at him whenever he's in the same room with me, I talk to him in phrases, and I most especially don't give any hints to anyone that I have a crush on him.

"Seriously, stop it, you two. I don't have a crush on him anymore, I'm not a teenager anymore." I commented.

"Yeah sure. Whatever floats your boat." Jowee replied and Livy high-fived her.

I just sighed and carried on eating my food.

"Oh, by the way, who will be your date for our annual Distillery Night?" Jowee asked me after quite some time of silence.

"André Darcy. How about you?" I answered.

"Brandon Dunn."

"The supermodel?" Olivia asked and she just nodded.

Olivia and I looked at each other in confusion so I spoke.

"Isn't he engaged or something?" I asked because these past few weeks there are news circulating that he is already engaged to Hailey Thompson, also a supermodel.

Jowee took a deep breath and placed her fork down on her plate. Oh this is going to be a juicy news. I'm all ears when it comes to these kinds of gossip.

"He isn't. He's gay. The one that's circulating the news was Hailey. Apparently, she has the hots with him and tried to manipulate the media, remember they were seen in a restaurant having dinner?" She informed us but we just shrugged because we actually didn't know and didn't care about their lives.

She then sighed and continued with her story.

"Anyway, she's doing that not because she likes him but because she saw the impact of the news in her career. There were lots of endorsement deals came in her way. I know you'll ask why won't his manager do something about it. Well, honey, the thing is, no one knows about his sexuality and he's not willing to share it to his manager. Also, his endorsements skyrocketed even more, just like Hailey."

"At first he was happy about it but shit gotten out of hand and the bitch started to be territorial. So, he sought for my help by being my date on our Company's anniversary night." She ended the story by stuffing a piece of madeleine into her mouth.

She drank water after she explained to us.

"Why did he tell you? Of all people? I mean, you two were not even close." I asked for I couldn't connect why he's confiding with Jowee. They didn't even meet before.

"Oh. Because Derrick, my chauffer and head bodyguard, is his boyfriend." She wiggled her eyebrows at us and our jaws were hanging.

Before Olivia could speak, she raised her forefinger to shush her and spoke.

"I saw them making out." She dropped it and stuffed the last Madeleine into her mouth and looked at us proudly.

"No way."

"Oh my God."

Olivia and I said at the same time. She giggled and went on to tell us what she knew.

"That's why when they explained it to me, me as a kind hearted lady, helped him by asking him to be my date. That is to extinguish the news circulated by the bitch and to save me from finding a date. Enough about me, you Olivia, I heard Zac forced you to attend the Distillery Night. I surmise Nick is your date, huh." She directed the topic to her and that's how our brunch was updating one another with what's happening in our lives.

After we bid our goodbyes, I went straight to my office to start my boring workday. There's nothing much on the agenda today so I was pretty lax.

Not until tonight.

It was the night our boss held the welcome dinner party for Jordan. I so wanted to ditch this dinner but they actually rescheduled it twice just so it could fit my schedule.

Apparently, my boss, Brenda Anderson, a very good and caring mother-like boss, wanted every department heads, to be present in welcoming him. What can I do, right?

Well I was planning to just have dinner and wait for a couple minutes and excuse myself to go home.

But it didn't seem to go that way because this Jordan invited himself to sit beside me and chat with me. So as not to be rude, I politely answered him in phrases to give him a hint that I was not interested.

However, this insensitive guy didn't notice or didn't care because he's shamelessly flirting with me. He kept on refilling my wine glass whenever I finished it. Good thing I was not a light drinker, it would take a lot more of three goblets to make me drunk.

"Seriously, Erin, can't you give me a chance to have dinner with me? I promise you, you won't regret it." He said and I didn't fail to notice the flirtatious tone in it.

I sighed and shook my head.

"Jordan, I already turned you down thrice. Can't you accept no as an answer? Besides, I'm already dating someone else." I lied the last part so that he'll stop bothering me about these dates.

I don't like him. It feels like he only wants to get inside my pants then once he got it, he'll discard me. He looks like a fuckboy to me. Also, like what I've mentioned before, he's so full of himself to the point that he's being condescending as well as conceited. So nay nay, chance my ass.

"Why do I feel like you're lying? I feel like you're only telling me this so I will give up." He said and it made me agitated.

Seriously? Who the fuck are you to question me? We're not even friends. I was only talking to you out of respect because I didn't want to be seen rude by any of our colleagues in this private room. I mean, if we were in a different scenario, I wouldn't even acknowledge your presence and won't even look at your way.

I screamed at him in mind.

However, even though my blood was boiling and I so wanted to slap that condescending smile off of his face, I maintained my demeanor and answered him calmly.

"You can perceive my words in any way you like as you're entitled to do so. I don't need to explain myself to you when it comes to my personal life." I smiled at him but I made sure that my eyes were void of any emotions.

But this did not deter him. He pushed himself more. Also, I was noticing that we had attracted quite a number of audience because this thick-faced man just didn't know how to give up.

"Then tell me, what's his name?" He challenged me and leaned in to me and as a reflex, I leaned away from him.

"Like what I just said, I don't need to tell you anything. Now, if you may excuse me, I have to go home." I stood up and took my purse then before I went out, I added, "Welcome to PSI Publishing House, Mr. Smith."

I looked at Brenda and gave her a nod to bid my goodbye then went out of the private room. I called Adrian, my driver who's waiting for me outside, that I was ready to go home.

But after I informed Adrian, I heard Jordan's voice calling me so I walked quickly but just my luck, he caught up with me in like two or three strides. He held my arm and turned me around to face him.

I removed my hand from his hold and thankfully, he released it.

"Erin, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. It's just that I was so into you, can you atleast give me a chance? Just one night, one dinner with me. That's all I'm asking. Please?" He begged, gone was the man that was so full of himself.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Didn't you hear what I said? I said I'm dating someone." I reminded him but he tried to held my arm but I evaded it quickly.

"I don't believe you, Erin. For weeks I didn't see you being fetched by someone other than your driver. You weren't even---"

"That's because I told him to not fetch me. We're not yet in a relationship, we're still dating. So please learn how to accept no for an answer." I turned around and walked away then stopped to add, "and he's here to fetch me."

He called me again and I walked towards the restaurant's bar.

"Zac, baby." I went to him and he looked at me in disbelief. I kissed his cheek and hugged him then whispered 'help' to him. Once he heard it, he hugged me and kissed the side of my head.

I released him and asked, "Were you waiting here long?"

He shook his head and smiled at me. My gaze shifted on the island and saw Neil and Skylar looking at us dumbfounded. As I looked back at Zac, he was glaring at someone behind me, I guess it's Jordan.

Then, I felt Zac snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me to him possessively. It was my turn to be dumbfounded by his actions.

"Let's go?" He asked and I nodded. He then proceeded to drag me towards the exit while still holding me by my waist.

Once we exited the restaurant, I expected that he will release me but nope, he didn't. I spotted Adrian waiting for me, he saw us then was about to open the passenger door for me when Zac walked pass him then went to his car. He opened the passenger door for me to get in and that's when I chose to speak.

"Zac, I'm so sorry for including you into this. It's just that I couldn't---"

"Get in the car." He interrupted me by ordering me to get inside his car. But I won't because Adrian's here to drive me home.

"Zac, Adrian's here. It's fine to---"

"I said get in the car. Don't make me say it again." He snapped and when I looked at him, his eyes held anger in it. It was so scary that I involuntarily sat on the plush seat of his Tesla X. He shut the door and went around to the driver's side.

He started the engine and navigated through the road. I called Adrian to tell him to tail us as Zac will be the one to drive me home.

This was the first time I sat on his car while he was the one driving. It felt odd because I had this feeling that I've been driven by him before, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

After a painfully awkward minute, I decided to break the silence.

"Uhmm. Zac? I'm sorry if I made you leave Neil and Skylar. I was just desperately in need of help to get away from Jordan and it just so happened that I saw you so I kinda went out of my way and hugged you, and I'm so sorry for that." I apologised while I intentionally did not mention the kiss part.

He didn't respond though and was so focused on driving, however, I didn't fail to notice his jaw clenched every now and then. And the tight grip he has on his steering wheel. Geez, I guess he's containing his anger because I ruined his night with my petty antics.

I sighed when I realized that I probably won't get any response from this man so, I sat comfortably on the leather seat.

"Who was that asshole?" He asked after awhile of silence. I looked at him and the hard expression was still present on his face.

"It's Jordan, my co-worker." I answered him sleepily.

"What were you two doing there? You're having a date? Did he assault you?" He asked angrily.

"Oh no. We're not like that, it's just that tonight's our company welcome dinner for him." I answered and looked outside the window to hide my blush from him because him worrying about me made the butterflies in my stomach in chaos.

"Then what did he do to you?"

"He just kept on asking me to go out with him and I already turned him down thrice. Then I told him that I'm already dating someone else but he didn't believe me so when I saw you, I did what I did. So, I'm so sorry for ruining your night." I briefly explained and apologized to him because I felt bad to snatch him away from his friends because he's clearly having a good time with them.

"Who?" He asked and that's when I looked at him. His inquiry made me confuse.

"Pardon?"

"Whom are you dating with?" He asked again and I saw him gripping the steering wheel tighter.

His question stunned me. Why did he want to know? I mean, why was he being intrusive tonight? He wasn't like that though, he usually just shrugged his shoulders because he didn't care.

"What's his name?" He asked again in a slightly louder voice.

"Huh? No one. I'm not dating anyone." I answered him. For the first time since we navigated the road, he looked at me. I meant narrowed his eyes at me as if telling me to not give me those kinds of bullshit.

So I sighed.

"I just said it to him so he won't pester me again. Then again, I went to you and made you look the person I was dating with. So again, I'm so sorry about it, Zac." I explained at him and that's when he softened his facial features.

Then, the next thing he did made me questioned myself if this was real or was this just a figment of my imagination because he, Zachary North, held my hand.

I kinda jerked up slightly when I felt his hand held mine.

And then, I immediately felt the heat that his hand was emitting. Oh I bet I was as red as a tomato now. Thank God it's dark or else I'm busted.

"Erin, if next time he did it again, tell him that I am your boyfriend."

I gasped and looked at him to check if he's joking or not but there's nothing in his face that could tell that he was indeed joking.

"No, no, no, no, no. I can't do that, I don't want to include you further in this. I'm fine, Zac, it's more than enough that he saw you already." I quickly refused and tried to remove my hand from his hold but he held my hand tighter.

"I don't care. Promise me if he or someone forced himself to you, whether physically, verbally, or mentally, call me and tell them that I am your boyfriend. Understand?"

He said with finality and I didn't bother to rebutt him because I was already tired and the last thing I want was an argument with this handsome man beside me.

So I just nodded and leaned my head back on the head rest while thinking of when will he release my hand.

Hello loves!

You know, me too, I was also wondering when will Zac release Erin's hand? Hahaha.

Oh yeah, btw, please don't mind the hair of the model above as Erin's blonde. I'm posting pictures only as outfit inspo. However, regardless of my character description, you're still free to imagine whoever you want the characters will be.

Anyway, if you liked this chapter, please give it a vote, comment, and share it with your friends.

As always, stay safe.

xo,
Kimmypatata