Three days. One. Two. Three. Three good days since the incident at Chi's house and I have not seen Paul. If I thought he was avoiding me before, now, he is on ghost mode. I haven't caught a glimpse of him and Chi is not helping matters. Her continuous teasing is why I have refused to ask her about him. I blow on the strand of twist in my face and groan, I don't like this one bit.

My hand moves to the drawer and a frown makes its way to my lips. The package from King is still there, one look inside the box shows a dinner reservation at a fancy restaurant with a fancier name. His box of chocolate is sitting untouched in my office fridge. Paul's words haunt me, I can't eat them no matter how hard I try to, I fear I'll choke on them. I throw the box into the bin beside the door and give myself a mental high five when it lands inside on my first try.

A glance at my phone shows it is break time, I saunter to the fridge to retrieve the box of chocolates, pat my pockets to be sure his bracelet is intact. My feet don't hurt anymore, only a few shards of glass pierced them; the pain has reduced to a dull ache.

Chi is smiling at her desktop when I approach her desk, I dump the chocolate on the counter and say, "Help me. Please."

"He's in the kitchen," she replies without looking up, a pink colour staining her cheeks. "And you didn't hear it from me."

Her head raises for the first time since I have been standing there, she snatches the chocolate, opens it and inserts a square bit into her mouth without offering me any. I giggle when she closes her eyes to moan, we both love food and snacks. We love the good life. She breaks off another piece from the bar, offers it to me but I shake my head, she can have it all. I can get mine from Paul.

After a mental check of my appearance and a smile of approval from Chi, I sashay to the kitchen area with my hands inside the pocket of my plain, black trousers. I love the ease of movement in them, they are my favourite pair from my Palazzo collection.

"I would like to see Paul," I tell Okon, the Hulk of a man who comes to attend to me at the counter. He nods and walks away.

The restaurant is empty which is unusual, my only companion is the thrumming of the AC. My feet drum into the white tiled floor and my eyes scan the chilly room. Artificial flowers sit at the centre of some tables with music playing in low tunes from the flat screen television tuned in to HipTV. I have a strong suspicion the channel is Paul's handwork but I don't bother to ask him when he takes Okon's former position behind the counter with his usual frown.

"Madam," Paul says with a curt nod.

Here we go again.

At a loss on how to steer the barely started conversation to lighter grounds, I pull his bracelet from my pocket. "You forgot this."

Paul stretches his hand over the counter for me to place it there and my fingertips brush his palm when I drop it. A jolt of electricity shoots up my arm, making me forget all other things I planned to say. I withdraw my hand, click my tongue while trying to remember my reason for coming up here.

Think. You had a whole speech prepared for him.

"I want to see you in my office," I say while trying and failing not to come off as bossy. The corner of his lips twitch, I frown. "Now."

My tone leaves no room for arguments, I can't deal with one right now but from the look on Paul's face, that is the only thing on his mind and he proves me right when his lips part open. "You could have called me," he starts with a hint of mischief, "or asked someone else to do that for you, Madam."

I know that, smartass.

His brow arches and I scoff as he places one hand atop the other with a smirk decorating his lips as if daring me to call him out on the truthfulness of his statement. In the end, I settle with offering him a grim smile which soon transforms into a scowl. This is one of those moments where a slap will do a good job of buying his silence but I know that won't end well for both of us, especially me.

A part of me was worried he wouldn't show up if I didn't come down, it's the only reason I'm here. In truth, I have nothing to discuss with him, at least, nothing office related and he knows that. My glare earns me an eye roll and I start walking to the elevator without caring to check if he is behind me.

We get on the elevator together, none of us saying a word. I try to go over my speech again but I know it's futile as I take a side glance at his face. My fingers itch to touch his shiny beards, to see if they are as soft as they look. Resting against the metallic walls, I follow his fingers as they stroke his beards lazily. I know now he tugs on them when he's about to have a fit and the thought causes me to roll my eyes, if only it helped in putting a lid on his words and temper.

My eyes lower to his sweatshirt which hugs his upper arms and if there's one thing I can say about him from his choice of outfit, he loves the colour black. With his matching black jeans, Nike boots and relaxed stance, he can easily pass off as a gym instructor. The only gym I will attend willingly. I find myself stealing more glances at this hot, annoying male specimen beside me. Why won't I? He looks good and kisses better.

"Should I strike a pose?" he says as the lift comes to a stop and confusion clouds my eyes. "Or you are done checking me out?"

With a wink, he gestures for me to step out and I am reminded of all the reasons I try to dislike him. He's an asshole. Sadly, I still want him, he can be my asshole. I remain inside the elevator, momentarily shocked at getting caught in the act until he barks out a laugh. I hiss, making sure to ignore him as we journey to my office in silence. Stupid.

"Sit," I order when we are inside, making sure to lock the door behind me. With my back against the door, I tilt my head when he remains standing. "Paul. Sit down."

"No."

We have a few seconds stare-off, my chest rises and falls as my temper increases to a near exploding point. I am not willing to back down, from the glint in his eyes, neither is he. A sigh escapes my lips when Paul folds his arms across his chest and I nearly ask him to do as he pleases to avoid us having another argument. How and why I like someone this frustratingly stubborn will always be beyond me. Someone like King will give me no troubles yet my foolish heart wants this, this infuriating human.

"Paul," I say again. My voice comes out smaller than before in hopes to get to him and I push myself from the door. "Sit down so we can talk." He shakes his head slowly, I close my eyes briefly. "I'm the boss of you."

"So?"

"So?" I scoff. "Sooo, I can and will have you fired for insubordination," the words slip from my mouth before I can register them.

When they finally register, my lips pull into a straight line at the sheer stupidity of my threat. I can't do that, well, I can but I won't and he doesn't need to know that. Paul maintains his staid expression briefly before a slow smile breaks out on his lips and my heart starts pounding behind my rib cage. I close my eyes, this can't be good.

"Insubordination?" My eyelids part open, he scoffs. "You won't have to do that, boss." The alarm bells in my head go off and I have to press two fingers to my temple to stop myself from screaming out my frustrations. With a victory smile, he proclaims, "I quit."

My jaw slacks. It's my turn to stare at him with shock written all over my face but I recover quickly and shake my head. No. Covering the distance between us, I stand in front of him to say, "You can't." My hand reaches out to touch his shoulders but I manage to get a grip on myself before that happens. "You can't do that, you can't quit."

"I can, and I just did." He stares right into my eyes, towering over me even with the added inches to my height. "I quit, Pauline."

His words are heavy and they settle on my shoulders like wet bags of cement. I lick my lips dry and swallow. For some reasons, it feels like he's talking about more than this job and I find myself moving out of his way.

"Good for you," I say with my head bobbing up and down, "because you are fired." He dares to smirk and I lose it. "Leave. Get out," my eyes close briefly, "get out of my office."

Half-expecting him to do or say something in return, the last rays of hope I have die when Paul swaggers to the door without a backward glance at me. I scoff in disbelief at his retreating back, that's it for him?

Turning away from the door, I shake my head slowly as if doing that will help me understand what just happened. Tears well up in my eyes but I don't let them fall. This is stupid. This stupid crush or infatuation I have for him has to end, it better walk out the door with him because I am done.

"Pauline." I spin so fast at the sound of his voice that I have to take a few seconds to steady myself. I blink, tears trail down my cheeks but I am quick to wipe them off. His eyes narrow, I stare at my feet until I am certain my tears will no longer betray me.

My voice comes out raspy when I say, "Yes?"

"The door is locked and the key is missing."

The part of me that had been happy to hear Paul's voice, to see him still standing in the middle of my office slips into a coma at those words. I nod with a grim smile while patting my trouser for the keys I forgot about as soon as they entered my pocket.

Taking the bunch out, I hold out my office key to him, my eyes not leaving his as the distance between us disappears. If he quits, I won't see him again, we might never talk after this. The thought causes my heart to squeeze painfully and I wipe my sweaty palm on my trouser. He might be an ass but I want him to stay here and be an ass.

"I didn't mean it," I start and his stare has me swallowing the rest of my words. My fingers wrap protectively around the key, refusing to let go seconds after he stretched his palm in front of me. "You don't have to quit your job because of me." A corner of his lips twitch, the hand holding the key lowers as I try to rack my brain for stronger points. "Chi will not be happy if you leave."

I won't be happy if you leave.

Paul's eyes dart between my face and the keys in my hand, he shrugs. "Maybe. But she will get over it." My lips move into a pout, I need better points if I want to keep him here. "I can't say the same for you."

My gaze narrows at his face, searching for any sign of seriousness and a small smile flits to my lips when I see the expectant look in his eyes. Maybe there's hope after all.

"I..." I trail off and rise to my feet. My fingers locate my pendant, I play with it for some seconds and say, "I want, I want you here."

"The same way you want King?"

My eyes close, I count to ten and let out a deep breath. I have to remember the end goal, I want him here. No, the hotel wants him here, he's a great asset and I need the good reviews to keep coming in. Opening my eyes, I say, "More than I want King."

"More than you wanted the guy you cheated on?"

I have a harder time feigning nonchalance at this jab so I resort to smiling and patting his chest in a noncommittal way. Nice one.

"You are a great cook, the best we currently have and you shouldn't let personal issues interfere with business. I," I shake my head and sniff, "the hotel needs you." My lips pull into a toothless smile. "I apologise for ever bringing up the issue of firing you, I shouldn't have done that. If you still don't want to work here, I can try to understand."

Paul twirls a strand of my twist around his finger, exhales and takes a step away from me. "I can't seem to get over the cheating."

His voice was so low I almost missed it. "Try." I take his hands in mine, he offers me a small smile, the first genuine one in days. I nod. "Will you at least promise to try?"

He pulls his hands from my grasp and a sigh escapes my lips at the loss of contact. His biceps bulge when he crosses his arms and I stare at them longer than I should have. "You wanted to see me, why?"

"You are not dating Chi," I finally reply.

"You don't love King."

I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. When Chi said he was stubborn, she wasn't joking and if I don't take care, he will drive me insane. "I never said I loved him."

"You were acting like it."

Tapping my feet against the floor to hide my growing irritation, I whisper scream, "Paul."

"Alright." He throws his hands in the air and scowls. "I never said I was dating her, you came to that conclusion on your own." I glare at him, he pulls out a strand of his beards and shrugs. "If you thought I was dating Chi, why would you still go out-"

"I get it, Paul," I cut him off before the conversation takes another turn or he finds a way to guilt-trip me. "I get it. You two are not dating and I jumped to conclusions. I am good at that." In a smaller voice devoid of emotion, I say, "Sorry. End of discussion."

We stare at each other without closing the distance between us. My shoulder sags in sudden tiredness, I let out a sigh and look away. I can't continue this back and forth with him if at the end of the day all he will do is judge me and my lifestyle before him.

"Where does that leave us?" I ask with my eyes on his hands tucked inside his pocket.

"Us?" He chuckles. "It leaves me jobless."

Our eyes meet as the words leave his mouth and we burst into laughter, dissolving some of the tension. This is the Paul I want.

"Paul," I breathe out and wrap my arms around myself when all I want to do is hug him. He gives me a onceover but maintains his distance and it slightly hurts. "Your contract here was never terminated," I say and he chuckles. "You know that. I don't want you to leave." I swallow. "Except you had intentions of doing that already."

He shakes his head, his eyes light up and he smiles. "I won't, I like working here with you." He taps his lips when he sees how hard I am trying to fight back my laughter. "But you can buy my conviction with a kiss."

"No," I mutter without hesitation.

His shock has me in a fit of giggles. "Again?"

I nod. If he refuses to define things between us then I will have to keep rejecting his kiss offers however badly I want them too. I start taking steps away from him until the back of my legs hit my desk, afraid I will give in if I don't stop staring at his fine lips.

"No more kisses from you or me until you state your intentions with me." My eyes lower to my feet. "Until you can get over it."

I feel his eyes boring holes into my head and I clear my throat to distract him, a little uncomfortable under his gaze. He takes menacing steps towards me, leans down to my height with his breath fanning my ear.

"We will see about that," he whispers. His voice has shivers trickling down my spine and I struggle to stay on my feet. Once he exits the office, I slowly and gratefully sink into the seat closest to me.

**********

Picture: Paul's bracelet.

I have something like this. I honestly wanted to put up the picture of mine but my phone camera didn't agree with me. So I had to google this. Don't forget to CVF.