I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button for the fifth floor. As soon as the door closed, I grabbed my phone from my back jean pocket and dialed Amy's number.
"Hey Sophie. What's up?"
"Save me, Amy," I cried as I tried to balance the pile of papers in my free hand. "I agreed to be Harley's assistant for the day. Who knew he was so— so…"
"So bossy and unreasonable," Amy interjected.
I tightened the grip on my phone. "Yes. I have to shred a huge pile of papers in thirty minutes."
Amy chuckled on the other end. "Guess you can't expect him to be sweet and loving while he's at work."
My face burned. "I want him to be reasonable. Is that too much to ask for?"
"Yes," she replied. "You agreed to it, so just do the best you can. I am sure he's grateful for the help and happy to have you all to himself."
"That last part was not necessary."
Amy chuckled as the elevator stopped at the fifth floor. I bid her goodbye and put my phone back into my back pocket before stepping out of the elevator.
"Excuse me," I said to the woman who walked past me. "Which way to the shredding room?"
The lady stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me. "Go straight down this hallway and turn left. It's the first door on the right."
"Thank you."
Following her instructions, I made it to the room. There was a young woman in the room, printing some papers.
"Hello," I said as I walked over to the shredder.
The young woman gasped when she looked at me. "It's you."
"I beg your pardon."
She cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. I saw you this morning with the boss. We have never seen him smile like that before."
"What is Mr. Huang like at work?" I asked while shredding one paper at a time.
"Mr. Huang is… intense."
"Intense?"
The young woman nodded. "He notices everything. If a report has even one mistake, he'll catch it immediately."
"That sounds terrifying."
She laughed nervously. "It is. But he's fair. If you do your job well, he treats you very well."
Silence stretched between us, the hum of the printer and shredder filling the room.
"How do you know Mr. Huang?" she asked.
I looked at her and noticed she was studying me. She was a very beautiful young woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and deep blue eyes.
"We grew up together. He's—"
The young woman squealed in excitement, interrupting me. "You are so lucky. What is he like outside of work? All of us are dying to know."
I chuckled at her curiosity. "He's… clingy. A little jealous. And sometimes ridiculously possessive."
She gasped. "No way. What I would give to see that side of him."
"Trust me," I said, turning my attention back to the shredder. "You don't want to."
The young woman grabbed her pile of printed papers and then excused herself after bidding me a good day.
I glanced at the clock on the wall above the shredder and cursed when I saw the time. I quickly finished the rest of the papers and then hurried back to his office.
Harley was busy typing away on his laptop when he raised his head as I walked in, panting for air.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Sorry it took so long."
He turned his attention back to his laptop. "It's fine. I didn't notice."
My legs wobbled and I fell to the floor. On my way back, I had walked from the fifth floor to the top floor because the elevator was taking too long to arrive.
Harley dropped what he was doing and made his way over, helping me off the ground. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said, leaning on him for support. "I am just burnt out from walking all those flights of stairs."
"You walked all the way back here?"
I nodded.
"Are you crazy?" he said in a scolding tone. "What if you passed out? Or worse, got hurt?"
"But I went over the time limit by a lot."
"And?"
I pushed him off me and stood up straight, arms crossed. "You told me I had thirty minutes and it took ten minutes to get to that floor. Forgive me for following the rules."
Harley ran his hand through his hair. "I am sorry." He turned around and walked toward a door with a gold plaque with his name written on it in black. "Come here."
I walked over as he opened the door, revealing a king-sized bed in the middle of the room and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.
"You rest in here while I finish up the rest of my paperwork, and then we will go out for supper."
I turned around and looked at his retreating figure. "I am fine. What else do you need help with?"
Harley glanced over his shoulder and gave me a look that made me shut up. I closed the door and climbed into the bed.
A big yawn escaped my mouth as my eyelids became heavy, slowly drifting off into sleep.
When I opened my eyes, it was nighttime. The moonlight piercing through the window lit up the room. I glanced at my watch and gasped. It was past midnight.
I jumped out of the bed and opened the door. Harley was lying on the couch, snoring softly. On the coffee table was a half bottle of whiskey and an empty glass.
I smiled warmly as I walked over and stooped down beside his head, poking his cheek. "Harley."
He stirred a bit and then slowly opened his eyes. Our eyes met and we stared at each other in silence.
My stomach grumbled, breaking the silence.
He sat up on the couch. He looked at the time on his wrist. "It's too late to go out for supper. But… I can make you something at home instead."
"We can grab a snack from the convenience store on the way."
My heart skipped a beat when he reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "Um…"
He leaned forward, closing the distance between us.
"Sophie…"