Theodore smiled as she continued singing, and he could only chuckle and leave the kitchen. It was impossible to talk to someone who was hopelessly in love. She was already good enough in the kitchen and often cooked food that made him wish he had an extra stomach.

When he had a taste of the braised pork she had especially cooked for him tonight, he wondered whether love was a secret ingredient. It was so delicious!

"Dad, you have been working very hard. Eat more meat." She served him with a happy smile and sat to eat too, only to receive a text message on her phone. She ignored it thinking the sender had to be Desmond, and only checked it out when she was done eating.

[Congratulations on your new relationship.] Out of all people, it had to be Zeus. It made her wonder whether the man had placed a bug on her. Otherwise, how was he able to know everything?

She was yet to ask when yet another text message arrived. [Of course, I'm not saying that I approve of Desmond. I'm still against him, but if he is the only one that your heart wants, then I have no choice but to be happy for you.]

The tone made her knit her brows. That sounded a lot like what Ximena would say. Why was it that everyone around her disliked Desmond so much? Luckily, they didn't blatantly tell her to ditch him since they cared for her happiness.

[What will it take for you to stop stalking me?] She asked and shoved her phone into the pockets of her apron, then went to wash the dishes. When she was done, she took a bath and changed into a nightdress, then checked her phone for his reply as she prepared to go to bed.

[Honestly? Nothing. I'll stop when there's nothing left for me to stalk.] She found his reply so annoying that he might as well shut up. What made him think that what had said qualified as an answer? He was insane!

[Isn't your son keeping you busy enough?] She typed furiously, hoping that he would ignore her and forever stay away from her. It wasn't that she was ungrateful for all the times he had helped her out, but it was creepy to be stalked even if the stalker was helpful.

To her disappointment, he replied within a few seconds. [He isn't a naughty boy.]

[How I wish he was.] She rolled her eyes. If only his son were naughty, he would have been too busy to care about her. She would have suggested for Zeus to teach his son to take after him, but it would be dangerous for other people to encounter yet another insanely genius hacker in future. Zeus was already enough of a headache, so she kept the idea to herself.

[I'm sleepy. I'll go to sleep now.] She sent a text message over, just before Desmond called.

"It's already late. What are you doing awake?" She reprimanded him.

He chuckled at her authoritative tone. "I'll go to bed soon, ma'am."

"Good. Once you get to bed, you know what to dream about. You better not dream about anyone or anything else." She joked.

"Yes, ma'am. I will only dream of you." He played along, then chuckled when he realized that he sounded like a hen pecked boyfriend following all of his girlfriend's orders.

"Honey, I want to ask you out." He finally got to the point. "Do you mind going on a date with me?"

"I don't mind." It still felt surreal that the man she had slapped repeatedly not too long ago—the very one she had threatened to destroy and who became her boss—was now her boyfriend. What was more surprising, he had asked her out! This wasn't a melodramatic dream, right?

On the other end, Desmond let out a sigh of relief when she agreed to go out with him. He had been scared that she would be against it. Luckily, she wanted to go out with him too.

"Tomorrow at 7pm? I will pick you up." He suggested.

"Sure thing." She agreed, since she wouldn't have anything to do the following day after work.

"Guess what? I can't wait to get back to work. You know why, right?" He rolled onto his back in bed, thinking about the last time they were together. They had slept in the same bed and although nothing happened between them, they had embraced each other all night which made him miss her now that she was away.

"You're a lazy bum. Why would you suddenly want to rush to work? It's definitely not every day this happens." She found his suddenly invigorating attitude amusing.

"I want to see you sooner, my love. I miss you so much." He confessed.

"I miss you too, but I need to get some sleep now. See you tomorrow, Mmh?" She was too sleepy to chat with him. Not to mention, she knew that they could go on and on for hours and forget that they needed to get enough sleep.

"Make sure you miss me." He urged.

"I will. Make sure to miss me too." She hung up with a love-stricken smile, then flopped onto her pillow while giggling, hugging her phone. Desmond was just too cute.

…

The following evening, Zaria left work as soon as she was done and talked Ximena into doing her makeup and helping her select a dress for the date.

"I don't think it's going to be easy to convince me that Desmond Fort is the right guy for you, but whatever makes you happy." Ximena remarked honestly, and it was within Zaria's expectations. She sighed in relief. As long as Ximena was not thinking of starting a fight with Desmond or threatening to beat the latter up, then it was all good.

"You will be convinced soon. Trust me." She smiled through the mirror as the latter applied a protective serum on her skin.

"Let it sit for a while before I do your makeup. It's to ensure that your skin doesn't get irritated later." She explained, to which Zaria nodded her thanks. "What color do you want to wear? I will make sure to wreck your entire outfit." She joked, earning a glare from her friend.

"Don't be mean." Zaria shot her a look. Even though she knew that Ximena would never do such a thing, she wanted to make sure that everything went perfect for her first date with Desmond.

"I'm just kidding. Why would I do that? If anything, I want to make sure you look so beautiful that his gaze will be on you for years. He will not ever have the chance to fall for other women." Ximena started checking through the latter's dresses and picked a pink one.

"Red doesn't really suit you for a first date. Go with pink instead. Innocent but provocative." She chuckled at what she had described the pink dress as, then waved her over. "Come here, let's make you look beautiful."

She let Ximena help her wear the pink dress, then sat down in front of the mirror. Ximena put a robe on her to prevent getting her dress dirty, then did her magic. When Zaria stood up, she almost couldn't believe that the woman in the mirror was herself. Her hair had been styled in soft waves that fell down her back, highlighting her perfectly made up face. The pink lipstick on her lips was of the same shade as her dress and Ximena helped her find a pair of shoes that suited her purse and necklace.

"Thanks, Xim." She thanked her emotionally.

"You don't need to thank me. You have already thanked me enough and I owe you big time." Ximena circled her excitedly, taking pictures. If Desmond was a minute late, the men trying to snatch her away would form a queue all the way to the milky way.

"What do you mean? When did you owe me?" Zaria was taken aback, not recalling when she did Ximena any favor.

"I have so many pre orders for cosmetics that I'm overwhelmed. Thanks, Zaria."

She finally understood what was going on, but it couldn't possibly be due to her effort. All she had done was answer the female employees at Preston and Fort Group when they asked about the brand of her Lipstick, not wanting to be too obvious." It wasn't me. It was Natalie. I will thank her later."

"I will thank her too when I get the chance." Ximena had to admit that every woman would rush to buy whatever they heard Natalie had bought. It was like an indirect advertisement.

"You are ready to make Mr. Fort's pants tight all night." She checked Zaria to ensure she looked perfect.

"You are so dirty minded." Zaria glared at her as her face flushed in the slightest.

"Isn't that what is going to happen? Hurry." She pointed at Zaria's ringing phone.