"How do you know the way to my house? I haven't given you my address as far as I remember." Cobie glances back and forth at Luke and the road.

"I believe you have mentioned which suburb you lived in some time ago." Luke shrugs. "I swear I never stalked you if that's what you think."

"Your attention to detail is...intimidating."

Luke chuckles while his eyes remain fixed on the road. The sun is about to set, but the thick clouds hang quite low in the sky, making the street darker than it should. "I take that as a compliment."

"You can, but I need to be careful with what I say in front of you from now on."

"And what you write."

Cobie groans. "Are you sure you don't want to be a detective instead of a Marketing consultant?"

"Isn't it too late to change careers now?"

"Vera Wang started her career in fashion when she hit forty." Cobie shrugs. "And, Colonel Sanders! He franchised his company at the age of sixty-two."

"Very inspiring," Luke says in a flat tone. "But yeah, I remember every single thing you said and wrote, Evans."

Feeling the uninvited heat creeping up her cheeks, Cobie turns her head to look at the view through the passenger's window. "Do you mean after I accidentally sent that email?"

It takes several seconds before Luke replies, "You have no idea, have you?"

Cobie cocks her head to look at him again. The golden street light illuminates his sharp eyes, his straight nose, and the curve of his lips that makes him look like he always smirks all the time. "What idea?"

The man shakes his head. "Never mind."

"No, I do mind. What idea?"

"I'm gonna scare you off if I tell you."

"Too late to back out now. It left your mouth a moment ago. If I die tonight, you don't want my ghost to haunt you for days and nights just to fish out the truth out of you."

Luke gasps. "So, 'till death do us apart' doesn't apply to us?"

"Nope. Death won't stop me."

"Where to now?"

"Take the first exit at the roundabout." Cobie shifts her attention to Luke again after they take a turn. "So?"

"So," Luke replies, "I've been paying attention to you since day one you joined us, Evans."

Did he just say...? Don't misinterpret him, don't misinterpret him, don't misinterpret him. Do. Not. Misinterpret. Him. "Okay? That sounds...reasonable since you're my boss."

Luke raises his eyebrows, looking surprised by her reply, but his focus stays on the street. "Which way after that traffic light?"

"Straight, second intersection to the right."

"Okay." Luke taps his fingers on the steering wheels, seeming to consider what he's going to say next. "The thing about being a leader is to provide a comfortable workplace where everyone can equally contribute and have a chance to grow. This is why I always avoid getting involved romantically with my subordinates, even though our office regulations aren't against it. I just don't want the mess."

"That makes sense," she replies, fumbling with her own fingers.

"But," Luke continues, "it doesn't mean I'm automatically blind to an attractive woman at work. I just need to not do anything about it."

The more Luke talks, the more Cobie feels the dryness in her throat. She's not dumb to understand where he's trying to go with his speech. She just doesn't know how to react to this. Staying rooted in her seat, immobile, she doesn't dare to speak. Hell, she doesn't even dare to breathe. Her stomach flutters and twists at the same time. If there were real butterflies inside, they must have been squealing and squeaking at the same time, confused and dizzy with the unexpected maneuvers.

Where are all the rules she's been holding for dear life? Where are her seals to protect her from Luke's deadly attacks? Why don't any of them work right now?

"You caught my attention from day one, but well, you came to us for the job, not for an office romance drama. So, I knew I wouldn't do anything stupid to scare you off. Luckily, you're in the research team, under Bram. I don't have to directly deal with you on a daily basis. Less distraction for me." Luke leans forward, squinting at the intersection in front of them. "This turn, right?"

"Y-yes. Our house is the last one on the right."

Once they pull over, Luke turns off the engine and turns his head to her. "I scared you off, didn't I?"

"No. Scared is not the word. I'm more confused." She frowns. "Why are you telling me this now?"

Luke chews his lower lip. "I just thought it's about time to tell you whatever it is."

"I still don't understand. I thought you didn't want to be involved with anyone from your team as long as you're still the boss." Cobie realizes the weight of her remark right after it rolls off her tongue. "I'm not saying that you're asking me out now or want to be involved with me. That's not what I mean, and that's obviously not what you're doing now. It's–"

"I'm leaving the company," he replies, prompting Cobie to open her mouth but fails to produce any words. "I won't be your boss in the near future."

After a good fifteen seconds of silence, she only manages to say three words. "What...why...when?"

"My friend and I are starting up our own Marketing Consulting company. Why? Because it's time to do something bigger than just being an employee without having a chance to be a shareholder. When? As soon as we're ready, but I know it's going to be this year."

"Oh."

"I know it's kinda shocking news. But other than that, I have the liberty to tell you what I think about you now." Luke chuckles softly. "I'm sorry I caught you off guard."

"I...don't know what to say," she mutters, her mind still stuck with the news about Luke leaving.

"You don't have to." She's still too stunned to reply to him when Luke opens the door and says, "I'll walk you to your door. And oh, can you keep the information until I officially announce it myself?"

Luke's voice breaks her chain of thoughts. "Yeah, of course." She glances at her dark front yard. There is no trace of light coming from their kitchen, making her wonder if her mom is already in her bed. Grabbing her bags, she pushes the passenger door open and catches up with Luke's step.

The gravel crunching under their shoes sounds like a grumpy old lady missing their favorite TV show. As they walk to the side porch, weak light beams through the living room window, with occasional brighter light blinking which she's sure coming from the TV screen. Maybe Mom is still awake, watching a movie with Aunt Martha.

"How do you feel? I know you said you didn't want to talk about it at the moment. But I just wanted to make sure you're alright."

"I feel better. Less heavy than an hour ago." She glances up and smiles. "I guess you're right. Talking about it helped."

"I'm glad. I know. It can be very emotionally draining when you do it, but it helps afterward. And I'm all ears if you want to have someone to talk to."

"You've done enough, Luke. You're too kind."

"I'm not too kind."

"You are. Sometimes you're a little too nice that people can easily misinterpret your intention. You have no idea how the girls were squealing because of that, believing that you're interested in them."

"Did you, though? Did you misinterpret me too?"

They stop before the porch stairs and turn to face each other. Cobie looks up at the man who is towering over her, and for hundreds of times, she wishes she was taller. Being at Luke's shoulder level forces her to crane her neck a bit too much only just to talk to him.

"Honestly? Yes, sometimes."

"Good." When Cobie tilts her head in confusion, he adds, "At least now I can confirm you didn't misinterpret it."

"Oh."

The absence of light on the porch doesn't stop Cobie to notice Luke's intense gaze on her. Once again, she breaks her very basic rules of not locking eyes with him. Her brain is too lazy to think about what she should do now. Screw the rules!

The next thing she knows, Luke takes a step forward, extends his hands to cup her face, and starts to caress her cheeks. "You're so beautiful," he says before leaning in to close the gap between them.

Cobie closes her eyes once his soft lips brush over hers. His movement is light, as light as a feather, but it makes her crave for more.

"Is this okay?" Luke asks.

She nods and voluntarily opens her mouth to welcome him, to taste him, to probe him. Luke shifts his hands to the sides of her neck and slightly changes his angle to deepen their kiss, causing her to moan with approval. Despite his tentativeness and gentle moves, their lips lock with a perfect fit to find their rhythm, taking and giving, receiving and delivering.

As the intensity of their kiss builds up, Cobie starts to have trouble feeling the ground she's standing on. She wraps her arms around his neck for balance and is rewarded with his delighted groan. His hands travel down to her waist before firmly pulling her body against his torso to secure her.

Cobie knows it's time to stop. She understands perfectly that this is not what she needs at the moment, yet she keeps responding to his warm lips' advance. She can have a serious talk with herself in front of the mirror tomorrow, but for now, she just wants to savor this moment. When she senses Luke pulling away slightly, she opens her eyes just to find the man staring at her with a big smile on his face.

"I've been wanting to do this since you entered that interview room."

"Now you sound like a perverted boss who wants to seduce his subordinate."

"Seduce, huh?" Luke replies, his eyes twinkling against the flashing light coming from the living room window. "I haven't even started, Evans."

Cobie giggles as Luke pulls her even closer. When they lean in for some more kisses, the front door bursts open.

"Cobie, is that you?"

Cobie quickly detaches herself from Luke's embrace and turns around. "Hi, Mom! Yes, it's me. I just got here."

Her mom walks over the dark porch and stops at the stairs. The lack of light makes it hard for Cobie to comprehend her expression. "Why are you late again? Dinner is already cold. Your sister is also not home yet and I don't know where she is. She doesn't even pick up my call."

"What do you mean? Rose is–" Cobie stops abruptly, realizing that her mom is having an episode again. "Okay, I will call her friends and ask them to send Rose home. Have you eaten?"

"How could I eat if my daughters were still out there unfed?" Her mom shifts her gaze to Luke. "And who is he?"

"Hello, Mrs. Evans, I'm Luke, Cobie's colleague." Luke takes a few steps closer and extends his hand to her.

"Luke. That's a nice name." Her mom takes his hand and turns her head to Cobie. "You've never mentioned him before, have you?"

Cobie scoots over and wraps her hands around her mom's arm, chuckling. "I thought I did. Anyway, thank you for taking me home, Luke, and goodnight," she says, hoping that Luke doesn't ask any questions that can make things worse.

It's when the porch light is switched on, followed by Aunt Martha emerging from the door in a panic. "Eliza! Oh, thank god you're with Cobie!" she says, shifting her eyes at Cobie. "I was in the toilet when she ran outside."

"I didn't run outside. I was just opening the door for Cobie. Why can't you leave me alone for once, Martha?"

"Eliza–"

"It's okay, Aunt Martha, I got this."

Her mom reverts her gaze to Luke, accessing him. "Thank you for taking my daughter home, umm..."

"Luke," Luke replies. "My pleasure, Ma'am."

"Okay, let's go inside. We should eat now." Cobie smiles stiffly at Luke, and he nods at her with a smile she can't decipher.

"Enjoy your dinner, ladies. Have a good evening." With that, Luke pivots on his heels and makes his way to his car.

It's past midnight, yet Cobie's eyes refuse to shut, and worse, her brain is now jumping back and forth, up and down, all over the place. She thinks about how tomorrow will be when Rose is home. Maybe Luke is right, she should try counseling. To her, sitting for an hour with someone she doesn't know and talking about her shits felt so tedious. But after she did it with Luke this evening, it gave her a different idea about it now. Or is it because it was Luke?

Thinking of him, her mind replays the scene from a few hours ago. They kissed. Not a friendly peck, not a quick goodnight kiss, but it was a real lock-lips. She still feels the butterflies swarming inside her belly every time his face pops up in her mind now and then. The way he caressed her cheeks, the way he pressed his lips against hers, the way his strong hands held her against his body.

She's never met a guy who made her feel the way Luke did when they kissed. Luke is just perfect. And the thought of him leaving the company soon makes her think that maybe it brings something good out of it? But wait, will she be able to see him again? Is he still going to live in the same city? Is that why he didn't bother to ask her out?

Cobie groans as she gets up into a sitting position. It's just useless to try to sleep now. The longer she lies on her bed, the more she thinks of him, and the night is not going to end well. She needs to do something to distract her overworked mind.

After switching on her nightstand lamp, she walks to her desk and turns on her laptop, hoping BreadPitt is online right now. Since what happened between her and Rose, and his preparation for his new job, they haven't chatted that much lately. However, the boy kept reminding her of their plan to meet up.

In all honesty, Cobie has no idea how to feel about that. Is she excited? Is she feeling reluctant? Is she even ready to meet BreadPitt in real life? But she knows she still doesn't want to reveal her face to him. It's the only card for her if she wants to bail on him at the last minute. Showing her real face is a huge deal for her.

Look who is online tonight!

:) Can't sleep

Rough day?

Sort of.

How's the moving out preps?

Crazy. Mom wants me to bring the whole wardrobe.

Sounds like a plan.

Dude, as long as I have my underwear, jeans, and a couple of shirts, I'm ready to go.

You need a work outfit, don't you?

Not really. They provide the uniform there. But I do need a few nice clothes to bring with me. In case I meet girls to impress there.

Same old BreadPitt :) The charmer.

It doesn't hurt to hope

One month. 4 weeks. 30 days. A lot can happen.

But first thing first, gotta see my not-girl. My flight is next week on Wednesday. So, I have a few days to adjust and to look around. Can I see you around that time?

No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know.

Sure.

🔹🔹🔹