I WALKED to the garage, and my breath caught as I saw my Mercedes Benz gleaming under the rising sun.

Every single time I saw the car my heart raced, it seemed farfetched, but it was the truth. I bought the car from my neighbor when he decided to migrate to another country. He didn't know what to do with it, so I offered to take it off his hands, and he'd sold it way less than the market value.

The car was one of my biggest achievements and rightfully so since it raced like a cheetah. It seduced the road masterfully and took every curve with finesse. It was also by far the most expensive thing I'd ever gotten but considering its speed, I couldn't complain.

I climbed into the driver's seat and dumped my briefcase at the back seat before strapping the seat belt on. I ran my hands over the leather steering wheel and the texture against my fingers comforted me. Whenever I was in it, the world didn't seem so bad and ugly. I drove and tried to enjoy the scenery around me as I raced past tall buildings and trees. I turned on the radio to hum along with the song that was playing.

As I drove towards work that morning, I couldn't help but think about the dream I had during the night. I had gone to bed bone tired and weary from staying up all night trying to finish the project I was too distracted to work on at the office. My tired mind thought it was okay to tease me with pictures of Kelvin clad in low riding pants doing something I couldn't recall. The dream was like a magazine cover shoot and I had to shut my eyes tighter as I came into consciousness. I grasped for something else to distract myself with until I succumbed and finally fell into a deep sleep, then woke up two hours later at the ring of my alarm.

I'd groaned out of my bed and dashed towards the bathroom, my pajamas coming off and dropping on the floor as I turned on the shower. I was practically sleeping as I layered lotion on my body. Even now, I tried my best to keep my eyes opened by forcefully singing along to the song on the radio.

I gave a silent thanks to God as I spotted the entrance of my office. The security guard, Dwayne smiled as I pulled over. He shook his head in understanding when he noticed my face before wishing me a great day. I smiled back politely and climbed out of the car when I got an empty parking space in the car park.

When I got to my desk, I unwrapped a sachet of Snicker, took a huge bite and moaned deeply as the chocolate and caramel melted in my mouth. I chewed the peanut slowly praying the sugar kicked in fast and help turn my mood around.

Thirty minutes later, I was back to being my jolly old self, and I delved head first into work not surfacing until it was lunch time. I rubbed my eyes and let out a not so ladylike yawn. The cubicles surrounding mine were empty so no one was present to witness my embarrassing yawn.

I looked at the calendar beside my desktop and counted the days before Saturday. I needed a weekend dedicated for just sleep, I owed my body that much. Mercifully, I didn't have to go through any emotional torture today as Gwyneth and her clique never neared me. Everyone was busy with something and was too occupied to pursue trouble. Thank God for small mercies.

I went to see my boss few hours before closing and gave him a rundown of what I was working on as I worked as a Drafting and Design Engineer in his I.T. firm. I looked on as he nodded his head in between my speech. His expression gave nothing away and I couldn't tell if I was making sense or not.

I was working on a new idea for an earpiece. The year before, everyone had come up with a new invention and by the end of the year, we decided to go with making an earpiece that never tangled. After doing several researches and interviewing hundreds of people to get their responses and opinions, we got feedbacks of people gushing about what a great idea it was and how excited they were to know it was going to be out soon. I was responsible for bringing the idea to life and I was currently working on the schematics of The Earpiece.

My boss made few corrections when I concluded my speech and gave few ideas that we brainstormed on. We both agreed on his idea and I made few adjustments on my paper. By the time we were through, it was way past the closing time. I went back to my desk and labored on getting new schematics with the reviewed adjustments. I wanted a corner office like my boss' in the nearest future so I worked extra hard to get the most accurate drawings. My cluttered cubicle with its groaning chair wasn't going to cut it for me.

I watched my boss walk out of his office, and I gave a small smile as he waved at me. His shoes made a rhythmic sound as they tapped against the tiled floor when he walked to the elevator. Everywhere became silent afterwards, and I was all alone. The steady humming of my computer system was the only sound reassuring me.

I ordered pizza as I worked and shared some with Dwayne when he came up to deliver the box. We talked for a while as we ate, and I listened to stories about his kids. I laughed when he spoke about the mischievous things they did. Dwayne was stocky with really broad neck and a wide face. His eyes were dark and piercing and if he wasn't generally nice to everyone, I would be scared of him. He patted my shoulder after we finished the pizza and left to join his partner at his post.

I looked out the glass and watched as the grey clouds became black, darkness descending with it. The lights in the office sparkled, it's glow giving warmth to everything around. I stood from my desk and walked around the office, stopping to peer into my boss' office. I envied the large desk and well-padded sofas, even the computer was more updated than mine.

I went to the coffee room, sitting comfortably on the chair Kate took from me the day before. I placed my feet on the round table and spread my arms, I smiled then went rummaging through the fridge on a mission to find soda. All I saw as I moved bottles and cans around was water, every kind there was, sparkling, spring, mineral and flavored. I let out a sigh of exasperation as I grudgingly picked a bottle of flavored water.

I jumped and screamed when I saw a figure peering over me as I shut the refrigerator door. Kelvin jumped also from the sudden noise.

"That wasn't cool," I said when my heart resumed its steady beat.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I thought I was the only one left in the building."

My heart started racing as the warmth of his voice washed over me. Kelvin looked a bit ruffled, his tie was askew and loosened. Several buttons from his shirt had popped open and I couldn't help but notice a trail of hair scattered on his chest. I swallowed and averted my gaze.

"I was just looking for soda," I explained.

"I came for that too, any luck?" he asked when he noticed the flavored water that was clutched in my hand.

"No, someone cleaned out and didn't get new packs from the storage room."

I realized I was still standing near the fridge so I moved towards the door, not minding the fact that it looked like I was running. Kelvin was beside me in seconds, taking several steps with me as I reached my desk and sat. I looked up at him, waiting for him to say something before I buried myself in work.

"You're always in such a haste. You must be working on something great."

"Something like that," I replied, deciding to be vague on purpose so he could leave.

I didn't know how long I could last being engulfed in the scent of his cologne. It smelt like a fine blend of raw lavender mixed with citrus, and the total effect was rich, sensual and more importantly, lethal. The scent was doing crazy things to my mind, and I could tell that I wasn't going to get much sleep that night either. He obviously didn't read my body language because he grabbed a seat from one of the empty cubicles and angled it closer to my desk.

"What's that?" he asked pointing towards the screen when he got a good look at what I was working on.

I shut my eyes and opened them expecting him to be gone, but he was still there clearly waiting for an explanation. I sighed and launched into a detailed explanation, pointing and sometimes using the mouse to move the cursor as I explained each parts and components. I looked over at him expecting to see him looking with boredom as was my intent, but he smiled slowly and scratched his head.

"Exactly what's this supposed to do?"

"Specifically, to make using earpiece enjoyable, no tangles, no breaking. You can wrap or fold it and there won't be any stress, you just unfold it and it stretches. Do you get the drift?" I asked.

"Yea, it's a good idea."

"Thank you," I replied genuinely.

"So in few months or years I will not have to spend time untangling my earpieces, that'll save time. And I can dispense with those earbuds because I buy a new set every month, I can't help but lose them." His tone wavered between uncertainty and glee.

"That's the point. We'll probably end up selling the idea to another company, I'm hoping it gets that big."

"I'm sure it will. Not everyone will be interested, I know people that'll never give up their ear pods."

"We shall see. I need to send this to the other engineer and graphic designer to go over."

"Sounds like fun."

"It's a lot of work."

"I don't doubt that," Kelvin said and took a long swallow from his bottle. His head turned towards the ceiling as he emptied the content in his mouth, it was exactly as I did the first time he came over to my desk.

I looked on in astonishment as a drop of liquid rolled out from the corner of his lips. He caught it just in time as his tongue flashed out to mop the stray drop. What I would give to be that tiny drop of water.

He threw the empty bottle in the thrash can by the desk and looked at me sheepishly. "Oh, you thought you were the only one that could do that?"

"Of course not. It's a simple trick."

"Oh, so it's simple now? You managed to spill yours all over the desk," he mocked.

"And who caused that? You sneaky thing," I said before realizing seconds later not to indulge him.

"Excuses, excuses," he said.

I managed to fix him my death glare but it withered away as I saw his eyes sparkling brightly with merriment. I gave up and laughed heartily. "Whatever," I said trying to regain my dignity.

"Uh-huh."

I saw him looking at the watch on his wrist and that was when I realized how late it had gotten.

"I didn't realize it was so late. I need to head home," I said before Kelvin could say anything.

"I should too." Kelvin stood up after me and leaned over to hug me. I stood still with my forehead furrowed in surprise at the unexpected gesture. I wasn't used to people showing me affection.

"Night, Fatimah," he said and walked to the other side of the office.

I found my tongue tied and couldn't reply until he was out of my sight, uttering a very low, "Goodnight." I shook myself and started packing files of documents into my briefcase. I turned the lights off on my way out.