At 2 pm, Kaede walked into the store, "Ruben, can you give me a hand? I brought these for the team."

Ruben took the boxes of Macarons, and Kaede went to her office.

A few seconds later, Iman knocked on the door, "come in."

"Kaede, are you sick?" The woman blurted,

"No, why."

"Why? Why, since when do you buy Macarons for the team? And you are a little too smiley."

"Am I? Listen, the team has worked well, and I wanted to compensate. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, nothing."

"Thank you, anything else?"

Kaede's phone buzzed with a Whatsapp tone:

Are you at work already? By the way, it's my number.

Kaede smiled as the profile pic was a Call of Duty banner, and Iman threw her a suspicious stare.

"What?"

"Nothing," Iman left the office.

Kaede replied: Yes, I'm already there.

Okay, see you at 4 pm.

Everyone gave Kaede the odd eye, which she overlooked. She carried on working as usual with a Colgate smile.

As promised, Dominque was on time; Kevin was the first person he crossed.

"Hey man, long time no see," he whispered.

"Yeah, I had to help my sister out with her business. Is Kaede around?"

"She's over there."

"What's with all the whispering?" Dominque asked.

"The boss is a tad weird today. Everyone is on their best behavior."

Dominque frowned, "why?"

"She's all grins; it's scary."

They had little time left. Dominque tapped Kevin on the shoulder and went to find Kaede. The woman saw his reflection creeping up on her and turned before he could engulf her in a back hug.

Instead, the man tried to give her a kiss on the cheek that she dodged.

"Dominque, don't, not here."

He frowned and asked, "ready?"

"Let me get my purse," Kaede went behind the counter and took her back.

Dominque grabbed her hand. Kaede looked about; all eyes were on them; she felt ashamed to protest.

"I guess he's back," Tara whispered to Steph, who conjured up all the Korean bleep words he could think of as he watched Dominque stride to the store's door holding Kaede's hand.

Once outside, Kaede exploded, "Dominque, please don't do stuff like that."

"Stuff like what?"

"Holding my hand and trying to kiss me."

The man's stare darkened, "Kaede, I told you no bizarre rules."

"Dominque, I'mㅡ, Kaede hesitated. "I don't like public demonstrations, okay."

"Well, we have a problem because I do."

The man knew his mistake when he saw at Kaede's sorrowful expression. Marco told him she was shy, but he also said that he used her timidity to his advantage by passing her off as a friend in front of those they encountered. Dominque didn't want to do that, especially when he saw other men's stare upon her. The man preferred to mark her as taken.

"Dominque, I don't want the team to see this."

"Why? Being together isn't a felony."

Kaede's eyes darted, but the man knew Marco lurked in her thoughts.

"Okay, Kaede, let's eat first. You haven't got much time."

"Where are we going?:

"To the Tuileries."

"But, we need to buyㅡ."

Dominque shook a bag in front of her, "I hope you like banh mi."

The Tuileries weren't far; they quickly found a bench and began to eat.

"Kaede, about earlier, I'm sorry. I'm a tactile person."

Dominque needed to be in constant connection with his lover touching, kissing, skinship held an essential spot. Whereas for Kaede, the gestures were too intimate to be exposed.

"Dominque, I just don't want the staff to peep into my private life."

"It's about Marco. You figure if they know, he'll be aware too. No problem, I'll tell him. But Kaede, I don't think you owe Marco anything."

Kaede looked down at her sandals.

"Kaede, I mean it," Dominque could not say more. The man hated the fact she beat herself up when Marco didn't deserve a millimeter of thought.

"Okay, Kaede, I'll be careful. Please look at me."

The woman took a glance at him.

Dominque was such a contrast to her, if not to say a fundamental opposite. The man was outspoken and outgoing. He seemed comfortable in any situation. Also, he appeared to be the forgive and forget type, as the following take proved.

"What will you do tonight.?"

"I'm late on my schedules, I haven't finished August ones yet, and it's only in a few days. I'll be working."

"Work from mine."

"What?"

"I'll pick you up. We can have dinner together, and you can work."

Kaede gave him a deadpan stare and said, "why should I do that when I have a home?" in her Barry White voice.

"To be with me."

"Technically, I won't be with you. I'll be working."

"Yeah, but I prefer you to do that in my presence."

"Nah, I'll work at home and well see each other another time."

"Kaede," Dominque pleaded.

"No, Dominque."

Dominque sneered, "you are so mean."

Kaede slid her head back, "Dude, you can run away anytime. We haven't got anywhere yet. You can still bailout."

Kaede was harsh; Dominque thought she tested his resolve, "fine, Kaede, have it your way. If you change your mind for tonight, call me."

They quickly finished eating and hurried back. There was no conversation. Kaede created an awkward and invisible wall where she trapped the man or thought until they arrived in front of the store, and Dominque pulled her back.

"What are you doing, Dominque? Let go of me."

The man grasped her waist and planted a kiss on her lips.

"I told you not in the store."

"We're not in, but in front, Kaede breathe. Stop trying to make this into something complicated. Let's keep it simple; let me keep you company. There's no antagonist here, don't whisk one up."

Kaede slid her eyes to the side. Dominque's relaxed mode annoyed her.

Despite the stare, the man managed to deposit another kiss on her cheek, "see ya."

Dominque released her, and Kaede entered the store, where everyone hurried to resume what they were doing.

"He's back for good."

"Shut up, Tara, just shut up. Why are you always rubbing it in?" Steph scolded.

++

Kaede finished work and went home to do what she said. She didn't think of Dominque until she printed the last schedule, and silence nibbled the space around her.

What was the man doing?

Dominque had a gift for leaving her with mixed feelings. Frustration, confusion sprinkled with a bit of anger. Kaede had just managed to make her world sound, and here he was, making noise around her. The worst thing was that as much as it frightened or annoyed her, she liked it, but something bothered her.

She looked at her phone. Why didn't Dominque call? Was he out? Who was he with, his footballer friends or a woman?

These constant inquiries were what spoiled everything. The woman didn't know how to break the habit. Kaede hated not being able just to let go.

"Breathe, Kaede," she got up and went to switch on her PlayStation. The woman almost sighed with relief as she saw BoyscoutMakeveli connected.

BSM: Finished your schedules?

Kuroqueen: Yes.

BSM: Want to play?

Kaede smiled; the woman finally pieced together and linked his Instagram profile name and his gaming one. What a paranoid freak she made.

Kuroqueen: Yeah.

All she needed to do was stay in control, and everything would be fine, she thought.