Author's Note: Chapter 11 has been published and I hope you all love it! I made this chapter a bit longer than the previous one, and I swear I WAS SMILING A LOT. I'm been AWOL for like, two weeks because I've been so busy with work and I've been reading books by Adam Silvera (author of They Both Die At The End) and Becky Albertalli (author of Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda) and I got the chance to meet them and have my books signed!!!! Seriously I'm in love with them and I love how they write. They're so cute!!

Word count: 4,184

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Chapter 11

I wake up feeling shitty.

My back hurts but not to the point I can't get up. I also have runny nose, and I'm not sure what medicine to take. I would have to call my mother as she knows what I should take. I'm not a big fan of medicines. Before when I was still living with my parents, whenever I got sick, she would simply look at me and immediately knew what the reason was. Parents, especially mothers, have powers like that.

And I'd kill just for her to be here.

Here I am, six in the morning, calling my mother who's supposed to be sleeping at this time. The phone rings several times before she picks up with a groggy voice.

"Sweetie, is something the matter?" I imagine her yawning and stretching her legs out, the first thing she always does in the morning. Then she'd wake dad up and they'd both get in the kitchen to prepare our morning breakfast. I want to go home.

"I feel like a shit,"

"Language."

"Don't go Captain America on me, I'm sick." I tell her and she remains quiet. I already imagine her panicking because her baby, which is me, needs her help but unable to tend him. "My back hurts, and I have a runny nose. And you know, my legs are getting cold for no reason. The symptoms, mom. You know I'm going to get sick. But I'm going to be fine. What medicine I should take?"

I hear her sighing in relief. "Take bioflu. That should be enough. Make sure you eat first before taking it, alright? And oh, good morning. I'm glad you called. Your father and I have some things to do today. Alarm didn't wake us up."

"Good morning. What are your plans today?"

"Oh, we'd just buy some decors for the house. We need to be early. It's mega sale."

"Decors for?"

"The house! Are you even listening? Active listening, Pierce. Active listening."

"Mom, I know it's for the house. What I'm asking is why are you going to put decors for the house?" Sometimes my mom can be a real ass. But hey, I'm the same. Her attitude is just like mine, but altered a bit. "It's just September, and Halloween is not near yet."

"It is for the Halloween. And Christmas." She chimes, and I can practically see her grinning.

"Are you serious, mom?"

"Yes, oh, your father is waking up."

"Say good morning for me to him,"

"I will. I need to go. If you have time later, call me on Messenger, and we'd video chat." She sounds excited and I hear her yelling at my dad for not waking up when the alarm went off and I hear my dad grumbling under his breath. "Love you!"

"Love you, too!" She hangs up the call and I lie down on my bed with a sigh.

I'm tempted not to go to work because I'm sick, well not yet. That or I just don't want to see Wyatt. I can't believe I just wasted a couple of dollars to buy him food only to throw it in the trash bin at the end of the day. I admit, I wasn't in the right state of mind that time. I should have given it to someone instead of throwing it out because seriously, there are many people who struggle to get their daily food and here I was, throwing untouched foods. I can't believe I've been an idiot. Just because you haven't had a chance to give the person the food you bought for him doesn't mean you have to throw the food that you bought.

Maybe I'm being punished right now because of what I did. That or I' m really that stupid. Sighing, I roll out of my bed with much resistance, forcing my feet to carry me to the kitchen so I can prepare my breakfast. I'm thinking toasts with chocolate spread, hot chocolate, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes and sliced onions in it. Then after that I'd head to a pharmacy store to get me some bioflu just to get rid of this possible illness I may have.

I get early in the office. Wyatt isn't here yet and that's not a good thing. That or he decided to cancel all his plans today without informing me via text. I wish he'd take the day off today because I can't stand the sight of him. No, not really. I'm being dramatic. But hey, I seriously got my hopes up and that's not a good thing. Somehow, somewhat, I care for him and I don't have any idea why. Maybe because he's my boss? Maybe it's because I know him for so long and I thought I hate him? I hate him. Yes, I hate him. No, not really. I'm just being overly dramatic. No wonder Melody has always called me a drama king when we were in high school, and she still calls me that even up to this day.

My hope is crushed when Wyatt is walking in with a briefcase in his hand, looking like a real gentleman and a businessman. He's wearing this navy blue suit that hugs his arms and body, and navy blue tie is neatly tied. But the cuffs of his suit are not neat. It's a bit messy. You would have to look closely for you to notice it though. His hair is neatly combed to the side but his bangs are a bit unkempt, giving him this good and bad boy look. Like, he can say nice things to you in the morning and do bad things to you at night. WHY AM I SERIOUSLY THINKING ABOUT THAT?

His lips are set in a thin line, his eyes directly meeting mine and I feel myself freezing. He's closer now and my mind goes blank. Should I greet him good morning? Should I tell him he looks so good? Should I tell him I hate him but not really? Should I tell him that I bought a food for him but I saw his girlfriend walked in with a bag of Denny's in her hand for him so I decided to dump the Burger King Whoopers in the trash bin?

As he passes by, I stand up from my chair and bow my head, but I keep my mouth shut. I'm not really sure what to say, and it's better to seal my lips than saying dumb stuff because really, I don't trust myself right now. I don't trust my mouth. Wyatt keeps on walking when he stops mid step.

"Why didn't you give me the burgers?" he asks me and I suddenly feel uncomfortable. So he saw the burgers. I feel ashamed. "I could have eaten it, you know."

"I'm sorry," I admit, feeling guilty as if I've done an unforgivable crime. "Your girlfriend brought you food, so I assumed you didn't want that. I just decided to throw it. I'm sorry."

"That's alright. Next time you buy me anything, and I mean anything, I'd appreciate it if you give it to me."

"Yes, sir."

"Wyatt."

"What?" This time I look up at him and see him staring at me intensely. Blush floods my cheeks and I purse my lips. His eyes are so fucking perfect it hurts to look at. My heart is beating faster and faster as if my heart is participating in a race. "What did you say?"

"Just call me Wyatt, like you always do." He tells me and I see a faint smile threatening to break in his lips. That or my head is playing tricks on me. His lips are set in a thin line. "You're the only one who calls me Wyatt."

"My friends call you Wyatt, and some of your friends in high school."

I don't even know why I'm calling him Wyatt in the first place. I don't remember the history of it, I just kept calling him Wyatt. When we first met he introduced his name to all of us when he was new, and he still didn't have friends, and I found him really, really cute and from there, I think I started calling him Wyatt while his friends call him by Ajax or sometimes, his middle name Chase. I think I called him Chase a couple of times, but mostly Wyatt.

I remember his friends – I don't know if they are still in contact up to this day, they were calling him Wyatt but he actually didn't like being called like that. And he was beginning to be an asshole at that time. His eyes were already set on me as his target, then he started bullying me and teasing me and he was really competitive (even to this day, duh), and then I called him Wyatt because it was irritating him.

"But they always got beat up by me," he sounds proud and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"And I was only calling you Wyatt just to piss you off because I knew you hated that."

"You still call me Wyatt most of the time."

"That's because I got used to calling you Wyatt without making it as an insult."

"Then just call me Wyatt."

"Okay."

Wyatt just stands there facing me while I avoid his gaze, looking anywhere but him. The silence is deafening and as second ticks by, I grow uncomfortable. I can still feel his gaze on me, lingering and intense. And I suddenly remember the kiss we shared, at this moment, where I'm literally facing my boss. I force myself to look at him and I regret doing so. He has this amused expression etched on his face that I want to punch away, his lips quirk upwards, and his eyes are twinkling with mischief. I give him a shy smile and hope that someone calls in just to interrupt this awkward moment I'm sharing with him. I look at the phone, burning my gaze on it, hoping it would magically ring and have a magical talk with whoever the fuck. I need Jesus. I need Jesus in my fucking life right now because Wyatt is just standing there, looking at me like an obsessed fucker, and he's probably thinking about the kiss but I really don't know that and now I'm panicking.

I look to my left and right, hoping someone would come in and tell Wyatt that he really needs to work and run the business. I wait for a couple of seconds and no one. Wyatt's office is at the back, and my station is just in front of his office. But in order to get here, you need to ride an elevator and travel the seven seas (just kidding. Just a hallway – a long one). I don't hear any footsteps coming in towards in our direction. No one. No one can save me from this awkwardness. But I have to do something.

"Don't you have something to do in your office?" I say with a strain in my voice, hoping he doesn't feel the obvious that I'm getting awkward and thinking about the kiss we shared in his office.

"I do."

"Then skedaddle, Wyatt."

Wyatt just stares at me before breaking into a grin. The beat of my heart hasn't changed and I try to stay calm through all of this, but Wyatt is making this harder than I thought. I stare at the phone again, hoping this time it will ring but nothing. Wyatt moves forward and I cautiously take a step back, as if we're on a game. He puts his briefcase on my desk and puts his arms on my desk, pulling himself close. My eyes roam around the perimeter, looking for a CCTV. There's only one, on top of Wyatt's office's door, directly facing my station. But it's not blinking, meaning that it's turned off.

"Wyatt, I think your phone is ringing." I hope he'd be distracted.

"My phone isn't ringing."

"It rang." I push.

"It didn't. My friends know I won't accept calls in the morning. If they want to see me, they'd visit here." He purses his lips as our eyes finally meet. Fuck my fucking heart. It's pounding hard against my chest and I think I'm going to die. "We still need to talk about what happened in my office."

"Wait, what happened in your office?" I ask him, playing dumb. This is most awkward conversation I've had with and I swear if this continues, I'll finally put in my two weeks and resign and live with thirty-six cats in my unit. Wyatt just stares at me, not clearly amused. "Seriously I have no idea."

"We will talk later." He grabs his briefcase, backs away, and enters his room and I sigh in relief. My heart is still beating erratically and there's a headache coming and I think the bioflue didn't work because I can feel myself getting cold. My legs are getting cold, which means I'm going to get sick.

Wyatt hasn't had the time to talk to me about what happened in his office and I'm damn grateful for that because I'm not ready to talk about that yet. I was hoping he would forget about it and I was hoping he'd admit that he's just toying me because he wanted to have fun. He swore he'd destroy my life. It's okay if he admits that to me. I mean, I'm basically his enemy so that's understandable. How can Wyatt be so damn annoying? I really need Melody's help with this. I need the distraction I was hoping she'd tell me soon.

I'm currently at the pantry and I told Wyatt, who's busy with his call with Mr-Whoever-The-Fuck-He-Is, that I'd just go to the pantry to get some food prior to going here. He didn't reply, but I know he got the message.

The pantry isn't really packed, but there's a lot of noise. Melody and Matt enter the pantry and they immediately see me. Melody squeals as she runs like a lunatic, earning a few concerned looks from the others, towards me and hugs me like her life depends on it. She tells me she misses me and that her work is not the same without me. Now I wish I could go back to my previous position and just be happy with my friends. I don't even get to hang out with them all the time because I'm so busy fixing Wyatt's schedules for today, the next day, next week, and possibly for the next month. And I've been answering calls for his potential clients, then reaching out to some people if they want to have a meeting with Wyatt. It's making me crazy. Being a secretary makes me crazy. Wyatt makes me crazy. Not being with my friends while working is making me crazy.

The last time my Melody and I were separated is because we needed to study for college. She chose a school far away from mine, and we survived without each other by each other's side, but we were always talking through Skype and probably all the chat application there is. But now, it's like college again but this time, we're just floors away from each other.

"You like something to eat?" Matt asks us and I tell her that I can settle myself with pasta and Melody orders the same thing. Melody chooses a table for us and we take a seat while Matt goes to order.

"So is there any news about the date?" I ask her.

Melody's eyes glint and her face lights up like a Christmas tree. She nods her head furiously as she gives me a grin. She types rapidly on her phone and I try to sneak but she holds her phone close to her chest and glares at me. I roll my eyes at her.

"So you have a date this Saturday. Make sure you look great." She announces. "He said he'd meet you there at the Prospect Park. 7 pm sharp. I also gave your number and he already has seen you."

I narrow my eyes at my best friend, who's grinning at me in return. This bitch has already sent my pictures to the guy I'm going to have a date with this Saturday and yet she doesn't bother showing a picture of what my date would look like, only the time and location of the date. She fixes her hair and crane her neck, massaging it a bit and I sigh.

"Seriously, you're going to like him. This is where I'm good at, you know that."

"I know," I reply, resting my head on the table. People turn to look at me. I want to flip them off. "But what if he realizes he doesn't like me and doesn't want to go on a date anymore when he sees me?"

"Pierson Matthews." My best friend calls me by my full name, which means she's annoyed by me. I look at her as she rolls her eyes at me. "There's no need to overthink things. Just go on a date with this guy, and go with the flow. Gay dating isn't really that hard, I know. Straight dating is a pain in the ass. Trust me. When gays meet and date, it's either yes or no, but when it comes to straight, it's either yes, maybe, I'm not sure, or no. Just like what happened with Matt. Look at me, look at us. It took him a couple of months before I became his girlfriend."

"You have a point."

"Of course I damn have a point. I'm Melody." She smiles proudly. "Now prepare yourself this Saturday and go get that dick."

"Who's getting the dick?" Matt asks as he plops himself beside his girlfriend, kissing her cheek before putting the tray with three plates of carbonara. Melody kisses her boyfriend on the lips and I pretend to gag, making a face at them and Melody sticks her tongue out at me.

"Pierce is getting a dick this Saturday." Melody proudly announces to her boyfriend.

"Whoa, you're back in the dating game? Who's the lucky guy?"

"Matt, I've never been in a dating game before." I begin to dig in my pasta and Matt chuckles, clearly amused by my expression. Solemn. "Seriously you're doing to do great. If I were gay, I'd definitely hit you up. I'm not even sure why you haven't had a boyfriend yet."

"Because this bitch right here doesn't know how to treat guys well." I flip Melody off and Matt bursts out laughing, throwing his head back. He earns a glare from a couple of employees and I arch a brow at them. They know I'm the secretary of Wyatt. I'm not using that power to be a bitch about these assholes though. They go back to their business.

"Fuck you, Melody."

"Don't fuck my girlfriend." Matt grins and they burst out laughing again.

Once we're done eating the pastas, and once Melody is done talking about the key points of the date, we decide to head back in our stations to do our job. I've been gone for twenty minutes and I'm surprised Wyatt hasn't called me yet.

There are only three employees in the elevator and none of them are on the floor where I'm working and Wyatt's office, so I press the button to the floor and wait for a couple minutes before I get there. As I walk towards my station, Wyatt is standing there, in front of my desk and I halt to a stop.

His brows are furrowed in a cute way, like he's confused of what he's thinking. His eyes are trained on the white ceiling, and the cuffs of his suit are now totally undone. Wyatt is really tall, and I've always admired that even when we were high school. We could have been great friends, but instead he decided to bully me and made my high school life a living hell. He starts to pace back and forth, his mind elsewhere as he thinks. I watch him for a couple of minutes, ignoring the deafening pound of my heart against my rib cage. It rings in my ears and my mind is haywire. What should I say?

He stops mid-way and turns his face to my direction. I nod at him, keeping my face straight while internally I'm freaking out. He scrunches his nose up in a cute manner and I resist the urge to laugh, keeping my mouth tightly shut. Oh fuck, I'm not falling for him, am I?

Now is not the time to freak out about it. I've got a lot of time to figure that out, and if I am falling for him, I know a way to stop it: countless dates with the guy I'm going to meet this Saturday. I hope it will be magical and I hope it will be like: I'm into you, he's into me, then we're going to fall in love fast and hard for each other and nothing's going to separate us. That doesn't sound realistic.

"Do you have a plan next Saturday?" Wyatt asks me as I begin to walk towards him.

I think of my plans next week. Saturday is always my fun day, and Sunday is my doing chores day. But I doubt Melody and I will hang out considering she's been having the time of her life with Matt. I'm the only one stuck lonely. Kevin probably has other plans. I haven't asked yet. And for my date, I'm not sure if there's going to be another one. Maybe I'll make a fool out of myself and he'll end up ditching our date just to get the hell away from me. I shake my head to Wyatt.

"Did you get an invitation?" he asks me with a brow arched.

"What invitation?" I'm confused. About the invitation. Not my feelings.

"There's this reunion we have at our high school." He announces and I purse my lips. I haven't heard from them. Maybe I'm not invited. "I'm one of the sponsors of that reunion, and I'd like to go with you. We can go along with Melody."

"I didn't really get an invitation to attend the reunion..." I admit.

"But you're still invited. Everyone will be there."

"Are you... are you like, going to... nevermind."

Maybe he wants to bring me to that reunion just to show off that he's the boss and I'm one of his employees. I feel awful for thinking this, but I'm just trying to check the possibility. I can't handle the humiliation he's going to put me in. I'm about to say no when I catch him staring at my lips. I've just realized that I've been biting my bottom lip because I'm so nervous right now. Heat floods my cheek and I squirm under his heated gaze, my heart beating times ten faster.

I refuse to acknowledge that I just caught him staring at my lips, and I refuse to believe that it means something because there's nothing about that. It happens a lot. I stare at people's lips sometimes. Melody stares at my lips sometimes whenever she wants to apply lipsticks or lip gloss on my lips. So it doesn't mean anything.

"You want to see your parents, yeah?" he brings up my parents and I whip my head in his direction. How could he possibly know that I'm not with my parents? I purse my lips. Now that he has brought that idea, I want to go. Just so I can see my parents.

"How'd you know?"

"Mr. McKenzie told me before I took over the company."

"Oh."

"So it's your chance to meet them. I know you miss them. I miss my parents, too."

"They are not in New York?" He shakes his head. "It sucks not having your parents around. But I'm definitely going with you. Just so I can see my parents. I'll tell Melody too. I'm sure she'll be thrilled. What about the company? What about your schedules? I know it's packed because I'm the one who keeps trying to fix your schedule every week with your clients."

He lets out a chuckle. "That's alright. I already got it. You'll take days off, and it's paid, don't worry. As well as Melody. Already approved by me. I got everything covered."

"Okay, thank you."

Wyatt nods and smiles at me. My heart somersaults at the sight of his precious, beautiful smile that shows his pearly white teeth, and his eyes crinkle a bit. His tongue runs across the bottom lip and my eyes follow his tongue and my breath hitches.

"And yeah, we still need to talk."

"Talk about what?" I furrow my brows.

Grinning as he makes his way inside his office, he stops himself and turns to me. He grins widely and bites his lower lip and I swear I can die right now.

"Our kiss."