I tightened the jacket around me as a cool breeze blew past us. I was standing beside Shivaay who sported a bored look. Everyone, meaning a few members from each team in the advertising department, were chosen to tag along and help out in the working of the behind the scenes of the television commercial of this campaign.

It had taken us days and days which now transpired into a few weeks to work on each and every aspect of our campaign. After vigorous detailing and planning of each process for hours on long was exhausting. It was such a pain to finally come up with a foolproof plan. I would usually be bummed out by the end of the day but it was nothing a mug of hot coffee couldn't solve.

Currently, we were all witnessing the preparation of the commercial that would be filmed in some time. Basically, everything related to the pre-production was taking place. Ms. Maxwell was standing some distance away from us, barking orders to someone in a walkie talkie handed over to her by one of the production members. Skye was nodding at something the director, David Hastings, a short and stout man, was saying.

I continued looking around with a deep interest. We were all gathered on a secluded road which was strictly for shooting purposes. A section of a few people were watching the stuntman driving in a normal car to test the roads for a few miles before the actual shoot to make it more intricate. And also, to get familiar with every nook of the entire way.

The crew all around was busy positioning its camera and lighting stuff while the production team was putting on the props. They were also setting up fake houses made up of cardboard on both sides of the road.

I was so enamored by the fact that everyone was working in harmony. However it was also not cool to watch a lot of them bickering and yelling for a certain thing not going as planned either.

"Your debonaire CEO was looking here just a second ago. I wonder why?" Shivaay muttered, tapping his chin and bumping his shoulder with mine. "Is it because he likes my turtleneck sweater so much?"

I rolled my eyes and punched him on his stomach lightly. "Stop it already and he's not just "my" CEO." I laughed while glaring at him at the same time.

"Oh, yeah, VVJ. I know that you're just jealous because he didn't look at you. But don't you worry-"

Before he could finish his sentence, I punched him on his stomach again. This time it was a bit harder. I smirked when he howled in pain. "Serves you better."

"Now it's your turn to shut up, you man beater!"

I winked at him and looked ahead. "I thought it was "VVJ", Shivaay," I teased, keeping my chuckles in.

"Exactly. Was. Now, imma call you a "hashtag man beater"," he grumbled.

"You're annoying." I pushed him away, smiling.

He grinned, stumbling a bit. "Proves my point even more."

Shaking my head, my eyes involuntarily move toward Skye. It was at that exact moment, his gaze landed on me as well. The mere eye contact made my heart stutter a bit but soon enough, it started beating so quickly as if it was on a marathon.

Shivaay whistled and walked away but not before pulling a strand of my hair teasingly. I ignored him completely and looked at Skye with a small smile. He returned the gesture and turned back around to make sure everything was in place.

My mind wandered back to the day when we were in the parking lot. A tingly sensation swirled through me when I remembered how he had held my waist tightly. And the moment when, no matter how much ever split second it was, his eyes had drifted toward my lips.

Oh, hush it, you crazy woman! I thought reproachfully and shook away all the thoughts.

When I looked up again, Skye was not standing where he was. Frowning, I roamed my eyes everywhere only to see Ms. Maxwell waving for me to come forward.

Sighing slightly, I went to her. "Ms. Jones, I'd like for you to help the production team. We are running out of time as it is. We aren't permitted here for more than seven hours," she told me, her hard eyes set on nothing in particular.

I nodded my head and did as I was told to. I had worked behind the camera for the advertising shoots at my previous workplaces but it had never been quite a... remarkable experience.

As I was approaching a huge man with an equally big beard, someone from beside me spoke. "If you're here to help then we are already done." I turned to my right to see a guy around my age, smiling at me. His dark hair was tied back by a bandana.

"Oh?" I looked around to see that almost everyone was actually leaving their spots. "Oh."

He laughed and was about to say something before he was called off. Throwing an apologetic smile over his shoulder, he dashed off to where he was called.

After a few minutes of the set being put up, everybody was asked to clear the shooting range. Another stuntman came driving in his truck and just a second later, someone else pulled in after the truck. It was the new model - Z Meteor. The car was such a beauty with its sleek black color. It had normal features but with a dash of sophistication, showing that it really does belong to the upper middle class people.

Soon after, a man and woman in their 30s strutted their way to the director to be briefed about their act. The woman's stomach was stuffed to make her seem pregnant and she was walking arm in arm with the man beside her. They were laughing and flirting and from what I've heard, they're not even dating each other.

"Seems like someone's gonna get laid tonight." I heard someone say before snorting funnily.

After hours and hours of running around along with the several takes, the advertisement was finally filmed. The most tiring task was for the crew to make the lighting look more natural because the sun was starting to set. I was exhausted by the end of it all and rubbed my eyes to get rid of the tiredness.

"Pack up, boys!" David Hastings yelled and clapped twice. The then silent crowd dispersed in each direction like the ants. The wrapping up took another hour or so and I couldn't even feel my limbs anymore.

Not able to take it anymore, I sat down on my haunches and looked up at the sky. I couldn't see the stars clearly until I squinted my eyes but doing that made me see tiny spots around my vision instead of the starry skies. I closed my eyes for a minute or two to not have any double vision. This always happens to me when I overwork myself without any breaks.

"You okay there, VVJ?" I opened my eyes to see Shivaay kneeling down in front of me with a furrow between his brows.

Giving him a lazy smile, I changed my sitting position by crossing my legs. "Yeah, just tired."

When my gaze fell all around me, it was almost empty except for a few who were also starting to leave.

"Need a moment to myself."

"Okay, I'll wait along," he said but I could tell that he wanted to leave. He looked just as beaten as I was. I had hitched a ride with Shivaay in his car while coming here so I didn't have my own car. The reason why he thought it obligatory to wait for me.

"Um, no. Don't worry about it, Shivaay. I'll call an Uber. Though, I am so glad that I didn't come in my car because I wouldn't have had the strength to drive it." I lifted up my arms limply with a pout.

"You sure? 'Cause I don't mind waiting for you, you know?"

"Who are you kidding, buddy? Stop lying and go!" I laughed and pushed him away. "I know that you do mind."

He started chortling like a devil and backed away. His expression made me chuckle even more and he waved his goodbye. "Adios, man beater!"

"Shut up and bye, you-you... you, clown!" I said whatever came to my mind first. As soon as I said that, he threw a dry look at me over his shoulder.

The moment he drove away in his car, I laid down on the ground with my hands underneath my head. The ground was clean and spotless because it's cleaned daily for the shooting reasons. Even now, it had been swept neat by the cleaners after the wrapping up took place.

As I was gazing at the almost empty sky, I felt a shadow looming over me. I tilted my head to the left to see Skye standing above me with a confused face.

"What are you still doing here?" His question wasn't rude but rather curious.

I quickly sat up, dusting my arms and stomach. "Uh... nothing, just taking a breather, that's all," I answered.

He sat down beside me, coiling his arms around his knees. I was shocked to say the least. I hadn't expected him to tag along in my 'lonesome party' to put it simply. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here but this does seem like fun. Like an actual breather," he muttered with a strained laugh.

"Nope, don't mind at all." When I looked at him I could tell that exhaustion was taking a toll on him, more so than anybody else. It must be because of the burden shoved on him for being a CEO at such a young age. Plus, the campaign would either make or break the sales of his company.

We were quiet and I could hear the clarion of insects around me. I leaned back on my hands and looked up again at the plain black sky. I was basking in the comforts around me when Skye broke the silence. I didn't mind though because I had no clue what I should talk to him about. "Do you like the quiet?"

Just the way he'd asked, I could tell that his question was not simple nor could it be satisfied with a simple answer. I turned my gaze to him to gauge his expression but felt shy all of a sudden when he was already looking at me. "At moments like these, I do," I replied with an awkward shrug.

"And when the moments are not like these?"

"I need company... I guess?" I laughed at my lame and simple answers. "But that's not really a problem. I am usually surrounded by people. What about you?"

Averting his eyes from me, he stared ahead as if thinking deeply. "It's more like becoming my solace. My best friend," he told me. I was half expecting him to elaborate but he didn't.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Never mind." He started laughing to diffuse the tension in the air. I had seen his back stiffening when I'd asked him what he meant. His countenance told me that he didn't know that he'd answered it up until I had asked him to explain his words. Like he was in some sort of trance.

I wanted to coax him into telling me but we both knew that our relationship was strictly professional. Having a heart to heart now would just make things awkward and weird the next. To avoid having any repercussions, I preferred to not ask about it any further even though I was itching to.

He exhaled a deep breath and there was that smile again. A cover up for his true emotions, his vulnerability. Not wanting to come off as a creep, I returned the smile before looking away. My heart, like usual whenever I was near him, started thudding at a quick pace. "So... how's work?"

"Work's like... work?" I said stupidly and he started blinking at my statement, hiding his amusement. Now it just seemed that we were trying to turn up the conversation and yet again I found myself enjoying it and not minding it one bit. I backed up my sentence and continued, "Basically, I feel like a cheese that's being grated."

He chuckled softly at my response and threw a small pebble in the distance.

It was getting late but I was enjoying his presence. All my exhaustion flew out the window and all I wanted to do was scoot over and close the distance between us.

"You have no idea but it's even worse in my case." He snorted, flicking yet another pebble.

"Really? I mean - I... I know that you're the CEO but you've got a whole lot of people who take the stress for you, right?" I said with furrowed brows and copied his actions by tossing a lone pebble too.

"Yeah well that and I am the one to get the beating if my company's not working well. You know, the sales going down and being berated by the BODs and all that stuff. The work might be segregated and that employees might be doing it but at the end of the day, it's stashed back on my shoulders to try to amend the mistakes done by them. Sacks and sacks of problems," he explained to me.

I could see his tense shoulders relaxing a bit as if talking about it made him feel so much better and light. He muttered something else under his breath that I couldn't catch. "Now that I think about it, you're actually right. You don't know how hard something could be unless you get an insight for the same," I agreed, nodding my head.

"Exactly." He clapped once and it echoed in the almost silent night.

I was in a dilemma to ask him one particular question but I don't know if it would be me crossing my limits. I think he must have noticed it too with the way I was looking at him every few seconds and fidgeting with the hem of my jacket.

"Shoot."

"Huh?" I asked dumbfounded.

"I know that you wanna ask something so say it."

I blushed profusely for being caught red handed and not even trying to be discreet about it. "Um... sorry-" I started to apologize.

"Nah, don't worry about it, honestly," he assured me with that same, heart fluttering, gentle smile. "But also, I do hope that it's not difficult because then I'd not be able to answer." He laughed but there was an underlying meaning behind it like everything he did or said.

I nodded my head and looked him in the eye. "You-you wanted to take over your father's company? Like, you know, was it your dream all along or did you just discover it a few years-"

Skye cut me off the second time and I caught onto every single emotion he displayed in that span of time. Anger, repression, longing, hope. "No." A single syllable but I could see the anger on his face. His hands were clenched into tight fists.

When he didn't say anything, I nodded again and looked at my hands that were yearning to smooth out his fists. "Oh." I sighed. "I just..."

"Sometimes... I just - I just wonder that in the coming future, will I be ordinary or will I make history or will I just be a part of some... mystery that no one cares about?"

It was as if he realized the slip up because his eyes widened and he started laughing. I guess it was his way to direct the person's attention from his deep words. Maybe, he has his moments. One too many times at that because it seemed like he didn't intend to say those things. Twice.

"What?" I asked, intrigued. "Why do you say that?"

He shook his head and muttered in a low voice but I heard it anyway. "What is it with her?"

I don't know what sense to make of it so I just ignored it. I could tell that Skye needed a friend to talk to. One thing was clear, Skye didn't want to be the CEO of his father's company and from what he said, he was unsure of his future too. It's as if he has plans and yet no plans at the same time.

"I don't know if I am allowed to do this but can I hug you?" His lips parted as if he couldn't believe what I just said. To not make things awkward, I decided to say something to back up my statement. "I mean it's okay if it's-"

It was not a good thing to be cut off the third time by the same person in just a span of a few minutes but his next words made me chuckle. "Valerie... what did I say about us," he began, pointing to both him and I. "When we're not in the work arena and that the working hours have already been over? I suppose you can-"

This time I cut him off by wrapping my arms around him because I didn't need to be told twice. He almost lost his balance and fell back but gathered himself quickly. After a second or two of hesitance, he finally hugged me back.

I felt his soft chuckles reverberating throughout my body, making the tingling sensation automatically cruise all over me. I rested my chin on his shoulder and smiled happily. Who would have thought that I could be this close to my crush?

Whoa, whoa, hold on a sec! Crush? A crush? Seriously?!

My panic was cut short when his body relaxed around mine. It was as if a sign for me to do the same. "Thank you, Valerie," he whispered and I tightened my arms around him even more.

That night, he gave me a ride back to my apartment. It was a silent one because we were engulfed in our own thoughts.

My heart still didn't stop rampaging in my chest, not until I fell asleep with a giddy smile on my face. A bliss if I say so.

~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~♡☆~

Your views on this book so far? I've got like so much planned out, I am literally itching to write it all in one go but lol that's just not me. Causeeeeee, I'm lazy hahaha

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