She's going to think you're a stalker or that you're obsessed with her and then she will quit and that will be it. Maybe she won't even find out I bought it if I never use it. What the fuck is wrong with me? I sat up in bed and prayed for a better day. I think I jinxed it. I had hardly managed to get dressed when Han ran through my bedroom door.
"We have a big problem." He shoved a newspaper into my hands with a picture of a young man on it. A young, dead man.
"That's the guy." He insisted. He looked sweaty and dishevelled.
"What guy?" I laughed.
"The taxi guy." He said and I took the paper to look at him again. Obviously, I didn't take his looks into consideration when I was punching him, but he was young, incredibly young. I began to read the column about him, and it turned out he was a rich kid. His parents were rich. He had a big house. These things were all a problem. Rich meant they had enough money to investigate and revenge his death.
"If Kai sees this, she'll go crazy and she will hate me. Bring the car around." I demanded and got my shoes on. It was early enough to steal her newspaper before she sees it and having given her a couple days off, I was sure she wouldn't be up so early. Thankfully, I didn't need an excuse to be there because I had an apartment there. We quickly departed. There was hardly anything linking us to the young Bao Park. The journey to Kai's apartment seemed to take twice as long, I was going crazy. I was afraid she'd hate me if she found out. I nearly ran out of the car and up the stairs. I hadn't realised how loud the stairs were. As I reached out to pick up her paper, I heard her door open. There wasn't enough time to pick up the paper and think of an excuse to why I stole her newspaper, so I had no choice but to leave it there.
"Mr. Wang." She said, wrapping her robe tighter around her body. Her hair was messy, and she brushed through it with her hand embarrassed. She was so damn gorgeous.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, stuck in the awkward situation.
"I'm okay. What are you doing here?" She asked, looking down to the floor, avoiding eye contact. She was always so shy. It was making her even more attractive. Girls were falling at my feet, but not her, she was smart and kind and sweet. God help me.
"Oh, I actually just purchased the apartment next door." I said with a smile. She stared at me shocked, waiting for an explanation that made me less of a creep. "I hope that's alright. I met the guy after I dropped you yesterday and I just figured it would be great for work, you know when I stay as late as we did the other night." I smiled. I felt my blood boil out of embarrassment. "I hope this isn't weird, but could I steal your newspaper? The mailman doesn't know that anybody lives here yet, so he didn't give me mine." I smiled again. Her face softened, finally. I felt a little less judged.
"Sure, I don't read it much anyway." She said shyly.
"Thank you." I said with a smile. We were left in an uncomfortable silence.
"What are neighbours for." She smiled again. I exhaled a deep breath, thankfully holding the newspaper in my hands, away from her. We stood in silence for another minute before she smiled and slowly closed her door. Jesus, that was painful. I quickly looked for the key to the apartment and made my way in. While I was there, I made some measurement. It was mine now, I might as well make it look nice. I still managed to get to work on time. I spent the entire day wishing that Kai came into work.
Two more days passed. I talked myself out of going over to the apartment and secretly listening to her every move. I was obsessed. I needed to do something else. To be somewhere other than home or work. Every other week my stepbrother Yan invited me to a bar, and I had declined the last 100 times, but perhaps this was a good time to do something different. Go somewhere else. Speak to somebody else. Try and think about something else. I rang Yan knowing I would regret the decision later.
"Hey, are you busy tonight?" I asked. Even if he were, I knew he would say no and cancel all his plans to go to a bar with me.
"I cannot believe that I am sitting here with Mr Jun Wang." Yan mocked me as we sat at the bar full of desperate woman. "You never agree to go drinking with me and today you call me yourself. What the fuck happened?" He laughed mocking me even more. I sipped on my scotch as we were taken to the V.I.P. area by the security guard. "Don't tell me it's a girl." He laughed mocking me even more. My whole family knew I was heartless, so women weren't even a subject for us. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't. "Don't fuck with me. Is it really a girl?"
"Even if there was potentially somebody that I was interested in, I would never make the mistake of telling you about it." I cheered my glass at him, and he laughed, knowing me well enough and changing the subject. We drank for nearly three hours and still that was not enough to get Kai out of my head. Everywhere I looked I saw her, even when she wasn't there. I was cursed. I was surprised to find that while I was completely hammered and slurring my words, Yan was completely fine. This was a bad idea. My head was spinning, and I could barely see. I took it too far. I knew I shouldn't have gone. Yan called Han and he drove me home. I crashed with my suit on, on top of my new sheets and woke up 2 hours late for work.
Of course, the day that I was late was the day Kai was back at work. She smiled as I walked past her desk. God she's hot. I pretended not to notice her and got right into my office. I downed a glass of water with 2 Tylenol tablets to help my headache. I already had 5 post it notes on my table with messages from business partners, including Yan. A loud knock echoed at my door, which made me feel sick. The door slowly opened, and Kai walked in. I nearly chocked on my water. She smiled and walked over to my table.
"Can I help you Miss Chen." I asked looking down to my work. Looking at her only made my heartbeat faster and I was terrified she could see it on my face.
"Sorry, I know you're busy Mr. Wang. I just thought I'd return the clothes you lent me." She smiled and placed a large paper bag on my desk.
"Oh. Thank you." I said, standing up. I picked up the bag and put it down on the floor. She smiled once more before turning around to leave. "How are you?" I asked, before she had the chance to leave my office.
"Oh, I'm okay. Thank you, Mr. Wang." She smiled and turned back around. She slowed down as she reached the door and turned back around to look at me. "Sir, I was wondering…" She began. My head cocked up so fast, I thought I pulled my neck. "I was just wondering about that man. The man that attacked me." She said shyly. I thought her asking me out would have been awful, but this was worse.
"What about him? I told you I took care of him." I replied, looking down to my paperwork and shutting her down as quickly as I could. She nodded and quickly left my office. Jesus, she needs to let this go or we will be in big trouble. I tried to spend the rest of my day doing work and only thinking about work, but Kai always found her way into my head. I kept looking for excuses to go talk to her or just walk past her table and finally I had one. I still hadn't picked up the type up from the other night's meeting and that was good enough to go over to her table. I took my time walking over when I noticed a girl in her office. I stood by the corner, just close enough to hear their conversation.
"What do you mean? We had plans." The tall girl insisted annoyed. I think her name was Fei.
"I'm so sorry. I completely forgot." Kai replied, quite believably. "Mr. Wang Wei just bought the apartment next door and I offered to help him unpack tomorrow. He already hates me, I can't cancel on him and if I do this for him, maybe he'll be nicer to me." She smiled remorsefully. I definitely didn't make any plans with her. It made me smile to watch her lie her way out of hanging out with her friends and use me as an excuse.
"Fine." Fei gave in and turned around to leave. Thankfully, she turned the other way. I waited another second before walking in quietly. She hadn't noticed me and continued to type at her work. I could hardly stop myself from laughing.
"Well, I certainly don't recall making any plans to move in tomorrow." She jumped out of her seat and stood up mortified, just staring at me.
"Sir, I…" She began to stutter, and I couldn't help but smile, watching her struggle through excuses. Her breath seemed caught in her throat and she slowly exhaled a long breath, bowing her head. "I'm sorry Sir. I really didn't want to go out tomorrow and I am a terrible liar. I couldn't think of anything else." She looked truly upset with herself.
"Going out with friends might be good for you right now." I said, coming to stand closer to her desk as she took her seat.
"It was more of a setup date. I really couldn't…" She began explaining.
"No, of course. That's understandable." I felt like an idiot. She was traumatised and I was encouraging her to go out. At least I knew she was single. "I just came to collect the type up from the meeting." I said sternly and she gracefully bent over into her drawer and picked it up, handing it to me. Her cheeks were a scarlet red from embarrassment, which only made her look so much sexier.
"I'm so sorry Sir." She added on again.
"Well, since you're so eager to help me move in, could you perhaps do me a small favour?" I asked using her lies to my advantage.
"Of course, anything." She smiled with her sparkling eyes. She looked willing to do anything to be in my good graces.
"I have some furniture being delivered tomorrow and a couple of my things. I will be working all day tomorrow, so I won't be around. The painters were in all day today, and they will be leaving a key behind. Could you lock up for the night and reopen tomorrow so the delivery guys can get in?" Her face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.
"Of course." She smiled.
"Great." I smiled, turning to leave. "Oh, could you also sign for the delivery please?" She nodded eagerly and I smiled thankfully.
"Do you have a list of the items? I wouldn't want to sign for something and then find out it wasn't delivered." She smiled timidly. She was so thoughtful. It was so attractive.
"I'll be spending the night there tomorrow, so as long as my bed is there, I will get the rest delivered another day." I smiled and she smiled back in agreeance. I made my way back to my office, wondering if that was a good idea. Did I really want her in and out of my apartment, leaving her sweet scent behind? What is wrong with me? I needed to stop obsessing over her and concentrate on my new clients.
Kai's P.O.V.
Walking home I felt extra paranoid. I made sure to stay away from any man in sight. I was still incredibly embarrassed about lying to Fei about Jun and being caught in that lie. He didn't seem angry, more amused than anything. I was lucky. It was dark by the time I reached my apartment building. I made my way up the stairs to the second floor and noticed a man sitting on the stairs. My heart trembled for a second, before I realised that it was probably Jun's painter. As I approached closer, I noticed white paint spatters on his clothing, and I was relieved. I was always anxious about approaching somebody I never met.
"Hi." I said quietly. He tilted his head up and slowly moved, allowing me to pass. "Thank you. Mr. Wang said to leave the key with me. Apartment 6. Kai Chen." I smiled. He quickly got up to his feet with a smile. He was quite a handsome man. His hair was set in dots of paint, nearly all grey instead of brown. He had a short stubble, poking through on his sharp jaw.
"Nice to meet you Miss Chen." His voice didn't suit his face much. It was soft and professional. He picked the key from his pocket and handed it to me. "I'm all done here. Have a good evening." He smiled, picking up a couple tools beside him and giving me a smile, before making his way downstairs.
"You too." I said shyly. I climbed up the rest of the steps and walked over to unlock my apartment. I laid my bag down on the floor and walked over to lock Jun's door. I felt temptation slowly talk me into looking inside, but I had already embarrassed myself enough for the day. For all I knew he had cameras in there and was going to yell at me for snooping around. I locked up the door and went back to my apartment. I cooked dinner and finished off a couple pages of the work I had missed out on. I didn't think about Jun, until I walked over to check that my door was locked. I was so grateful that he saved me that night. I wished he could save me from my paranoia. Though he insisted that he took care of the man, I was still terrified that he was coming after me. I checked my locks three times before going to bed.
The next morning, I woke up early, just in case. I showered and had breakfast, before going over and unlocking Jun's apartment. I could smell the fresh paint coming from the inside. It didn't take long before chaos took over the next door. Several deliveries arrived at the same time and began chucking everything into Jun's apartment. I signed for nearly 10 different deliveries. One being his bed, which he insisted was the most important one. By 3PM they were all done, and everything was in his apartment. I walked over to lock up, but temptation got the best of me. I walked inside and the smell of paint was overwhelming. The place was crammed with boxes, which made it look even smaller than it already was. I couldn��t help wondering why he bought the place. He had a penthouse. A large, fancy penthouse. Surely, he could afford to stay in a hotel if he were working late. I brushed off every thought that possibly related to it being because of me. Why would he buy this because of me? Why would he want to be so close to me? I walked around, looking through each room. All the walls were painted white. His bed frame was a nice grey tone, which looked nice in the white room. I noticed a couple of the boxes that were delivered were open and I couldn't help myself. I peeked inside and the first thing I found was a picture frame. Unfortunately, it was empty. I innocently looked through a couple more things at the surface of the box and at the very bottom, I noticed a black, leather notebook. I wanted to reach for it, but the sound of somebody coming up the stairs, made me scurry back to the door. It wasn't him, but it was enough to make me leave. I locked the door and went back to my apartment. I thought I'd be nice and inviting by baking some mooncakes and putting them in his apartment. He had nothing to eat in his apartment and who doesn't like mooncakes. I baked for nearly 2 hours, before I had a batch that were acceptable enough to be displayed on his new coffee table. I promised myself that I would only go in to leave the muffins and I would come right out. I placed the mooncakes on his table and turned around to leave. I jumped back as a man was standing in between the door. My heart was trembling, while I prayed it was a delivery guy.
"Can I help you?" My voice trembled as the man invited himself in and began walking around.
"I'm looking for Jun Wang." He said coming to stand in between the door of the living room. He was tall. His hair was jet black and curly. He didn't look dangerous, but I was still wary.
"He's at work." I said cautiously. With each step he took inside, I took a step back to keep him at a distance.
"And who are you?" He asked with a smirk. It seemed like he thought I was the one breaking into Jun's apartment not him.
"I work with him. He asked me to sign for his delivery." I replied, feeling cornered.
"And bake him mooncakes?" He asked with a chuckle, before sitting down on Jun's new couch and helping himself to a mooncake. Uncomfortable and terrified was painted in deep red letters all over my face. "I'm only teasing. I'm Yan, Jun's brother." He smiled, getting up from the couch and offering me his hand. My body washed over in goose bumps as I touched his hand and my muscles unclenched. They didn't look very alike to be brothers. Jun was stern and always very professional, while Yan seemed childish and very easy going.
"Nice to meet you." I managed, before turning around to leave.
"How long have you worked with Jun?" He asked, making me turn back around.
"About a year." I replied with a smile. I still felt uncomfortable and embarrassed that I had made my boss mooncakes. That's weird.
"He's tough to work with, but once you work for him, you can get a job anywhere with ease." Yan sat back down on the couch and put his feet up on the table. I wasn't a neat freak, but all the furniture was new, and it was bugging me, even if it wasn't my apartment.
"I like my job; I wouldn't think of changing it." I replied with a smile and again turned around to leave. He got up and followed me. After all I was the only one with a key and as we both exited, I locked the door behind us. I slowly paced to my door and turned around to say goodbye to Yan.
"You live next door?" He asked smirking.
"Yeah." My cheeks flushed instantly, and I bowed my head, looking at the floor.
"It was nice to meet you…" He extended his hand again.
"Kai." I smiled shyly as I shook his hand.
"Kai." He repeated after me and smiled, before turning around and leaving. I had to admit, he was definitely cute. Jun was cute too and handsome, but I always feared him. I've only known him as my boss, so it was hard to imagine him out of work.
I pulled my brown hair into a ponytail in front of the mirror before making dinner and I realised how generic I looked. Not that I was hoping that Jun or Yan were interested in me, but how could they be? I looked so bland.