Chris looked at me and nodded. And that right there is my signal. I gave him a hug before I left so we were believable. This time, the hug was less awkward, it was more warm and fuzzy.
After I left, Charlie spoke, "I know that you guys were pretending Chris."
"!!!"
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Yes, today was a mildly amusing day, a rather good day. And I haven't had those in weeks, so it feels too good to be true. I warmed up to Mr Wilson. He, well maybe this was all a misunderstanding after all, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. He seems to be a great guy actually once you get to know him. Once I realised what I was thinking, I patted my cheeks as if convincing myself that I was not even a tiny bit interested in him, but the truth is really contradicting. The hotel was brightly lit and warm, but still I felt a cold gaze on me. I brushed it off, thinking that I was feeling cold because my dress is sleeveless.
I entered the elevator and pressed the button. Just when the door was about to close, someone stuck their hand in between the doors. As the doors opened, the man was slowly revealed. It was a rather dramatic entrance which I only saw in movies.
I instantly recognised the guy, he was the creep from earlier! The pool perv! He smirked after seeing the shock on my face. He let out a snicker before he extended his hand to press the button on the elevator. His hand stopped midway. He put his hand back in his pocket, which meant that he was on the same floor as me.
As the events unfolded I felt more and more uncomfortable. My gut was warning me that I was in a dangerous position. I did not know the man properly, but he doesn't seem to be a nice person and I can live with the fact that I wrongly judged someone than putting myself in danger. So I proceeded to walk out immediately when he clicked the button which instantly closed the doors. I was trapped! I had to wait till we passed a good twenty floors before I could get away from him, and every minute that I thought I'd be stuck with him made me shiver.
I'm getting off the next floor, I thought to myself. I wanted to press that button, but as if he read my mind, he completely blocked the panel.
Maybe I'm thinking too much. Maybe he didn't recognise me. I was trying to be optimistic. "Excuse me, can you please move?" I said very neutrally. My goal is to get away from this situation as soon as possible.
"Make me." He turned around and said in a challenging way. He stared at me weirdly, which made me self conscious. This time, it was not a gut feeling. This time I know consciously that I encountered trouble.
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"What?" Chris said as he tried to remain as blank as possible. "What are you talking about Mr Carlson?"
"Don't kid with me, boy. I know a couple when I see one. But, though I know that you were pretending I went along because the girl you got there is a wonderful one." Charlie said as he walked behind Chris. They walked out of the hotel and towards a beautiful garden.
"?" Chris did not understand what Charlie meant by that. If I was there, I would have explained how 'wonderful' I am. But I was not there, Chris had to deal with his crisis while I dealt with mine.
"I saw the fondness in her eyes when she looked at you as you talked about your fake first date-"
"Cough cough, I'm sorry that I lied."
"Would you be able to live with yourself knowing that you lied to me if I did not find out about this act?" Charlie asked melodramatically, but he did not mean it, he was having fun.
"Yes." Chris gave a short and blunt answer with a straight face. Charlie would not be able to find any traces of guilt, no matter how hard he searched.
"Sigh....Well, at least you're honest in this matter. I put forth the condition that I'd sign that contract with people in a relationship for a reason. I love my wife very much, she stuck by me when I was at my lowest. I don't want anyone to experience what my wife had experienced. I felt that people who have someone they love would be more cautious when they make decisions since they have someone they need to take care of. They would not do anything that drags them onto the road."
Chris nodded, though he did not like the way Charlie thought, business is risk, what does he mean by not taking risky decisions? See, this is one of the many reasons why Chris is single. He missed the whole point about how Charlie loved his wife and focussed on the other part. Tsk tsk.
Charlie saw how confused Chris and wanted to facepalm himself. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you both make a good pair. Maybe because you are opposite to each other and that makes you even more compatible since you complete each other." He glanced at Chris again top see if there was any change in his expression, but Chris had a blank expression, as always. Chris was actually picturing himself with me aka Luna and thinking that thought is not so bad.
Charlie grunted as he realised how slow Chris is in terms of love and romance. He huffed and said with a hint of frustration, "Look here boy, I'll make this explanation as simple as possible. You are downright weird. Weird to the core and you need someone like Luna to balance you out, so stop being such a dumbhead and pursue her."
Chris was immediately pulled out of his fantasy and stared at Charlie like he was the weird one.
"I.... You said I'm weird?" Chris asked. He could not believe what he just heard. Well, I mean, who'd tell him the truth anyway, he's surrounded by bootlickers, guilty as charged. Hey, I'm not gonna seek death by telling my boss the truth about his weirdness.
"Don't tell me that you thought yourself to be normal till now. You're as weirder as they get. I'm surprised that Luna stuck by you this long. If it was any other person, they would have run for the hills."
Lily's name came to his mind quickly followed by many, and when I say many, I mean many names- all his secretaries. Yeah, all the real-life examples of people trying to get away from him. I wonder why it took him so long to figure this out. Charlie had to spell it out for him so that he could understand.
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"Get away from me." I said while I glared at him. He was coming closer to me. Regretfully i did not have my pepper spray at my side. No worries, though. I know exactly where to hit him if he does anything extra. Such creepy stalker people exist, I know that. But I never encountered any of them till now.
"Look we got off on the wrong foot. I'm not the person you think I am." He said.
"It does not matter if I misunderstood you or not because we don't know each other. And I dont find the need to get to know you. We're strangers. Keep that in mind." I warned him. If I was going to get scared just because a man comparatively larger than me cornered me, then I should give up on my dreams because there will always be a stronger opponent.
"Aren't you a feisty one? Playing hard to get, huh? Well, let me indulge you." He said with a dangerous gleam in his eyes,
* a lot of gagging *
"Sorry to burst your bubble but not everyone is attracted to you. I'd be surprised if at least one person is attracted to you. You said I'm playing hard to get right?. Well, you're half right. I am playing hard to get but it this case, you can never get me. My standards are not that low." I pushed him away, but he did not budge. Welp, it seems I have to use my last resort. He's forcing me to, so don't blame me okay.
The man did not seem to expect that I'd roast him so he was frozen, but when he came to his senses, he glared at me. He tried to get ahold of my hand like he did before but he was too late.
I kicked him right where it hurts the most. I almost feel sorry for him but then I remembered how he harassed me so I said, "Sorry not sorry." And got out of the elevator. He was on the ground and in pain. Did I feel regret or sorry? No.
Well, what do you expect me to do, huh? Act like a helpless damsel in distress while hoping that Mr Wilson would coincidentally see me getting harassed and save me? That only happens in movies. A girl has got to protect herself, and since men have the upper hand in terms of physique, I had to hit the weakest spot. As I said, sorry not sorry. He was coming onto me and he needed to be taught a lesson.
I changed my outfit and covered myself in a blanket and sat on the sofa. No matter how brave I appeared to be, I was still shook. When a guy who's a foot taller than me and larger than me came dangerously close to me, I felt scared. And that took a toll on me.
"Mr Wilson, please come back fast. I'd rather get into a petty fight with you than be alone in this eerily silent room." I whispered. I turned on the TV because I did not want to feel alone.