"Did you see that, Justin?" Harold asked her friend. "That mannequin looked rather intimidating, and he didn't even acknowledge me when I was sitting on your lap. He's really bruising my ego here," she complained once more.
"Harold, maybe you should go and apologize to him," Justin suggested, lifting her up. "I think you should clear up the misunderstanding.
Kyle is a very traditional man, after all. He's not like me. He doesn't appreciate revealing attire."
"Revealing attire?" Harold looked at Justin with a puzzled expression. "Yes, revealing attire."
"Knock! Knock!" Harold chimed, then proceeded to open the door without waiting for a response. "Harold is here to see Junior Queen," she announced.
"Is there something you need?" Kyle asked, taken aback by the melodious voice that greeted him instead of a conventional knock and door opening.
Harold sauntered in as if she owned the place and elegantly perched herself on the swivel chair facing Kyle.
With one hand beneath her chin, her elbow resting on Kyle's desk, she gazed at him through her thick, fluttering eyelashes and offered her most seductive smile.
"Harold has come to apologize for her playful jest toward Junior Queen," she purred, observing the impact of her words on him.
Kyle didn't even flinch. His face remained as stoic as ever. It seemed as if he were carved from stone. Undeterred, Harold put in even more effort to elicit a reaction from him.
"Harold apologizes once more. Would Junior Queen be willing to grant Harold a private audience during lunch? Harold would be delighted to treat Junior Queen to lunch."
Kyle ought to react now, for Harold had never resorted to this tactic before.
Throughout her life, she had never needed to lift a finger to make any man respond to her. But this one was proving to be a challenge.
However, she was unafraid of a challenge. A bit of difficulty was nothing to be alarmed about.
Kyle, who had been listening to Harold's words, couldn't believe she had the audacity to ask him out. He detested this type of woman.
What was his cousin thinking by associating with someone like her? Yet, the longer he looked at her, the more he found it difficult to control his racing heart.
But he loathed her. He despised her behavior, her choice of skimpy attire that barely covered her skin.
He simply wished to fetch a blanket from the first-aid cabinet and drape it around her, even if it meant suffocating her.
Anything was better than allowing her to die from the humiliation of exposing that much skin to the male gaze.
Kyle Queen, who was typically unaffected by anything, was starting to feel a nagging sensation creeping up his spine.
God help him, but the more he examined her form, the more she resembled a fiery goddess on a mission to seduce all the men on Earth. However, Kyle made a solemn vow to himself that he would not succumb to her charms.
"So? Junior Queen? What do you say? Would you grant this lovely Harold a lunch date with you?" she inquired, gazing at him seductively.
Kyle turned away but accidentally locked eyes with her for a brief moment, causing their gazes to intersect. In that split second, he nearly suffocated from the lack of oxygen in his lungs, all from a simple glance.
Nevertheless, he composed himself. His ideal woman was Amy Douglas, a paragon of beauty, sensibility, and uniqueness. She would make an excellent mother for his child and a wonderful wife.
He had already decided to court her. This encounter reminded him that he needed to arrange a meeting with her, as a week had passed since his return from Queenstown.
As for this fiery woman sitting before him, smiling as if she were about to seduce him, he had to exercise self-control.
"Sorry, but I have a meeting," he replied.
"How about dinner, then? Harold can wait," she sweetly proposed, her melodious voice driving him to the brink of madness.
"I have work to attend to," he said.
"You're so busy, Junior Queen. When will you have time for Harold to properly apologize?" She continued to smile sweetly, her captivating voice persistently testing his resolve.
"Listen. I accept your apology. So, can you please leave when you're done?" Kyle said firmly.
"Is Junior Queen asking Harold to leave?" she exclaimed in surprise. No one had ever dared to ask her to leave before. NO ONE.
This man was proving to be quite the challenge, but she couldn't back down now if she wanted to save face and restore her ego.
"Yes."
"Junior Queen?" Harold moved around to sit on Kyle's desk, right beside where he was typing on his computer, her short skirt riding up so high that it exposed her bare legs.
Kyle couldn't help but fidget in his chair as his eyes involuntarily landed on her provocative position.
Harold wore a smug smirk and decided to escalate her tactics further, hoping to make Kyle come begging for her forgiveness.
She draped her arms around his neck and said, "How can you treat Harold like this? Harold is wounded."
"Look!" Kyle shouted, losing his patience. He'd had enough of this nonsense. He forcefully pushed her arms away and stood up to his full height.
It was clear to him now that he wouldn't be able to get any work done with this woman continuously disturbing his thoughts.
"It's highly inappropriate for a woman of your age to dress provocatively and drape your arms around men if you have no romantic intentions.
I don't care about your relationship with my cousin, but pretending to be pregnant with his child just to surprise him is completely inappropriate. I'm telling you this as an older brother would.
Please stop behaving this way. It's you who will end up tarnished."
"Junior Queen!" Harold stood up immediately, shocked by the criticism Kyle had unleashed upon her. "How dare you criticize Harold's behavior? She only expresses her true feelings around the people she cares for."
"True to your feelings?" Kyle couldn't believe he was acting this way. Where was his usual calm and businesslike demeanor, the one that always relied on logical reasoning?
He didn't know, but he felt like that part of him had just flown out the window. This woman needed a wake-up call. "You were hugging Winton when I arrived, then you sat on Justin's lap, and now you're draping your arms around me, all the while claiming that your actions reflect your genuine love for those around you. How is that appropriate?"
"Harold, Harold..." Harold struggled to respond. This man was more than a challenge for her. He was... was...
"And stop speaking in the third person. It's not proper English," Kyle reprimanded her.
"Harold... Harold... Harold can speak however she pleases," Harold replied, lifting her chin defiantly, clearly upset by Kyle's treatment.
Harold was born in Vietnam, even though her parents were both Americans. Growing up in Thai culture, she spoke both Thai and English, often mixing the two languages and occasionally using the third person when referring to herself, as it was common in Thai speech.
When she conversed with Justin using this bilingual language, he had no trouble understanding her. So why was Justin's cousin making such a fuss over her speech?
"This is how Harold speaks," she continued to challenge him. "So if you don't like it, don't talk to Harold."
"Good, because I don't find talking to you enjoyable either.
So if you're done with your apology, just leave it at the doorstep and go," Kyle instructed, then returned to his computer, typing away vigorously, his hands trembling from the sudden confrontation.
Good Lord, he had just had his first verbal disagreement with a woman, and it surprisingly felt liberating. "Junior Queen," Harold shrieked, but Kyle paid no attention to her outburst as he remained engrossed in his computer screen.
"Ugggggh," Harold muttered in frustration as she left Kyle's office. "Harold swears she will make Junior Queen take notice of her. In fact, she'll make him beg for her love. Just wait and see."