"Oh hello then, Miss…?"
"Elara. You can call me Elara if you like," Elara cut off the red-haired male.
"Ah… I see…" the man responded with a bashful smile.
Observing the nervous yet confident lady with keen eyes the ginger wondered how the cutie had wandered into the kitchen.
Either way, accepting her offer was another thing, the thought of his boss treating him passive aggressively for allowing a 'distraction' into the kitchen was more terrifying than the desire to cook with a cute lady.
"Sorry, Miss, but my boss would be very unhappy with that arrangement," the male explained politely.
Watching the excited female visibly deflate, donning the look of a rejected puppy, he felt his heart soften, but he had to stand his ground; he had to be professional!
"It's nothing much though! I swear I won't be a nuisance, I'll just help in preparing the ingredients then…?" Elara persuaded.
The ginger sweatdropped, "It's not about being a nuisance miss, my—"
"It's nothing. Let the lady join us, it's nothing too difficult," a feminine voice tore through the room as a fierce blonde lady walked in.
She looked around her mid-thirties and helped a thick aura of professionalism about her that subdued every nonchalant attitude.
"Good day, ma," Elara greeted politely.
The blonde lady merely hummed observing Elara seriously with an interested look.
"You're Merlin's sister?" she questioned.
"Yes."
'That's a lie. But what's the boss girlfriend doing here anyways?' the blonde lady thought with a slight frown.
Apart from lying, the lady also pestered her assistant to allow her in the cooking process. Could she be suspecting them? Was this a test? Either way, she was very annoying.
"Well, Miss Elara, if you will help us, I'd like you to know that you'll have to follow my lead. So please, if the idea of being bossed about infuriates you, then I'll have to beg you to leave," the blonde stated seriously, causing the ginger's jaw to drop in shock.
Since when did his boss become so polite?! Even the main boss's assistant, Mr. Merlin, was only treated so-so. Could it be? Her boss had a soft spot for women? That explained everything!
But boss, playing favorites is so not fair!
The male was cut off from his thoughts when Elara reacted to the blonde lady's words.
She smiled brightly, nodding like a henpecked chick, "I'll do just as you say, Ma'am!"
The staff were both stunned by the lady's smile. Her eyes sparkled like stars, cheeks puffed up cutely like a chipmunk, and her entire features brightened up like a puppy gifted his favorite toy.
The same word echoed through their minds immediately—cute!
'No wonder the boss fell for her! She's so adorable!'
'I'll ask for her number after this! No way I'm not shooting my shot!'
Elara who was being stared at like a premium zoo animal: .... Did I do something wrong??
****
Thompson had the shock of his life today. After having the luxury of working with a cute lady who did everything perfectly, almost better than him, he felt the heavens had finally smiled at him.
Only to end up seeing the same lady to his shock, eating with the main boss while smiling at him mischievously.
Seeing the stoic look of his boss as she served the meals along with him he could tell he had been colluded against! The cutie was no adorable puppy; she was more of a mischievous cat!
Having been glared at by the main boss at the minor exchange he had with the sneaky lady, he felt a layer of sweat cover his body.
Thank goodness he didn't ask for her number or his time on earth would have been numbered.
Later on, he went on to sheepishly ask his boss about the lady's real identity, only to get an even bigger shock.
"The boss's girlfriend?! Oh my God! Aunty why did you let her even cook with us?!" he exclaimed with terror.
"Because she seemed genuinely interested plus she's a nice kid and did much better than you. What's there to lose?" the blonde lady responded nonchalantly.
"Aunt! You can't be seriously considering what I think you are! You're going to send me off early to my grave if you do!"
"Heh. Then I can finally take my true favorite niece, Clara."
"Wuwuwu, I knew you were evil but not this much!"
"Oh my really~?"
"Aunty, come on!"
His pleas fell on deaf ears, and just like that, he ended up being shackled to the girlfriend of a man who could wipe out all traces of his existence with but a mere thought.
Fuck. Should he resign? But his aunt would kill him!
Ginger male: QAQ
***
Meanwhile, at the dining table, Terrence grumbled annoyingly, "You sure maxed out your charisma stat."
"Jealous?"
"Of them? Yes."
"Haha, you're quite the flirt. Don't worry, you'll always be my number 1," Elara coaxed with a wink.
".... Even more than Terra?"
"....."
"Ela?" Terrence called out softly to the frozen female.
"No answer."
"You don't get to skip it," Terrence scoffed lightly.
"No answer," Elara replied once more, guiltily averting her eyes from Terrence's gaze as she dug into her meal.
Terrence chuckled lightly at the lady's obvious discomfort. He knew just how her reply would be but it didn't bother him too much.
Maybe not now, but sooner than later, he'd make sure to change her answer to an inexplicable yes.
Elara who was still being glared at by the male: You're obviously still pissed though QAQ
***
After breakfast, Elara and Terrence dressed up for a game of table tennis and per Elara's suggestion, the winner got to pick the next sport.
Terrence won effortlessly, leaving Elara, who had bitten off more than she could chew with her novice skills, demolished. And as per the agreement, Terrence chose the next sport—swimming.
Unlike the male's devious fantasies, Elara was more into competing than having fun, and unlike the sexy swimsuit he had expected, Elara had on a simple swimsuit with nothing but her hands and legs showing.
At least he got to see her sexy thighs which had something dormant in him awakening.
"Yeah!" Elara exclaimed in excitement after wiping off the water from her face, "I win!"
"Mmhm, so what do you wanna do next?" Terrence replied calmly stepping out of the water like he hadn't been crushed by the female's shockingly impressive swimming skills.
The truth was that he hated losing, and right now, he couldn't wait to destroy a certain woman in any other sport she picked.
However, Elara's next choice wasn't a competitive sport; in fact, it wasn't even a sport.
Grinning brightly at Terrence while tossing away her swim cap, causing her kinky hair to fall over her shoulder, she spoke, "Let's go exploring the forest!"
###
Shoutout to Jennie for all her support! Thank you very much! (≧∇≦)
Thanks to all my other readers for thier support too, I'm very grateful! (⌒‿⌒)