Ari and Ray looked at each other, surprised, for none had expected the other to be burning the midnight oil. It was one of those awkward moments that Ari had wished never to experience. She advanced towards the left, Rey mirroring her act, then to the right, and Rey followed in her direction once more. After several failed attempts, Ari decided to end the embarrassing moment.

"I'll move to the left; you stay where you are."

"Yes, branch manager."

Upon successfully passing through, Ari stiffened her back and walked away; however, her heart was beating too loud, and his vision blurred, so she prayed not to miss a step and fall to her shame.

'I've been avoiding him for a while... Whatever is he doing here at this time of the night?'

"Branch manager, may I have a word?"

Ari stopped and was tempted to turn Rey down but decided against it. She didn't want to give herself away than she already had. Her palms felt sweaty, and listening to Rey's voice only gave her shakes and shivers she couldn't ignore.

'So all that effort was for nothing. I'm still trapped by this old and pointless feeling, panting after him just as Mun had put it.'

"I won't take much of your time, branch manager," Rey said upon noticing the hesitancy from his superior.

"How may I best assist you?" Ari inquired as she turned to face Rey. She still wanted to maintain a professional atmosphere between her and this subordinate. "I'm in a hurry so make it brief."

"I was hoping to catch you before you left. Team leader Mun informed me you will be away for some time..."

"Get to the point," Ari spoke impatiently.

"Ah... Of course..." Rey replied, feeling a little anxious. He'd pondered over having a word with Ari, but the project had kept him tied up for the last couple of weeks that he hadn't had time to clear his name. The first time they met was awkward, and the atmosphere around them had remained pungently tensed and bitter. Thankfully, Mun had been the one to remind him to man up to his responsibilities.

"This is work. Put aside your prejudices and perform. At the end of the day, Ari remains your superior and if you need this job as much as you've told me, then perform. That is all that's expected of you."

Mun was right. He might disagree with his superior's personal lifestyle and preferences, but he wanted to set the record straight. As freaked out as he was the first time, it didn't matter anymore. They had to get along as subordinates and superiors as long as they were both in a working environment. 

Additionally, Rey had come to admire his boss' work ethic. As it seems, Ari had so much respect and admiration from the young and old staff. Most of her work, if not all, was praised for being impeccable, not to mention that many clients would come in only seeking to have an audience with her and her alone. It was only while overwhelmed that she'd delegate her duties to other departments or colleagues; however, the final verdict always remained with her.

"I wanted to thank you for taking down my resignation and dissuading me from resigning. The past few weeks have given me a learning opportunity to grow in my career and improve. Additionally, despite working in a different environment from my original one, I find the energy of teamwork still the same with all colleagues. Of course, with your management, this has been achieved repetitively. I am also apologetic for not seeing the opportunity presented before me as I should and lying about my reason for resigning too." 

Rey added, unable to maintain eye contact, "Earlier, I was taken off-guard by your confession. That is why I didn't know how to react when I met you here..."

"Confession? What confession?" Ari asked despite a voice telling her to let it go, but her pride couldn't. "I simply misintrxoduced myself, and that was it."

"I-I must have misunderstood then..." Rey replied, looking back at Ari and formed a smile. "That is a relief."

'Relief? What does he mean relief?' Ari wondered to herself, angry yet too prideful to ask aloud simultaneously.

"Well then, I appreciate you for listening to me. I shall be on my way..."

"What do you have against forward women?"

"Pardon?" The question took Rey off-guard. He had an answer but didn't want to cause discord with his superior after making amends.

"You heard me. What do you have against women like me?"

"None at all."

"None at all? Your disgust to share the same room with me can be seen all over your face."

Rey remained quiet for a brief moment, not knowing what to say. He'd expected to be called out but still believed he did nothing wrong. After all, what is a woman seeing in another man while his partner was right infant of her? The fact that he even thought of being entangled in a threesome repulsed him; it made him self-conscious, and nightmares of that image flooded his mind for days. 

"How typical," Ari smirked. "You discriminate against women of power but have no words to defend your stereotype."

"Why?" Rey whispered, seeming irritated. His question felt heavy to ask and listen to at the same time.

"Why I'm I in this position of power?" Ari asked as a matter of fact. She'd faced this scenario many times and lost both male and friends because of this; her forwardness. Still, even now, as Rey stood in front of her, Ari paid attention to every feature of his body: the movement of his jaw, the parting of his lips, his large hands, his rounded eyes and the lingering body odour specific to him that despite masking it with perfume, Ari could still manage to pick Rey's scent out.

"Your forwardness to hit on a stranger in front of your partner surprised me. I have no problem with you being my superior just so we are clear. I do not intimately mingle with people I'm not affiliated to." Rey replied shamelessly.

Ari chuckled, hiding her hurt but fighting to stand her ground. "Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts. It sure will help me steer off from people like you..."

"I saw you two. You and that man kissing." Rey interrupted, pausing briefly to see Ari's reaction. "Your flustered expression gives you away, branch manager Ari. I didn't need to see that, nor did anyone within the office. I may sound like I'm overstepping my boundaries to you, but I have seen that man before whilst collecting data for the project we were working for."

'Damn that client!' "You eavesdropped on us?"

"No. I went downstairs to the printing room and saw you escorting him to parking. Of course, you wouldn't know if someone was around, but I saw you two sharing an unwarranted intimate moment..."

"Mr. Rey," Ari's expression turned cold. Despite her flushed face betraying her, she still refused to admit embarrassment. "Is this conversation leading to some blackmail or what?"

"No Manager Ari. Please understand me. I'm not one to judge how the company bags major clients, but discretion is necessary for such a peculiar relationship, especially an open one." 

"That was a low blow." Ari shifted her gaze towards the floor, unable to face Rey anymore. There was no doubt in the meaning behind the remark. Rey was being a jerk, yet here she was, taking it all in, just like the many times she'd been ridiculed for her past that tormented her every waking day. Still, a desperate need to defend herself pushed her to clear her name, especially to an obnoxious immature individual like the person standing before her. 

"I don't sleep with clients. It is unethical in my book of practice. As you said, the gentleman is a client of this company and is aware of my stand point. Even if it puts you off, forward people like me and him exist, and some of them end up being clients of this company. If you were watching us, I'm sure you must have noticed the gentleman advancing to kiss me despite fighting him off. It was forced. As disgusted as you were, or still are, believe that people do undergo sexual harassment, which is unacceptable in any moral book and it can come from anyone including existing clients, small or big."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Wow." Ari couldn't contain her anger any longer. "You are one obnoxious bastard."

"I know what I saw."

"Nonetheless, it happened outside company premises, so think whatever you want. Additionally, I'm sure you enjoyed the show to have stood by and watched it. If that man had gone overboard, would you still have stood by?"

"Maybe that's how you secure long term clients, securing their return." 

"Screw you!" Ari exclaimed in anger. "Do whatever you like with what you saw! Some apology that was!"

"I assure you, if anyone is going to screw me, it will be a woman of virtue. I do not care how old they are, pretty or ugly. As long as it's a woman of value, I'm fine." Advancing towards an infuriated Ari, Rey added. "I respect you as my superior, but the stunt you pulled a few minutes ago with another client was unsightly. Both of you need to get it fixed. 

There are plenty of hospitals for broken people like you. Pay them a visit"