Tian was in a very reflective state and shrugged it off. He didn’t want to over-analyze his volatile relationship with that shrew, but it struck a note he didn’t like very much. Every time she behaved like she hated him, it bothered him more than it should, and he was the one who tried to instigate peace between them every single fucking time.
Kai realized the irony in what he said, and it brought his mood back down again.
It had been a five-year fight. Him and Meilei. That started when he drunkenly walked off after seeing her with San.
His urge to destroy her and all his anger had dispersed, and here he was. Missing her and aching to make up. He still loved her and was such a fool for not understanding it until now.
“Good morning, Manager Huo. Miss Liu.” Tian smiled graciously as they walked into the basement garage elevator together in front of Meilei, and he couldn’t help but do a full body sweep with his eyes and admire that she could make a similarly styled outfit look completely different every day. He had grown so used to her tight skirts and slinky blouses, yet she never seemed to wear the same outfit twice. Today, she was in a beige skirt and a cream top with a trademark wide black belt, over beige heels. Tall, sexy, and sleek, with curves in all the right places. Her long black hair fell like a silk curtain down her back, and he was urged to run his fingers down its softness.
“Hmmm,” Ling replied with exaggerated disinterest, averting her eyes even though she, too, checked out his well-tailored three-piece suit with appreciation before walking in ahead of him. He looked good no matter what he wore, and it was annoying that even in a suit, the man was oozing hot.
Meilei tensed and stared at her shoes. Like a bee to honey, Kai slid beside her despite the large, spacious floor and the feet between Ling and Tian.
“This is cozy.” Ling snorted under her breath, and Tian couldn’t help the smile it pulled from him as he eyed her up from behind. He had gone to the corner, knowing Kai was coming, and she was standing almost nose to nose with the door. It was obvious Ling liked her space in all things. Meilei was nearly curling into the other corner, yet Kai was so close his arm was brushing hers. His eyes scanned her usual floral style and soft hair. He was finding it hard to control his internal warzone at seeing her face-to-face again. It was like this every time he picked up or dropped off Yue now. He would see her, and the overwhelming need to speak and be close to her almost suffocated him. For him, now he had fully embraced the fact that with all the shit between them gone, he still felt the same way he did five years ago about her, she was consuming his thoughts freely once more.
“Huh?” Ling turned her head his way, the phone still held mid-air where she had been looking, and he could see an open, long, ongoing chat. Whoever it was was leaving lengthy replies, and he averted his eyes, not wanting to catch any sickening flirting. Ling eyed him up, narrowed her gaze, and then snorted. Dismissing him. She had been fully aware of his presence behind her and trying to block him out, hating how she was always sensitive to his being there, even when not interacting.
Suying had the day off and had taken Yue to kindergarten for them.
Tian’s whole mood that he had been harboring all weekend fizzled back to a somewhat neutral feeling of calm, and he was not stupid enough not to notice. He had been uptight and assy, so much so that Kai called him out about it.
How could he not put two and two together and realize that he had been brewing over this wenches love life?
Ling was not on a date with another guy. That somehow brought the rainbow back to his rainy day. He smiled to himself and then cursed the craziness that she made him feel. Now more pissed that he could identify that it bothered him that much and ruined his whole weekend off. He had to do something about this because it was getting worse the longer he knew her. Sex with her had been a mistake, sure, but since then, he had found himself wanting to rekindle the memory more than once.
“Suying said she would cook dinner tonight for us when we come home.” Ling aimed back at Meilei, not thinking much about Tian’s interrogation and not seeing how clearing up who she was texting made him smile wider. Tian visibly relaxed and stopped glaring at her cell.
“Kay.” Meilei smiled at her, lifting her chin momentarily, and Kai couldn’t drag his focus from how pretty she was still when she genuinely softened and smiled. Meilei was uber aware of him next to her and was trying her hardest to blank him. She could not stand the effects he still had on her, even though he was now civil anytime they interacted. She had seen him yesterday when he collected and returned Yue, changing their day to a Sunday because they had plans for a kiddy show on Saturday with her. Kai was fine with accommodating the change.
“Why are you here anyway? I thought you resigned?” Ling caught Kai’s attention after noting how he was almost on top of Meilei and spearing him with an intense gaze. It had been obvious to her in the last interactions that he was fixated on his once love, and she got pissy about it. The boy had no clue how long and gone that boat was. He didn’t deserve a second chance.
These men just irritated her with their presence and arrogance. Thinking they just had to fawn around and smile, and they would melt at their feet
The elevator pinged at the first button Ling had pressed to let Meilei out, and she moved out of the way with the sliding of the doors.
“I’ll see you later. At the car.” Ling offered as a parting, and Meilei smiled at her before turning slightly to the men and nodding out of respect for her senior staff. It had no other meaning, but Kai watched her like a hawk. Tongue-tied and waved like a teen weirdo, he was already in a state of clammy palms and elevated heart rate just being near her. He had found that he never knew how to act in her presence. The guy who had pursued her and wooed her years ago, Mr. Confident and Bold, was gone because he knew with her this time, he would have to crawl over broken glass to prove the worthiness of even friendship.
Tian cast him a look that translated to ‘loser’ and then smirked and went back to checking out Ling’s ass. It was looking fine today in that skirt. Neutrals were her colors. He saw this view daily at work because she always favored standing in front, and he had to admit, it put him in a perky mood most days. Especially knowing how it felt and looked while being groined bumped nakedly.
“Hold up.” A voice from outside them had Ling stop the doors as two young men came racing in. They were in dress pants and shirts with no ties or jackets and youthfully chaotic upon their arrival. Probably early twenties. IT lanyards swang from both necks while looking way too perky for so early in the morning. “Sorry, we need to go up. Good Morning, Manager Huo.” It was obvious they knew who she was, and Tian raised a brow at the lack of a hello for their fucking CEO. Instantly aggravated at their swerve of heads and undivided attention on his finance manager’s breasts. They genuinely did not even see him or Kai because of the way their eyes lazered in on Ling’s cleavage.
“Hmmm.” She replied without tearing her eyes from her phone. Sounding flat and non-committal, and much to Tian’s relief, she didn’t bother to look up and engage in any way. She was used to men in this company eyeing her up and no longer encouraged interaction unless she had a reason. To her, they were nothing more than buzzing flies.
Tian watched with a growing anger that they nestled beside her, inappropriately close, and gave her zero breathing space despite her lack of acknowledging them. He was glued to them now, body buzzing with testosterone as protector mode was initiated.
One eye scanned Ling up in an obvious fashion, almost drooling with bulging eyes at her low-cut top, lingering on her breasts like a hungry dog, and Tian’s mood moved back to instant fowl. Glaring so hard at the man as he nestled closer to Ling, he felt it. Glancing back to see why he was experiencing icy chills and breaking his focus on her ample tits, he caught Tian’s death stare and flushed red. He knew he had been seen, and his boss was obviously not impressed. His boss looked about ready to break his neck.
“CEO Wang.” He nodded, snapped his face back to the front, and stared at the floor. Moved an inch away from Ling and nearer his colleague. Catching his friend in his peripheral, leaning forward to eye up Ling’s breasts too, he elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a side eye warning and slight head gesture that Tian was watching them. The air crackled with tension, and both men became submissive and silent.
Kai saw the interaction and leaned against the wall, amused and entertained, knowing exactly what was bugging his friend.
Tian seemed to have grown an inch in height, and Ling looked up, sensing some weird atmosphere as though a rabid dog was low-key growling in the shadows. She glanced around, seeing Kai holding in a laugh at the far corner before turning and catching Tian looking pissy and dark. He was the source of the sudden static and weird heaviness here. In battle mode, terrifyingly so, she wondered what had brought out the thunderclouds on that face.
He locked on her eyes, broke the bad mood grumpy bear face, and smiled, eliciting a frown from her as she returned to her cell. She had no idea what she missed, but she assumed the men were having some silent pissing competition. She wasn’t interested. It was obviously not about her, as that smile seemed genuine and not his usual wry or sarcastic response to her.
The elevator opened again on the executive floor, and the two young men rushed out fast to escape Tian’s ‘I will beat you’ aura he was still aiming their way. Almost knocking Ling off her shoes, she stumbled sideways with a soft squealing cry.
“Watch it.” Tian barked at them angrily as he reached out, caught her by the upper arms, and straightened her to her feet. Fast to catch her, so she only moved a step before being guided. Pulling her back slightly as instinct made him shield her from harm by bringing her into his own space.
“That’s what happens when you scare the staff, grumpy.” Kai laughed, amused at this whole thing, and gave Tian a knowing look, given they had spent two days talking about this shit right here. His mess with Meilei and Tian’s undefined thing with Ling. His mood over her had been irritating.
“Sorry.” A hasty response was yelled back, but the men were so quick they were out of sight. They knew better than to stick around and were fleeing for their life.
“Fucking idiots. Do you know their names?” Tian turned Ling in haste, startling her as she was easily manhandled and could barely catch her breath. She almost nose-bumped his left peck and had to steady herself with a palm on his right one. Aware of how firm they were as memory shot through her of having her tongue confirm it. Her face colored, and she tried not to breathe in his familiar scent.