09 Secret Romance

Gemma's POV.

The next day, Luke is leaving for a business trip to Chicago with an uncertain return date.

Everyone at the car dealership is filled with the joy of "the boss being away." I pretend to be happy along with them, but deep down, I feel a bit empty.

During the day, I can't see Luke, so I can only video call him after work. Our conversations are always mundane—how's the weather today, what's for dinner, and so on.

But how is this any different from talking to my mom??

A few days go by, and I look at Luke on the phone with dissatisfaction. "Do you really have nothing to say to me?"

"What do you mean?" Luke raises an eyebrow.

I'm starting to regret this. Luke might have a hot face, but his emotional intelligence in relationships is in the negatives.

"I love you."

Or—

"I miss you."

Or even—

"Open the door, I'm standing right in front of you."

Does he really need me to teach him these little romantic gestures and surprises that couples share? I sigh, my shoulders slumping. " nothing, goodnight."

"Goodnight," Luke says.

I clutch my phone, rolling around on the bed, kicking the air a few times, regretting how easily I'm swayed by his good looks.

Suddenly, my phone screen lights up.

"I finished my work early, will be back in New York tomorrow. See you at the dealership."

Thinking of his face, I can't help but forgive him again.

Luke arrives the next day a little after eleven in the morning. He walks into the office under the watchful eyes of all the employees.

This is the first time we've seen each other at work since we started dating, and I can hardly contain my excitement.

Five minutes after he closes the office door, I'm still sitting with my chin in my hands, staring in that direction without blinking.

The treasurer passing by my desk can't help but ask, "Gemma, did the boss dock your bonus again?"

"Why?" My heart skips a beat.

The treasurer pauses. "The way you're looking at the boss, it's like you want to devour him whole without leaving a single bone."

"It would be quicker to use a knife," I joke to divert the topic.

That was close.

Our affair almost got discovered. I decide to be more discreet about watching Luke in the future.

During lunch, my colleagues are gathered, gossiping as usual. The conversation moves from a celebrity love triangle to someone's thigh shrinking by a centimeter, and then a small bombshell drops—one of the female sales reps from the Seattle branch had an affair with the boss and got pregnant.

What's worse is that the boss was married. After finding out, his wife secretly gathered evidence, transferred assets, and initiated a divorce, kicking him out of the house.

In the end, she stood outside the dealership with a loudspeaker, exposing the scandal between her ex-husband and the saleswoman, ruining both of their reputations.

Because of the public outcry, both of them were fired.

This gossip makes me break out in a cold sweat, solidifying my resolve to keep our relationship hidden.

Although Luke and I are both single, we are still in a superior-subordinate relationship at work.

While my thoughts drift, the conversation shifts, and the focus turns to someone I know all too well—Luke Shaw.

"Have you noticed? The boss seems even more hot lately."

"Yeah, like he's even more manly."

"I'd love to unbutton his shirt and see what his pecs look like."

*Crack.*

"...Huh? What was that sound?"

"Gemma, why are you gritting your teeth?"

"Actually, what I really want to pull down are the boss's pants."

*Crack.*

"Gemma, The rice is too hard?... Actually, I don't want to just pull his pants down; I'd love to get him into bed, hahaha!"

"I feel the same. Let's do it together."

"Hey, isn't this considered workplace sexual harassment?"

"Of course not! He can't hear us anyway."

"That's true, no worries."

No worries? How can it be no worries?? He might not have heard you, but his girlfriend did!!

I take a deep breath, telling myself to stay calm.

But dating Luke comes with more troubles than just this.

Another issue is that we work in the suburbs, live in the suburbs, and so do our colleagues. It's hard to find a place to go on a date without running into someone from work.

So, on a sunny weekend, Luke drives me to a mountain resort.

He sits in a wicker chair, his long legs crossed, holding a teacup as he sips slowly.

I sit across from him, watching as he closes his eyes. In the sunlight, his thin eyelids have a transparent quality, almost as if I can see the tiny, delicate blood vessels. His lips, lightly touching the teacup, are soft as petals.

A moment later, Luke puts down the teacup and says softly, "I brought you here to enjoy the scenery."

I keep looking at him. "You're look better than the scenery."

Luke sighs and decides to ignore me. But I take his silence as permission and reach out to touch his nose.

Luke's nose is perfectly shaped—high and prominent, yet not too sharp. I almost want to shrink down to the size of a tiny person and slide down it like a slide.

But Luke doesn't seem to like being touched playfully like this. He grabs my hand and asks, "What are you doing?"

"Don't be so stingy, just a little touch," I say.

"What if someone we know sees us?" Luke says.

"Impossible." My mind starts spinning. "You're embarrassed to be with me, aren't you?"

"Wasn't it you who said our relationship needs to be kept secret?" Luke dodges the question.

"But no one would know us here," I lower my head and say mournfully, "I see how it is, you must be tired of me."

"I'm not tired of you."

"Then why did you accept this arrangement so quickly and without any objections? Most men would strongly oppose something like this."

"Most men?" Luke immediately picks up on the flaw in my logic, narrowing his eyes at me. "Care to give an example?"

I quickly smile. "Most men on TV."

As night falls, we head toward the parking lot to go home. I walk beside him, continuing our conversation from before, "Anyway, you just don't want anyone to know we're together."

Luke stops walking, and I stop too.

"If you don't like it, then let's just make our relationship public," Luke suggests.

"Really?" I slowly widen my eyes, "You really mean it?"

"Before someone says I'm worse than men on TV," Luke takes my hand, looking straight ahead, "Let's start right now."

Following his gaze, I see two of our female colleagues—who had previously joked about undressing Luke—heading toward us.

In the split second before they see us, I don't hesitate. I use all my strength to shove Luke into the bushes by the side of the road. Then, I casually run up to greet them.

My colleagues warmly greet me and, noticing I'm alone, ask where my car is parked.

But today, Luke drove. So I lie, saying my car broke down and was towed away, and ask if they can give me a ride home.

They happily agree.

We get back to the suburbs just in time for dinner, and we eat together. Later, I text Luke, asking if he got home okay.

He replies that he did and says goodnight.

I go to bed with no guilt and sleep soundly. The next day, I arrive at the dealership, only to see a bruise on Luke's pretty forehead.

"Boss, oh my, what happened to you?" The treasurer ever the sycophant, asks.

"I tripped over a pig and hit my head on a rock," Luke says lightly, giving me a fleeting glance.

"Really? There are pigs in the city?"

"Yes, a wild pig. with a lot of strength." He glances at me again.

His gaze is as cold as a Siberian wind, making my teeth chatter.