Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Lauren?" Harper's voice came from her office. I stood from my chair to see her. She waved for me to come to her.

"Uh-oh," Dominic said.

"Oh, shut up, Dominic," I said then walked towards Harper's office.

"Anything I can do for you, Harper?" I asked by her door. She motioned for me to sit.

"Not for me, no."

"Oh." I stilled before I sat, "What is it?" I asked, my back straight, ass occupying half the space.

"Oh well, I..." she fiddled with her thumbs. "I really shouldn't be telling you this." She looked everywhere but me.

"You're making me nervous, Harper," I said with a low chuckle.

"Oh, I really shouldn't." she waved her hands in dismissal, blatantly ignoring me.

"You can tell me if I'm in trouble... right?"

She stood from her chair and walked back and forth at the back of her desk.

"Harper?"

"Oh, but I can't take it any longer."

"What is it, Harper? You can tell me." I felt my forehead crease.

She stopped pacing around and took a deep breath, "Okay," She said, mostly to herself.

"Harper, you're making me worry right now."

She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head. "I can't. I shouldn't."

"What? Why?"

She hissed in a breath, "I'll just show you." She grabbed her bag and coat from her back-file cabinet.

"What?" I stood from my seat.

"Get your things. Follow me."

I know she's my boss but this is getting weird. I pursed my lips and nodded slightly, "Okay."

She walked out of her office. I followed her and we earned a couple of glances from the office area.

I quickly went to my cubicle and grabbed my stuff.

May raised her brows at me in question. "What's happening? Are you being sacked?" she whispered, worry evident in her eyes.

"I don't know," I whispered back and looked over to where Harper is. She's now exiting the room. "I gotta go," I said to her then jogged to keep up with Harper's pace.

"Sharon, call the car to the front," Harper said as we passed by the reception area.

"Will do, Ms. Campbell." She nodded then immediately picked up the phone and rang up downstairs.

"Where are we going, Harper?" I asked as we reached the elevator.

"Just... Follow me, okay?"

I cleared my throat, "Okay."

I followed as Harper strutted down the downstairs lobby. No doubt she's part-owner of an International modeling agency. Every bit of her screams elegance and grace. She pulled out an oversized sunglass from her coat and put it on as the doorman opened the door for us.

A limo pulled up in front of us.

This is the car?

She stepped inside and I followed.

"The Met." She said to the chauffeur and the car started to move.

I was about to ask her what we'll do at The Met but she pulled out her phone from her bag and began typing away.

Guess I can't ask her that.

I raised my arm to look at my wristwatch. 2:30 PM. Definitely undertime. It's a good thing Harper's the boss, although I'm still not entirely sure of what's happening. I don't think I'm getting sacked today? She just discussed the Sydney audit with us earlier.

I think she needs to oversee an on-going photoshoot at The Met? Or maybe organize something, like an event? But those don't seem like viable reasons to justify why she needs me. Me! An Accounting Associate handling Receivables. Are we about to collect something from The Met? I didn't know we have to collect from them in person anymore. Maybe they get special treatment since they're The Met?

I got so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed the car already stopped.

Harper slammed the car door.

"Wait, this isn't The Met..." I rushed to pick up my bag and followed her. We're in an open space, surrounded by foliage. Hues of brown, red, orange, and tinges of green up on trees and lay on the floor. Picturesquely beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. The birds chirped in a distance. Red banners of "The Met Cloisters" up on lampposts.

"Wait, Harper, are you sure we're at the right Met?" I said as I walked next to her.

"Of course, darling. The Met Cloisters. Beautiful, huh?" She said but never slowed her pace. She stopped when we reached the entryway. "Go on." She gestured towards the brown 16th century pub-like entrance door that says 'Museum Entrance'.

"Just me?"

She tilted her head towards the door.

"Harper, you're starting to scare me..."

"Oh, come on! It's safe. I'll be right behind you."

I furrowed my brows. "Okay..."

I walked up the small flight of stairs towards the entrance door. It's a double door with a circular handle that pulls the door out.

As I entered, I was greeted by the hall with "Axel? What in the..."

He cleared his throat, brows raising to point something behind me. Right. Harper's here.

"Lauren, hey!" He put on his nice big smile and hugged me.

"What the hell is happening here?" I whispered with gritted teeth.

He loosened from the hug but held on to my shoulders with extended arms.

"Aw, I missed you too." He said booping my nose. "Oh, hey, Harper!" he greeted behind me then walked towards Harper, camera dangling from his arm. I watched as Harper gave him cheek-to-cheek kisses.

"Axel, this is amazing." Her smile reached her eyes. "I have to admit, you made it quite hard for me to kidnap Lauren on such short notice."

"On such short notice?"

"Yeah, he called me after lunch. 'A spontaneous date', he said."

"Uh-huh." My teeth grinded.

"That so sweet of you, Axel." she laughed, "But I was a great actress, right Lauren?"

"Oh... Heh-heh... Yeah. You scared me there for a moment." I pointed my finger at her playfully.

Axel grabbed me by the shoulder and squeezed, "I just can't get enough of her."

I forced a grin, "Yeah."

She clasped her hands together, "Oh, to be young and dating." She exhaled loudly, "Which reminds me, I have to set up a date with my husband soon. I will leave you two alone with your... what? Second date, right?"

"Yep, only second." Axel concurred.

"Hah..." my voice faltered, "Only 2 out of 5." I patted Axel's chest twice, never missing to add a little force. He made a small choking sound.

Harper offered a nod to Axel, "Thank you for letting me be a part of it. I'll go now."

"But Harper..." I protested, "what about work? It's still not the end of my shift."

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm your boss." She winked at me then walked away.

I shrugged out of Axel's grip as soon as Harper got out the door. "Get your hands off me," I whispered.

"Okay." He raised his hands as if he's already backing off.

"Just what in the... What... Ha..." what the fuck is wrong with my tongue?

"Can't find your words, Grant?"

"Ah..." I scoffed, "Whatever." He smirked at me. "Let's just get this over with." I marched towards the hall with the crucifix at the center.

I heard him chuckle from my back. The asshat's enjoying how annoying he is. Mofo.

*       *      *

I focused on the plate-sized piece with sculpted angels, horses, and knights.

"This is so different from The Met in the Fifth." I let out a breath. "This one is very rustic and quiet."

He smiled to himself as he put his camera down, "That's why I chose here. Because it's quiet... And not crowded because not everyone knows it."

I laughed, "Tell me about it. I didn't even know this place existed until 30 minutes ago."

"You're kidding."

"Yeah, I wish I was... You know, this place reminds me of Fort Santiago."

"Where's that?"

"It's in Manila. In the Philippines."

He cleared his throat, "I know where Manila is."

"Okay, sorry if I hurt your ego." I rolled my eyes and he looked at me discontentedly. "I just said it because you might not know."

He nodded, letting it pass.

"Anyway, this reminds me of Intramuros in Manila."

"Wait, you said Fort Santiago."

"Right, Fort Santiago is in Intramuros, Manila."

"Oh, okay."

"Yeah, so, as I was saying, this reminds me of Fort Santiago..." I looked at the stained glass near the ceiling but I can see from my periphery that Axel's looking at me while he listens to every word. "My cousin took me there when we came to the Philippines. They have a lot of similarities in the aspect of being heavily inspired by Spanish architecture and Catholic artifacts. But Fort Santiago is the real thing. Not that this isn't real, it's just that Fort Santiago was also a prison. The Philippines' National Hero was imprisoned there." I looked at him and he seems to be so engrossed by my story, I can't help but smile. "The Met Cloisters is like a condensed version of that but without all the history because I think this place is an homage to the medieval times in Europe."

"Wow." He exhaled loudly. "I think you need to take me there sometime."

I raised one brow at him, "Fort Santiago?"

"Yeah."

I laughed, "You do know that we're 8,000 miles away from there, right?" I continued roaming around the museum with him walking behind me.

He took several photos of the museum, mostly focusing on the items – all the tapestries, paintings, statues, and crosses.

When we reached the garden hall, he took a picture of my back as I was walking. I did a 180 to face him, "You know, Harper personally dropped me off. I think that's enough evidence."

"What?"

"Your photos." I pointed at his camera.

"Oh." He tightened his grip, "It's better to document it, we can never be so sure. Harper might forget."

"That's highly unlikely." I chuckled. "Can I see the pictures from last time?" I reached for the camera but he retracted protectively.

"It isn't here anymore, the memory got full, I had to transfer it to my laptop."

I dropped my hand, "Okay. Next time, then?"

"Yeah... I'm gonna head to the gift shop again, do you want anything?"

"No, thanks. I'll just stay here."

"Alright." He gave me a small nod then walked to the gift shop.

I continued walking down the hallway, my hands running on the beautifully crafted stone. I felt my lungs expand from taking in the smell of freshly-cut grass.

I was sitting on one of the big open windows in the hallway next to the garden, quietly admiring the flowers in the center, when Axel sneaked up on me from behind.

"What is wrong with you?" my hand rested on my chest, trying to recover from the fright. He sat next to me, handing a bottle of water. "Oh. Thanks."

"Wow, that's a first."

"What?"

"A thank you from the great Lauren Grant."

"What? I say 'thank you' all the time."

"Not to me." He chugged from his water bottle.

I cocked my head to the side, watching him exhale loudly after drinking water. "Huh, I never thought you were sentimental."

He snorted, "What? I'm not."

"Yeah, try to convince me."

He's about to say something but I continued, "You know, I never painted you as someone who's spontaneous."

He twisted the cap of his water bottle close, "Never? Are you kidding me? I'm Mr. Spontaneous."

I scoffed, "Yeah, right. If spontaneous is elaborately planning a kidnap-and-surprise situation. I mean, you really had my boss take me to a museum with tickets bought in advance."

He raised his brows, "Is that a challenge?"

"No? I don't know." I fumbled with my water bottle then set it down next to me, "I mean, in all fairness, an impromptu second date? I feel like that's so unlike you."

He inched closer, "And what do you feel is like me?"

I pushed him a little, "Easy there, tiger." I chuckled.

He stood, "Alright, Grant, Stand."

"Why?" I asked in a skeptical tone.

"Just stand, come on."

I exhaled loudly and stood. He smirked, "I'll show you spontaneous."

"I didn't dare you to." I defended but he grabbed my hand and ran to the garden. I almost squealed, thank God, I didn't.