"I should be the one cooking. Can I at least help?" Zaria asked exasperatedly, following Gu Cheng toward the kitchen. "It is my job, after all."

"This isn't about your job, and right now I am not your boss," Gu Cheng responded as he led the way, a slight smile on his lips that he tried to stifle. "I want to cook for you, but you can help if you want. I think I would like that."

Zaria bit her lip as she rounded the kitchen island identical to her own and accepted the apron offered to her. Once the neck loop was pulled over her head, she felt warm hands pulling the ties closed around her waist. "I can do that," she objected with a catch in her voice.

"You can help me with mine," he said, moving around in front of her and slipping on his own, waiting for her to tie it for him.

"Is this a new one?" She asked, concentrating on the thin straps so that she would not have to look at the broad shoulders or warm back in front of her. Coming over for dinner was going to be a mistake, she knew it.

Once the bow was tied, she took a second while holding it to inhale the smell of the mountains emitting from the fabric of the soft grey top. At least she thought it would be soft. It sure looked it. She stepped back and straightened her own apron while she took a deep breath. The apron wrapped around her small frame was the perfect size for her, and she had thought every time she cooked that it was odd that an accomplished man would make the mistake of buying one so obviously too small for himself.

"Mmm, it was part of a set, but I haven't had much opportunity to wear mine." Gu Cheng smiled down at her and walked past to get out the ingredients he needed for the meal. The smile on his perfect lips made her mind go blank.

When he leaned in close as he put some vegetables behind her on the counter, she shook her head and backed away quickly. "I'm sorry, I am not used to being in this area with someone else. I will move out of your way."

His smile seemed to grow the tiniest amount, but she might have been imagining it. Despite the occasional annoying or frustrating occurrence, Gu Cheng was an even tempered employer, quick to assist if something was not understood and always offering help for things outside of work. Being so close to someone she found attractive wasn't getting easier, but at least she was learning when to put distance between them. His pull didn't feel just physical anymore, though, and that worried her even more.

Zaria chopped tomatoes and zucchini carefully, distracted by the skillful way that Gu Cheng handled his own knife. On the stove top a large pot of water was bubbling, but it was not until the tall man set up a glass baking dish and started pulling out noodles as large as sheets of paper that she realized what he was making. "You can make lasagna?"

"Mmm," he replied, ducking his head down as he worked. "Do you like lasagna?"

" I love it." She quickly cleaned up the scraps and placed the cutting boards and knives into the sink to clean when the prep was done. Moving around to the other side of the island, she sat up on one of the stools to watch as his long, well-defined fingers layered the ingredients in the baking dish. Lips were pressed together to contain the drool as the dish filled up. When the whole thing went into the oven, she came back around and started washing the dishes they used in preparation. Each item was cleaned, then handed to the man waiting patiently with a towel next to her to dry them off. The kitchen hummed with their harmony, and she hurried to finish so that she could escape such an ambiguous atmosphere.

"We have about thirty minutes before that is ready to come out of the oven." Gu Cheng removed his apron and reached to untie hers as well. Her fingers tugged at the bow to untie it first, but they fumbled at the knot, and she was forced to move her hand so that he could do it for her. Warm breath tickled the back of her neck, and she shivered. "Are you cold?

"No, I am alright." Zaria nearly ran into the living room to escape the tight confines of the kitchen. Once she was a safe distance away and her face did not feel quite so flushed, she smoothed out her expression and spoke in a polite voice, "CEO Gu -"

"Gu Cheng."

"...what?"

A slight nudge at her elbow guided her to a spot on the icy blue couch. "We are not at work, I am not your boss right now. I want you to call me Gu Cheng."

"But...isn't that too informal? I am trying to do things the correct way now. Your grandpa is hoping you will get married to some pretty heiress soon, and I don't want to cause any problems... Women here get so jealous." Her eyes widened as she recalled the many instances that she had seen while under his employ.

"My grandfather is fine with it. And there are no other women that you need to worry about having a problem with you calling my name as though we are close."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"But you...Ohhhhhh, you were saying you had someone you were interested in just to get him to back off. I can understand that. Even back home, older people thought they should be allowed to control the younger generation's lives. I invented a couple of boyfriends in high school as well. It was harder when everyone knew each other, though." She giggled. "They had to be online boyfriends from neighboring towns, but it got stupid Bobby to back off a little."

"Bobby?" The room grew colder, and Zaria rubbed her arms to warm them up. Gu Cheng stood up and retrieved a throw blanket to cover her. She accepted it with a smile, a rare genuine one and she thought she heard his breath catch.

"Some annoying little bug a long way away. I am sure you have had your share of Bobby Showalter's in your life. Far more than I have, I mean I am just me, but you look like a god-" Zaria bit her tongue to keep from saying more. "I'm sorry, that was entirely inappropriate of me,"

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. It makes sense that you would have many admirers." Gu Cheng leaned forward and picked up the television remote, looking over curiously as she broke into a coughing fit and hid her face inside the blanket. "I was thinking after dinner we could watch a movie if you are not too tired. There is a new scary one on streaming that is supposed to be good. Do you like scary movies?"

A small, petty part of him was glad when she said yes but admitted that she scared easily. The night was going well, the polite facade that she normally had tightened around her slipping at times and the true girl showing through. When the timer went off, they both rose to get the table prepared for the meal, Zaria refused to meet his eyes and stayed as far away as she could get and still be in the same room. They ate the meal, which she admitted was delicious, so Gu Cheng offered to make it again some time. She looked like she wanted to object but swallowed it down. It was a small thing, but if she was not going to argue that he was her boss, then he considered it a big win.

After dinner and cleaning up, Zaria headed back to the couch and queued up the scary movie. Gu Cheng followed a few minutes later, carrying two tumblers of an amber liquid. "I'm sorry, I guess wine would be better after a meal, but I don't have any right now..."

"What is that," she queried, sniffing the tumbler handed to her. "Scotch? My grandmother only ever drank scotch. She used to sneak me sips when my dad wasn't around. When I turned 19, I bought a bottle and drank the whole thing in her memory. " She laughed, her voice rough as she looked down into the liquid. "I was so drunk the next day. My dad made me stay home so that I could feel better, just so that he could yell at me for doing it."

The room grew quiet. Gu Cheng set his glass down on a coaster on top of the shiny wooden coffee table. "I'm sorry that you have lost so many people. Should I take your glass back? I don't want you to be sad."

Zaria quirked a small smile at him and took a sip, feeling the burn pass down her throat. A buzz almost immediately covered her skin, and she looked down in surprise. "Oh, that is strong..."

Spooky, atmospheric music filled the room as the movie started. Zaria curled up on one end of the couch, while Gu Cheng sat casually at the other end. He was not a fan of scary movies. Usually, the plots were too unbelievable to really get into. If it was there, in front of him, he could believe it. When the first reveal happened only minutes in, Zaria jumped and then giggled as she took another sip from her glass, making fun of herself for being a scaredy cat. Gu Cheng chuckled, slowly drinking from his own tumbler and feeling the warmth spread through his limbs. His head settled backward, and he let himself enjoy the movie.

When the group of teenagers discovered they were trapped in the old abandoned hospital, and the spirit dragged one into a side room and killed him, Gu Cheng felt something warm wrap around his arm and a tiny whimper made it's way to his ear. A small head full of chocolatey brown curls confronted his eyes and he stiffened when he realized the warmth was coming from an arm wrapped around his own, the whimper low because the face it came from was pressed into the fabric of his shirt sleeve. After a moment, she giggled and moved away with a low apology, reaching for her tumbler and draining the rest to steel herself for the rest of the movie.

A small cough drew her attention to her companion. She watched as he licked his dry lips, smiling at the movement. "You can hold my arm if you need to, I don't mind," he said, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Okay," she responded, curling up against him and laying on his arm. "I love listening to you talk, I could listen to your voice all day long." She giggled again and focused her attention on the screen.

Gu Cheng tried to watch the movie, but after a while, he realized that he had no idea what was happening on the screen. His attention was monopolized by the warm body pressed against his arm. A scream on the screen pulled him back, a young girl running down a long hall while blood poured from an injury on her arm. The grip on his arm tightened until the girl ran around a corner and face first into the terrifying spirit.

Zaria leapt upward and turned, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck with a scream. Gu Cheng's mind went blank for just a moment, and then his arms were wrapping around her, rubbing her back to soothe her frantic breaths. "It's alright," He said, his voice deep and raspy. The fast and hot breaths slowed against his skin, and the arms wrapped around his shoulders slid back, replaced with hands that lightly traced the curves of his arm.

"Mmm, I know you will protect me." Zaria leaned back a little, and he could see that her face was flushed and her eyes unfocused as she rubbed her hands up and down on his arms. "Your arms are so strong," she whispered, her small pink tongue darting out to lick her lips.

"Miss...Zaria, are you drunk?" Gu Cheng stayed as still as he could, trying to ignore the heat that was growing below.

"I won't get drunk from that little bit of alcohol," she giggled, pulling her hands back before resting them on his chest. "I have to drink a whole battle...bottle of scotch to get drunk." She giggled again before moving her eyes to his face and growing serious. " I want to kiss you, now. Our first kiss didn't count."