The week following her trip to the cake store was the easiest week Zaria experienced since she arrived in her current universe. Work hours were just as professional as she had been working to make them. After hours, she and Gu Cheng settled into an easy friendship, sharing interests and exploring new movies together in his living room. Zaria discovered that he was a secret fan of American hard rock ,not classical music as she thought he would be. She didn't recognize any of the artists, of course, but it was interesting to see him relaxing on the couch listening to hard drums and heavy guitar riffs while she prepared dinner at night.
Gu Cheng did not argue when she insisted on cooking on work days, even if they no longer would behave as employer and employee while she was there. Zaria did not argue when he said that he would like to cook for her on weekends, but she could help if she wanted to.
Three of the five work nights, when dinner was prepared quickly enough that they finished before evening set in, she agreed to stay and watch a movie with him. She declined any more horror movies but agreed that maybe on a weekend they could do one. The excuse of not wanting to have nightmares that affected her work performance was accepted, but secretly, she did not trust herself not to bury herself against his arm again when scared. Not that doing so would be unenjoyable, but Zaria knew that she was developing a crush on the tall, well built man with a face that had to have been designed by true artists. In her more honest moments, she could admit it was maybe even more than that.
She told herself that she would have to be blind not to appreciate his firm muscles and that little smile that made her heart skip a beat. It was his kind gestures and attentiveness that was becoming a problem, she admitted, along with the fact that nobody else every got to see those little smiles. She told herself it was because he had someone that he wanted to be with and she didn't want to ruin his future relationship. Despite his increased flirting and what he said about not having anyone in mind, it was obvious he did. She sometimes caught him looking off at nothing with a peculiar expression on his face and he wouldn't talk about it afterward.
She wasn't jealous. Definitely not. It was really definitely not jealousy that he might be giving those smiles to someone else. Nope. So what if he might be tilting his head that little bit to show he was paying attention to that woman, or if he sometimes touched that woman's elbow when he was trying to get past without bumping into her. There was no reason to be jealous. That would be silly. When the pendant finished charging, she would be moving on to the next universe, trying to find her way home. Letting herself fall for someone that she would never see again would be too painful.
A tiny, quiet part of her brain was beginning to fight the idea of leaving. Although that little voice was being ignored, it was telling her that if Gu Cheng was interested in someone, then why was he not spending time with that person. Several times, she buckled to her own brain's pressure and casually asked questions, like, "Is the woman you like in another country right now?" or "Don't you want to spend more time with her instead of eating dinner with me" to which he made vague responses about her being in the same city and he would spend more time with her if he could. That little voice started to whisper that it might be Zaria herself that he was interested in. She consciously ignored it. He saw honest to goodness supermodels and award winning actresses all the time. He wouldn't be interested in a plain, well maybe just a bit cute, little nobody from who knows where.
The Saturday of the birthday party came far more quickly than Zaria would have liked. Nervousness about appearing at such a big to-do built up more every day. Saturday morning dawned, and her stomach was flipping too much to eat. She did the morning yoga routine that she started during her first month, but afterward, her mind was no calmer. The only experience that Zaria Joseph had with such things was on television, and those were obviously exaggerated for the drama. Did women really go around pouring wine on people to embarrass them? Well, to be fair, if she had not run into someone being drugged the first few minutes after arriving, she would have said that was made up as well. Cool and calm, that was the appearance she needed to maintain. Not a threat, only here to assist CEO Gu and give a present. Not competition, go about your way.
When her dress arrived, delivered directly to her door, she couldn't help but feel a giddy little thrill at the idea of getting to dress up. When she pulled the blush colored silk from the box, her mouth dropped open. It took several minutes for her to come to her senses, grabbing her phone and sending a message for help to Liu Wen. Zaria had no makeup, nor styling tools. She was worried that if she put on such a beautiful dress it would wash out her features completely and she would be an embarrassment as an escort for her famous boss. After a quick stop to a makeup shop, Liu Wen rushed over to help her get ready.
"I know that your skin is very even, so I only brought some product to help the condition of the skin and not cover it up. Then we will do your eyes and lips, and I have a hair clip that will go with the dress you sent me a picture of and some gel to style your short hair." The pretty secretary was beaming as she pulled Zaria into the bathroom and made her go and shower. Afterward, the petite woman sat wrapped in a towel as her face was played with, smiling as Liu Wen shared funny stories about some actress who was trying to get Gu Cheng's attention. She finished her makeup ten minutes before Gu Cheng was scheduled to come by and get Zaria, and helped her into her dress before eagerly awaiting the arrival of their boss in order to see his reaction.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The wait was worth it. When Zaria opened the door to let Gu Cheng in, he froze in place. A blush colored satin dress wrapped tight at the bodice before flaring out at the hips into a supported bell shape that hovered just past her knees in the front. A halter style strap wrapped around Zaria's neck and attached at the back, leaving bare skin down until the curve of her back and then turning into a train that descended to mid calf. The curls over her right ear were pulled back by a jeweled comb, the rest carefully styled to the side and back to frame her delicately made-up face. Gu Cheng swallowed the lump in his throat, forcing himself to blink when his eyes grew dry. He cleared his throat several times before croaking, "You look beautiful."
Zaria felt her face grow warm at the honest praise, fingering the edge of her cast self consciously. "Thank you. I wish I could do something about this cast. It kind of takes away from the majesty," she said with an awkward chuckle.
Gu Cheng cleared his throat and lifted up a small silver box with a bow on top. "I got this to go with the dress, but if you don't like it..."
He handed her the box and pushed his hands into his pocket nervously. Zaria opened the box and smiled when she saw a delicate diamond bracelet inside. A small charm shaped like a star hung from the center, the diamonds catching the sunlight from the hall windows and casting sparkling shapes onto the wall. "This is beautiful,CEO Gu, but I can't accept this..."
A delicate cough behind her reminded Zaria that Liu Wen was still there. She moved aside to let the secretary slip out of the door. "You both look wonderful, boss, Miss Joseph. Like you stepped out of a fairy tail. I hope you enjoy yourselves at the banquet."
Gu Cheng nodded at her as she left, feeling his neck grow warm after she departed. He had not even realized she was there, so caught up he was in the person directly in front of him. He rolled his shoulders and averted his eyes, worried that he would embarrass himself further if he kept staring. "If you don't like it, we can find another one - "
Zaria quickly interrupted him. "No, I do like it, but it isn't really appropriate to give it to me. You should give this to the woman you were hoping to be with. People might get the wrong idea."
"You are really making this difficult," Gu Cheng said, rubbing his hand across his eyes. "There is nobody else who could wear that, Joseph Zaria, and maybe you shouldn't worry so much about what other people will think."
A flush of embarrassment rose on Zaria's neck. "I didn't mean anything insulting by that, I'm sorry. It is beautiful, and if it is really okay, then I will accept it." The two stepped into her entry way so that he could help her put it on her right wrist. Smiling sadly, she looked down at her wrist, wrapping the arm with the cast around her waist. The little voice was loudly shouting at the back of her mind. It was already too late. She really, really liked this man.
Gu Cheng escorted her downstairs, frowning at the melancholic expression on her face. The gift was not supposed to make her sad, and he believed her when she said that she liked it. The fingers of the hand on her injured arm kept reaching across to touch it gently even as she looked out the passenger side window. He cleared his throat again. "Chiu Leong said that your cast could come off this week?"
"Yes," she answered faintly. "Tomorrow morning, I will go to have it removed." The handsome doctor had been most adamant in his pursuit over the last month, asking several times a week if she would like to go out. Zaria wondered sometimes if she had met him first when she entered this world, if she would have said yes. But even before she admitted to herself that there was only one man she was interested in,she knew that she didn't see Director Chiu in that way. She scheduled a time to have the cast removed when she knew he wouldn't be available to do it so that she didn't have to turn down his advances in person.
"Mm, I will take you. What time?"
Zaria smiled softly and looked down at her cast. "It's alright. I already told Assistant Mo that I would need the morning off, so he is going to make sure that you won't even notice I'm not there."
"I am not so busy that I can't take you." Gu Cheng glanced to the passenger seat, not liking the air of sadness around the fairy like woman next to him.
"Have you forgotten? I help set your schedule now, I know exactly how busy you are. I will be back afterward, as long as the doctors clear me for work without it."
Gu Cheng grunted unhappily. "Alright. But if something changes, then let me know."
A hum of acknowledgment was his only reply. Zaria watched the people and shops pass by her window as she leaned her head against the glass. She thought to herself that maybe it was time to move on before she became more entangled with the people in this world. There was enough money in her bank account to leave the city, and she already had everything that she could fit in her backpack. The pack sat at the bottom of her closet, enough room left to put her more casual clothes in when it was time. Two more water filter replacement cartridges were added in the week before, and she was as ready as she could make herself. Looking at the sparkling bracelet on her wrist, she knew that if she stayed any longer, it would be too hard when Gu Cheng ended up with someone else. The little voice whispered in the back, if it turned out he really was interested in her, then it would be too hard to leave.