The Woman And Her Boss' Secret

Chapter 2: Bonding.

*Huff, huff*," HELP!!! SOMEONE HELP ME!” Kitana screamed as she was running in darkness from something that seemed to like toying with her. No matter how far or long she ran it seemed like whatever was chasing her was always a few inches behind her just by seeing the glowing hazel eyes. “No matter where you run or hide you’ll always be mine, I’ll always find you, and you can’t escape from me”, said whatever kept chasing her. She finally came to an area where she saw an exit. She changed direction and started running towards the exit, but before she could reach it she was grabbed by the person or thing that was chasing her. Whatever caught her finally revealed itself to her to be Shawn, her boss. The difference was he had black horns on the side of his head and black wings to match with it. His hazel eyes glowed in the dark and they looked more menacing than the usual warm glow it gave. One look in his eyes and she was instantly paralyzed. He slowly inched his face towards hers for a kiss, but Kitana was awoken by the sound of her alarm clock going off, and she woke up covered in sweat. She threw the covers off herself and turned her alarm off. “What kind of dream or nightmare was that? And why did it have to be about my boss of all people” she said as she got out of bed to get ready for another workday. She was really nervous about going to work today after what happened in the shower last night and the dream or nightmare she just had. Kitana slowly got herself dressed and got into her car to go to work. As she approached the front doors of the office, coincidently her boss appeared at the same time right behind her. “Good Morning Kitana”, he said, greeting her with the same smile as usual except it felt different considering what she’s been through the night before. Kitana awkwardly shifted her gaze elsewhere, “Good Morning Mr.-”, she said as she was interrupted by him saying, “no need to be so formal, you can call me Shawn”. With that, she repeated what she was saying earlier, “Good Morning, Shawn”. He once again smiled at her and Kitana couldn’t help but smile back and they both proceeded into the office building. They parted ways as he went to his office and she to her cubicle. A few minutes into her work and she was already zoning out. This is just so awkward, Kitana thought to herself as she stared off into space for a few moments recounting the previous night's events. “Hello, earth to Kitana, do you not hear me talking to you?” Jessica said as she was trying to get her attention. “Sorry Jess, I didn’t sleep very well last night”, she apologized to her as she finally snapped out of it and turned towards her friend. “It does look like you didn’t sleep at all last night. What exactly kept you awake?” she asked with concern and curiosity. Kitana blushed profusely when asked that question. She turned around to hide her blushing face, “nothing, I just had a bad dream is all”. “From the look on your face, it doesn’t sound like it was a bad dream at all”. Jessica said to her with raised eyebrows. “Okay, Kitana are you seeing someone you haven’t told me about”. “No, I’m not seeing anyone, it was just a dream about someone I least expected to appear in my dreams”, Kitana said, still blushing a little. “Please don’t tell me it was your ex”, Jessica said with an annoyed tone in her voice. “Heavens no, he’s been evicted from my brain since I finally got over him. The person in my dreams just happened to be-”, Kitana was interrupted as Shawn approached her. “Hey Kitana, did you submit your last report from yesterday?” he asked and pierced her eyes with the same look she saw last night while taking a shower. Kitana blushed a little and realized she didn’t, “Oh no, I totally forgot, I’ll get it to you right away”. He smiled at her and gazed a little longer than usual and said “Thank you, Kitana” as he walked away. Jessica watched him walk away and looked back at Kitana. “Oh my gosh, our boss likes you”, Jessica exclaimed as she saw how he was looking at her and he didn’t dare hide it. “Not only that missy, you like him too”. “No I don’t”, I snapped and stuttered back at her as I turned around with my obviously blushing face. “Kitana, you're a terrible liar, plus your facial expression and stuttering just gave you away”, she said with her hands on her hips. Kitana looked away as she knew she couldn’t hide it from her. “It’s not that I like him nor do I not like him, he was the one that was in my dreams last night but it was like they were real”. “More like you were hoping they were real”, Jesica said as she teased her for it. “I don’t know Jess, I think there’s something about him that isn’t right,” Kitana said as she looked off to where Shawn’s office was as she stared at him and he looked up to see her looking at him. She quickly looked away and back at Jessica as she looked at her with a suspicious expression on her face. “You two don’t have something going on do you?” she asked. “I promise you nothing is going on between us, but that hallucination and dream felt so real.” “What a minute, did you just say hallucination? And what exactly type of hallucination was it? Are you on drugs, Kitana?” Jessica asked. “No, I’m not on drugs and as far as the details of the hallucination I’m not at liberty to say”, Kitana told her as she looked away and examined her computer screen. “Okay Kitana I’m going to take your word for it but I have a feeling Mr. Boss man likes you and you like him too. I advise you to be careful, not just because of company rules, but also because of his other fangirls who will make your life a living hell if they find out”. “They’re the least of my worries”, Kitana said as she turned back to her computer and continued her work.

She worked vigorously to make up for the report she not only didn’t save but also forgot to submit along with the present-day reports. By the time she was done with everything, she looked up to see that everyone was gone except her and Shawn. As she looked in his direction, he was already looking at her and gave her the smile she had been seeing both in person and in her dreams. Kitana looked away blushing and looked up again only to see Shawn hovering over her. “You are almost done with yesterday’s and today's work?” he asked as he leaned up against the cubicle. “Actually, I just finished everything and was about to shut down my computer and leave for the night”, Kitana said as she gathered her things together. “Well, would you like to grab a bite to eat with me, it’ll be my treat”. Kitana paused and thought to herself how out of the blue it was for her boss to be offering to pay a meal for her. After everything that happened she was contemplating whether she should go or not. She hadn’t had a decent meal in a while due to all her money going to bills and she was living off of ramen and meals she was given by her friend Jessica and her neighbor next door. “Sure, I could use a bite to eat due to skipping lunch to finish all my reports”, she finally answered. “I have a spot I usually go to when I just want a quick bite to eat,” he said as they made their way to the exit. They both got into their cars as Kitana followed Shawn to the place they both will enjoy a meal together. I’m going to dinner, not just with the man who is my boss, but with the very man whom she kept having fantasies about the night before. Why didn’t I turn him down? I could just go home to eat some ramen but wouldn't I be a fool to turn down free food. Kitana shook her head as she snapped out of her daze to focus on the car in front of her. Shawn led her to a little hole in the wall that was a burger joint that looked like it could fall apart at any minute. She never thought her boss would be a burger and fries type of man, he gave off more of an exquisite and fancy meal type of guy. She parked her car right behind his and was about to get out until he approached her car and opened the door for her. He stuck his hand out to help her out of her car. “Uhm, thank you”, she said nervously. “I’m not used to this type of treatment”. Shawn gave her a look of grief, “I’m sorry to hear that a beautiful soul like you never got treated the way you deserve”. Kitana blushed and walked past him as she examined the building that stood before them. “I’ve been coming to this place for a long time”, Shawn said as he looked up at the sign that was dimly lit. The outside looked worn and only about 5 letters lit up from the sign. “I’ve been trying to get the owner to let me help him out financially by donating finances to him but he just won't take anything from me. He’s one of the reasons I didn’t end up dying on the streets and I wanted to repay him someday for it. It’s why I still come here to this day”. Kitana looked at him and saw a side of him she thought she’d never see. He showed passion, happiness, and a hint of nostalgia as he continued to stare at the sign. “Well it sounds like he is happy to just still see you come around even though you’ve done well for yourself. That’s probably enough payment for him” Kitana said, looking at him. Shawn finally took his eyes off the sign and looked Kitana right into her eyes. The hunger for something else was rising inside of him. Before his eyes could change color, he looked away quickly and opened the front doors to the restaurant and Kitana stepped in. As Shawn stepped in, an older man who looked to be in his 50s stepped out from the back counter. “Shawn my boy, I’m so glad to see you!” the man said as he came to the front of the restaurant to give him a hug. “Hey, pops I’m glad to see you’re still doing well,” he said as he embraced the hug. The older man looked my way and took my hand. “And who might this lovely young lady be?” he asked, looking at me and Shawn. “Hello, sir my name is Kitana, I work with Shawn,” she said introducing herself to him. “Well, Kitana it is nice to meet you, I’m Gerald, founder, and owner of ‘Ace Burger’. Please have a seat and I’ll send out Jerry to serve you guys,” he said as he walked back to the counter. They both sat down as Kitana opened the menu to decide what to order. Jerry approached them to order their drinks “hey Shawn long time no see man. You want your usual drink?” he asked as they both gave each other a hug. “Yeah man, just my usual” Shawn replied as he sat back down. Jerry looked at Kitana and said, “and what can I get you, miss?”. Kitana looked up from the menu and replied “Uhm I’ll just take an iced sweet tea” she replied. “Alright, I’ll be right back with your drinks,” he said as he walked away to the back counter. Kitana looked back at the menu to see what food she wanted to order. Shawn just sat across from her as she looked at the options on the menu. Despite it being a burger joint, the menu had a variety of items that weren’t burgers. It had been a while since she had a burger and decided to go with the burger that stood out from the rest. She found which burger she was going to get and Jerry was approaching them with their drinks. “Alright, here are your drinks. Are you ready to order?” he asked looking at her. “Yes, I’d like your mystery burger”. He wrote down her order and then asked, “how would you like the burger cooked ”? “Well done please,” she said as he finished writing down her order. “It should take about 10 minutes, and I’ll take that menu from you,” he said as she closed the menu. Kitana looked around at the restaurant and saw how well put together it was inside despite what the outside looked like. As she scanned the restaurant, her gaze eventually went back to Shawn. He was looking at her the same way he did in her dreams. The awkward silence was eating her up so she broke the silence with a question. "So, how long have you known Gerald?" She asked as she put one arm on the table and leaned her head into it. Shawn smiled and said "I've known him since I was about 5 years old. I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember. I was living on the streets, stealing food, and would pickpocket people to get by. One day I was sitting down in a dark alleyway with my back against a wall. I was approached by a man, that man was Gerald. He asked me what I was doing in an alleyway by myself and where my parents were". Shawn paused for a brief moment and then continued, "because I didn't trust anyone I didn't answer him at first, but something told me to trust him. I told him I had no home and I don't have any parents. He took me in from that day and has been my family since". He looked at Gerald and Kitana saw a sparkle in his eyes. She could tell she really looked up to him and obviously, he was an excellent role model to him. Shawn looked back at Kitana and looked at her deep in her eyes. "What's your story Kitana?" He asked her. Kitana looked down and hesitated for a moment. Only a few people know of her past and she never really shared her personal life with anyone else. Since he and she shared the same life situation, she was willing to tell him. "Just like you, I'm an orphan as well. I was in an orphanage most of my life until an older couple adopted me when I was 15 years old. They were very loving and it took a while for me to adjust to that type of environment. Sadly, they both passed a few years ago a week apart from each other". Kitana looked down, holding back tears. She looked back at Shawn who had a sympathetic look on his face. She looked at him and smiled. "So yeah that's my story". Jerry approached their table with both their burgers that looked the same. "Here is your food, enjoy", he said as he sat down their plates on the table. Kitana looked at her plate and noticed they both had the same food. Shawn noticed and said "yes, the mystery burger is my usual order", he said looking at her and chuckling at the expression she had on her. "Why didn't you say so?" Kitana asked as she picked up a fry to eat. "I wanted to see what you were going to order, out of curiosity". Kitana looked at him and said "are you surprised we got the same thing?" She asked as he too picked up a fry to eat. "Honestly, yes I am. I've observed most of the people who order here and I'm the one of few who orders the mystery burger", he said as he ate another fry. Kitana picked up the burger and took a bite out of it. She was already starving, but something about this burger was really good. "Mmm, oh my God, this is delicious", she said in-between bites. Shawn was also eating his burger and fries. "I know that's why it's my usual", Shawn said as he took another bite of his burger. "That's why I'm surprised it's not a number one seller here". They continued eating and conversing amongst each other as they finished up their meal. They both got up from their seats and said their goodbyes and goodnight to the owner and their server of the night as they exited the restaurant. Shawn walked Kitana to her car, "I had a great time tonight, thanks for not turning down having a bite to eat this evening with me", Shawn said as he opened her car door for her. "No problem, I also had a great time, and glad I got to enjoy a delicious meal with you as well", Kitana said as she entered her car. Before she could get into her car, Shawn stopped her and proceeded to kiss her. He pulled away and said "sorry I don't know what came over". Kitana, who was shocked and speechless, snapped out of it and just got into her car. "Goodnight Shawn, I'll see you in the morning", she said, rolling up her window and driving away.

Kitana just lived a few blocks from the restaurant, so she got to her place within 5 minutes of leaving the place. She turned off her car’s engine and sat in the car thinking about what had just taken place. Shawn kissed me, he really actually kissed me, she said to herself as she was still shocked about the whole thing. After another minute of thinking about the kiss, she finally got out of her car and made her way into her apartment. She went straight to her bed and plopped on it with a fluttering heart and exhaustion from the day's work. Kitana didn’t have the energy to recall the night’s event with her and Shawn. Her head and eyelids felt heavy to where she could no longer stay awake. She drifted off to sleep, as the workload of the day and lack of sleep finally caught up to her.