The CEO's Rented Wife

"I thought you were going out with the rest of the team, tonight?" Wang asked Lina.

Lina opened her eyes to see Wang standing directly over her. He was so close that she could smell the washing powder on his trousers.

Lina was speechless for a few seconds. Lina's mind was at work again. 'Wang must have realised that he was standing a bit too close and his belly was practically in my face, because as soon as I opened my eyes he took a step back,' Lina thought and blushed. "Y.. yes, Mr. Wang, I am going out, are you going to join us?" Lina stammered.

"Why are you alone in an empty office, then?" Wang questioned, almost immediately.

Lina thought for a few seconds and spoke out. "The office isn't empty though. is it? You're in here sneaking around in the dark."

"Did you know I was here?" Wang asked.

"No, clearly not. Or I wouldn't be slouching here with my feet up!" Lina pointed towards her feet, which were resting on the table.

"Maybe, you should remove your feet from the desk, now," Wang pointed out.

"Oh shit!" Lina quickly took her feet down and sat up straight as if she was working. "Sorry, Mr. Wang," Lina apologized and cursed herself for being such a slow thinker.

"While I am happy to see you, slowly, getting comfortable in the company's culture and people, I am slightly displeased by your habit of flirting with male members of the company. Why do I feel that you are flirting with Jimmy and Smith at the same time?" Wang spoke, with his eyes constantly observing any changes in Lina's expressions.

"Mr. Wang, there is no way I can even think of flirting with Jimmy. He is my brother. Err.. I mean, we are not related by blood, but he is a distant relative of mine. It's just that.. because he's in the technical department, and I have been getting stuck in technical problems, we have had a chance to interact a lot. That's it.. nothing more. And, Mr. Smith.. "Lina stopped all of a sudden, and did not know what to say.

"And, what about Smith?" Wang asked.

Lina thought for a few seconds. She reminded herself of Tina's words. Lina knew that she had to handle the entire scene in a diplomatic way, so that Wang continues to think about it, and gets jealous. "Mr. Smith has been very nice to me. He has helped me in many situations. I really like his jolly nature. Any girl would love to have him as her boyfriend, but I think.. I am not so lucky," Lina giggled. The words just seemed to leave Lina's mouth before she could stop them.

Lina could see Wang thinking about this. She wondered where her confidence had come from. 'Why am I being so diplomatic with him? I'm scared of him.. so why do I say these things to him? What if things go out of hand. What if Wang fires me from the job?' Lina thought.

"No one flirts in the company, Ms. Lina, and that too in front of the boss. One girl, a while back, tried and I fired her for disrespecting the work culture. Tell me, why you're still here, Lina?" Wang smiled, so as to make Lina, not believe, and not scared, to what he said. 

Wang's smile further increased Lina confidence a lot. She was getting more and more comfortable. "There could be a few reasons, the first being.. I'm a good learner. The second.. maybe, I'm different from the rest.. thirdly, I can be trusted, and will never deceive my boss and lastly, maybe, my boss, Mr. Wang, secretly likes me too!"

"Haha! Lina, you are funny. Well! You certainly are different from my other staff, and the biggest klutz I've ever had the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of meeting." Wang laughed.

"Mr. Wang, after our first meet at the restaurant - Savoy Kitchen, did you expect to see me again?" Lina, intentionally, touched the topic of that day.

Wang blushed a little. "Err.. I don't know. I mean, in all honesty.. No! But, I'm glad, I did, Lina."

The conversation was interrupted by the receptionist,  who bursted through the office door, shouting at the top of her lungs. Lina knew that she was possibly drunk too much, already.

The receptionist stumbled over to Lina mumbling about how long she had been gone, until she suddenly saw Wang lurking in the shadows next to Lina. "Errr.. Mr. Wang, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you were here," she stammered.

"Well, I guess that's my cue to leave. Are you sure, you won't join us, Mr. Wang?" Lina asked.

"Yes, quite sure. Do enjoy yourselves and make sure you're back to work in one piece on the next working day," Wang smiled.

"Why were you in the office alone with Mr. Wang?" The receptionist asked Lina. She practically shouted her question at Lina before they had even made it to the office door. Lina knew fully well that Wang could hear them and she was embarrassed.

"Oh God! Get back to your senses. Mr. Wang is still here and can hear us. How much have you drunk?" Lina asked.

"Quite a bit! We have more in the loos. Come join the party before we go meet the boys!" Receptionist said to Lina.

Lina could feel Wang's eyes burning into the back of her head, so she turned to give him one last glance before she left the room and whatever moment they just shared far behind.

Wang pretended that he wasn't watching Lina by pulling out his phone, but Lina was pretty sure that it was just a rouse. There was something very odd about how Wang behaved and Lina was finding herself more and more intrigued by him.

Lina and the receptionist walked outside the room, towards the washrooms, where other girls were getting ready. Some had already started drinking alcohol, while some were still busy with their makeup. 

Wang walked outside the room too.