Corporate Romance

You check the time. Perfect. As intended, you've arrived fashionably late. You walk into the building and make your way towards the elevator. The meeting started more than 5 minutes ago. You want to get the attention of all the present directors and the only person you have your eyes on, Hua Heng. He will become your business partner soon as you will sign the contract with his H Company. The meeting room is on the 15th floor. You could have taken the stairs if not for your nice clothes and the hot weather that makes it almost impossible to get there in perfect state. The elevator is pretty fast as you arrive at the meeting floor in the blink of an eye.

You make your way toward the room at the end of the hall. You slowly walk to the door and gracefully open it. As soon as you enter the meeting room, everyone looks your way with a disapproving gaze. Ignoring them you go to your chair and take a seat, fixing your new expensive clothes as you do so. Some documents lay in front of you. You proceed to look them over and figure out what they are about. As you look through them, the meeting continues. The rest of the directors are talking about improving the company and sign new contracts. It’s nothing you’re interested in anyway. The only thing that matters is Hua Heng and his H Company you look forward to working with.

You see him looking your way. His face is stern and his attire is just perfect. He probably bought this new grey suit just for this meeting, as you did. Hua Heng’s gaze is judging you for being late and not paying attention to this important meeting. It only sends shivers down your spine as you realize your love interest was looking your way this entire time. You suddenly get a feeling that everyone in the room is looking at you. Did they ask you for opinion? Or were they waiting for you to sign the contract held firmly in your grasp?

“Director, could you please stop crumpling that contract in your hands?” you hear from your right. It was one of the directors reprimanding you for your unusual behaviour. You have been business partners for a while and it made her worry that you might not feel well.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” you say as you continue “Can we get to the point of this meeting and sign this contract then? I have another meeting after this.” This got everyone’s attention. A sudden realization came over them as they thought to not take more of your time as you are the director of J Company in which building the meeting is taking place.

You retrieve your pen from the suitcase and sign your signature on the line, the name seeming to belong on the slightly crumpled paper. Then slowly, but gracefully, you stand up and walk toward Hua Heng and give him your set of papers while he gives you his own. For a brief moment, your fingertips brush his as you take the documents before returning to your seat. Your heart beats so fast that you think you might pass out. The contract is signed and you are now business partners with Hua Heng.

The meeting is coming to a close and all of the directors pack their belongings as you sit there absent-minded. You realise that Hua Heng has come up to you and extends his hand towards you. You take it and shake his hand as the contract is now in effect. He says to you, “Director, let’s leave together.” You are mesmerised but soon get up from your seat and go to the exit with your love interest, side by side.

You head to the elevator. He is with you. The two of you step in. Soon you feel that there is something wrong with the elevator. A loud crack and a sudden halt of the elevator gain your attention. It seems that a malfunction in the elevator's system had caused the car to stop in the middle of the shaft, leaving you and Hua Heng trapped inside. Dizziness overcomes you as you recall for dislike for small, closed spaces. Your legs give out and you fall into Hua Heng's arms. He looks at you. His expression is a confused one. He puts his hand on your waist and holds you close. You look at him. You are very close to Hua Heng and you can feel his breath ghosting over your ear. You want to hug him and kiss him but you're afraid that he will call you a madman. The lights start to flicker and you cling to Hua even harder. You gaze into his beautiful blue eyes and feel a slight relief. He's got you and you can relax a little.

A sudden shake of the elevator pushes you on top of him as the two of you fall onto the floor. You start to panic as you think it might be the end for both of you. You grab Hua Heng and kiss him deeply. Your hands grab onto his nice suit as you push your tongue into his slightly parted lips. You don't know if he is letting you do this or if he is enjoying himself as much as you are, but you don't stop kissing the love of your life. Once the kiss is broken you two look at each other. A moment of silence passes and suddenly you feel his hands push you away. He looks at you with disgust and confusion. You think that it was worth it as you don't know if the two of you will ever make it out alive. The elevator gets fixed rather quickly and turns out you panicked for no good reason. Then, you realise what you have done and immediately regret your decision. Your work will only be more awkward from now on.