A Fake Date With My New Boss

Hug

Chapter 019.

Zack's POV

I had never thought much about what it meant to make someone happy, especially not someone like Lola, because before her, my idea of caring had always been simple: provide what was needed, solve the problem, move on. But after the movie date, I kept thinking about the way she smiled beside me, and somehow that smile had become something I wanted to see again.

The next morning, I arrived at the office earlier than usual, carrying a small paper bag in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, Lola’s favorite breakfast inside the bag, and even though I told myself it was nothing serious, I had already remembered exactly how she liked her coffee.

Leo was standing near my office when he saw me, his eyes moving from the coffee to the bag and then back to my face, and the smile that appeared told me immediately I wasn't going to hear the end of this.

“So, the cold boss now carries breakfast for his secretary.”

“It is breakfast, Leo, not a marriage proposal.”

“You remembered her coffee order too.”

“I remember details about people who work for me.”

“Since when, my leader? You never care about me!”

I ignored him and walked into my office, placing the coffee and breakfast on my desk. Still, Leo followed me without shame, leaning against the door while watching me like I was some interesting experiment he had just discovered.

“You like her.”

“I'm doing it for Grandma's sake. Nothing more”

"Are you sure?"

I gave him a look, hoping he would leave, but instead he laughed and pulled a chair closer, clearly enjoying himself, and for once I did not have the energy to argue because the truth was already becoming difficult to ignore.

“I need your advice.”

Leo stopped laughing, then looked at me with exaggerated surprise, as if I had just announced something impossible.

“You are asking me for relationship advice?”

“Do not make me regret it.”

“I knew this day would come. The icy boss is now in love!”

"I'm not! I'm trying to make it look real to Grandma"

I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair as I tried to explain what I could barely explain to myself.

“How do I make her happy?”

Leo stared at me for a moment, then shook his head with a grin.

“Start by listening to her, then pay attention to what she likes, and stop trying to solve every problem before she tells you there is one.”

I nodded slowly, taking the advice more seriously than he probably expected, and after he left, I opened my laptop and started searching for simple things that could make a girlfriend happy, reading articles about thoughtful gestures, surprise dates, favorite foods, small gifts, and spending quality time together.

Some of the suggestions were ridiculous, but I kept searching anyway, because I was not looking for some perfect formula; I was trying to understand Lola, and the more I thought about her, the more I realized I had a lot to learn.

That thought changed what I planned for the day, so instead of sending her another expensive gift, I went downstairs and picked up something simple from the café she often visited, then returned to the office before she arrived, leaving it on her desk with another small note.

When Lola walked in, she stopped beside her desk, looked at the food, then slowly looked toward my office, and I watched her from behind my glass door as she smiled despite herself.

She picked up the note and read it, then looked around as if she was trying to find whoever had left it, and when our eyes met through the glass, I gave her a small smile instead of pretending I had nothing to do with it.

She walked into my office a few minutes later, holding the note in one hand and the breakfast in the other, her expression caught somewhere between amusement and confusion.

“Was this you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because you skipped breakfast yesterday.”

She looked down at the food, then back at me, and I could see the softness that entered her expression before she tried to hide it.

“You remember everything, do you?”

“Maybe.”

She became quiet after that, and I could tell the answer had reached somewhere deeper than I expected, so I let the silence remain instead of filling it with another explanation.

Throughout the day, I found small reasons to check on her without overwhelming her; I asked if she needed help, brought her water when she was busy, and even moved a meeting so she could finish her work without staying late.

Every time she caught me staring, she gave me that same uncertain smile, as though she was still trying to understand this version of me.

By lunchtime, Leo appeared again, watched me place a small box of pastries on Lola’s desk, and let out an exaggerated sigh.

“You are hopeless.”

“I am being thoughtful.”

“You are completely gone.”

“Leave me alone.”

Leo laughed and walked away, still shaking his head, while Lola opened the box and offered him one of the pastries before he could escape, making him laugh even harder.

I watched them from my office, and seeing Lola smile so freely made something settle inside me, because I was beginning to understand that her happiness did not have to be something complicated; sometimes it was just giving her a reason to forget her problems for a few minutes.

That evening, I waited until she finished work before offering to take her home, but she refused to answer her phone, and when I asked around, no one seemed to know where she had gone.

I tried calling again, but the call went unanswered, and the concern I had been keeping under control all day began turning into something heavier.

I left the office and drove around the places I knew she sometimes visited, checking the café, the small bookstore near her apartment, and even the park where I had once seen her sitting alone.

Nothing.

The sky had already turned gray by the time I returned toward her neighborhood, and the temperature had dropped sharply, the wind pushing through the streets as I slowed the car near the building where she lived.

That was when I saw her.

She was standing near the entrance, alone, her arms wrapped around herself as she shivered, her clothes looking too thin for the cold weather, and for one second I simply stared because she looked completely different from the confident woman who had walked into my office that morning.

I got out of the car and hurried toward her, calling her name, but she did not answer; she only looked at me with an expression I could not understand, as if she had been carrying something too heavy for too long.

“Lola.”

She tried to speak, but nothing came out.

I moved closer, lowering my voice as I looked at her face, trying to understand whether she was hurt or frightened.

“What happened?”

Her lips parted again, but she still could not speak, and that was when I stopped asking questions.

I opened my arms and pulled her against me, holding her carefully as she pressed herself against my chest, her body still trembling from the cold.

My heart ached. "What could have happened?"