Coloring the Grays

Chapter Two

MIKE

I barely slept that night because I couldn't stop thinking about her.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face.

The moment my alarm went off, I pushed away my comforter and got out of bed.

It was six in the morning.

I headed straight to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. For a moment, I just stood there, thinking.

Should I cook something for her?

Would she even come to work after crying yesterday?

Because, to be honest, when my ex-girlfriend and I broke up, I spent almost a week sulking in the province just to forget her.

After overthinking for several minutes, I finally decided to bring her something to eat.

For some reason, I had a feeling she would skip lunch again.

After preparing my own salad and making food for Frances, I pulled aside the floor-to-ceiling curtains of my condo.

The morning sunlight immediately flooded the room.

I grabbed my dumbbells and worked out for a while. After thirty minutes, I got ready for work.

I arrived at the office earlier than usual because traffic was surprisingly light that day.

The moment I walked through the door, I immediately spotted Frances.

She had just arrived as well.

Her hair was slightly damp, as if she had just come from a shower.

I bet she wasn't wearing any makeup yet.

But she was still beautiful.

Her eyebrows looked naturally shaped, and even from a distance, I could see how long and thick her eyelashes were.

"You're early, Boss."

Joseph's voice came from behind me.

I hadn't even noticed he was there.

"Traffic was light."

I simply replied and continued walking toward my workstation.

Joseph matched my pace.

"She's pretty even without makeup, Boss."

He grinned before heading to his area.

Looks like he noticed what I was staring at.

Hays.

One by one, the employees started arriving.

The office gradually became livelier and noisier.

"Hi, are you Engr. Mike?"

A woman's voice interrupted me.

When I looked up, I saw a woman with shoulder-length hair standing in front of my desk.

"I'm Nina, the Property Manager. I actually need your help with something. This project has been pending for

quite a while and was left behind by the person you replaced."

She spoke with a noticeably sophisticated tone.

"Hi, Ms. Nina. Let's see. What's the project about?"

I gestured for her to sit in the chair across from my desk.

Only then did I realize that inviting her to sit might have been a mistake.

She leaned forward against my table, making me very aware of how close she was.

I simply scratched the back of my head and focused on ending the conversation as professionally as possible.

Once she left, I couldn't help shaking my head.

I called Joseph over.

"Joseph, give me a brief report about Ms. Nina's project."

I handed him the plans she had given me.

"Sure, Boss."

He was about to stand up when he suddenly sat back down and leaned toward me.

"Boss, want me to set you up with Frances?"

He whispered while repeatedly raising his eyebrows.

I stared at him.

Apparently, this man lived for gossip.

"It's all over the ninth floor that she and her boyfriend broke up."

He glanced behind me.

"Besides, she's pretty popular in the Engineering Department."

That grin appeared again.

"Don't you like her?"

The question slipped out before I could stop myself.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue.

"I'm married, Boss."

He leaned away from me.

"Unlike you. You still look single."

When I chose not to respond, he laughed and returned to his workstation.

Around lunchtime, Joseph returned with a stack of documents.

"Boss Mike, here's what you asked for. I already sent the soft copy to your email."

He handed me a much thicker file.

"Let's grab lunch, Boss."

I simply nodded.

Soon, he left the room.

The office suddenly felt quiet again.

"Sir?"

"Yes?"

I answered automatically without looking away from my laptop.

I was reviewing reports that Engr. Liana needed for her meeting with the company's president.

"Is it okay if I turn off half of the lights?"

The familiar voice made me look up.

When I turned around, I found Frances standing on the other side of the divider.

She was looking directly at me.

I stared at her for several seconds.

"Sir?"

She called me again, pulling me back to reality.

"Ah... yes. It's okay."

I stood up and turned off the lights myself.

"Thank you."

After saying that, she returned to her chair.

"Lunch?"

I asked.

"I'll eat later."

She answered without even looking up from her desk.

From my position, I couldn't see her very well, so I grabbed the food I had prepared that morning and walked

over to the divider.

"Sandwich."

I held out a container with a chicken sandwich inside.

She looked up at me in surprise.

"I'm okay, Sir."

She didn't take it.

I placed it on her desk anyway.

"That's actually for you."

I said before lifting my own lunch container.

Then I stood beside the divider again.

"Come eat with me."

I gave her a smile.

"Thank you for this."

She finally accepted the sandwich.

"Mike, please."

I said.

The way she called me "Sir" made me feel much older than I actually was.

"Frances."

She smiled in return.

So that was it.

We were finally introducing ourselves properly.

"By the way, I'm sorry about yesterday."

I rubbed the back of my neck.

"I got a little scared."

I saw her smile.

"I mean, imagine thinking you're alone in the office, then suddenly hearing someone crying."

I added.

This time, she actually laughed.

And when she smiled—

Damn.

My heart felt like it was melting.

"I'm sorry too about yesterday."

She lowered her gaze and returned her attention to the sandwich.

Then she looked at me again.

"Thank you for this."

She lifted the sandwich slightly.

"It's really good."

And for some reason, hearing that simple compliment made my entire morning feel brighter.