"WOW, that smells so good." 

I heard Marie's voice as she entered the kitchen. I turned my head to her. She was scrunching her eyes, her hair still looked like a bird's nest. It was almost midnight when she went home last night from another gig. 

She went to the counter and looked at what I was cooking. 

"Pasta bolognese?" she asked as she started to make her coffee. 

"Yup." I proudly answered with a smile. "Can you hand me the pepper, Mar?" 

Mariel picked up the condiment from the shelf in front of her and handed it to me. 

"Thank you."

"Why are you making that early in the morning?" she asked while walking to the island counter with her mug of coffee in her hand. 

I pursed my lips. "I'll bring this to the office." I grabbed a spoon and tasted the sauce. I added a pinch of salt and stirred it before tasting it again. I smiled to myself when I finally got satisfied with the taste. I finally turned off the stove. 

"Office? But you don't like pasta, right?" 

I turned my head to Marie's direction. "I'll give this to Xander."

I saw how her forehead formed a crease as she put down the mug of coffee on the island counter. 

"What?" She asked with a crumpled face. "Why are you cooking for your boss? You're a secretary, not his personal chef." 

I pursed my lips. "I just wanted to thank him for what he did the other day, Mariel."

It was three days ago when Xander lent me his coat. I didn't get the chance to thank him for what he did before he had an emergency business trip to Singapore the day after that. I hadn't seen him for the past two days. 

"You can just say 'thank you', Charity. No need to give him food." She shook her head. "You're being sentimental."

Mariel brushed her fingers through her messy hair. Then her eyes slanted as she continued to look at me. 

"I thought you applied as his secretary so you can finally brushed off your crazy feelings for him. But from the looks of it, you're just falling more for that guy." She arched her brow as she picked her mug of coffee and sipped from it. 

I averted her gaze. Instead, I opened the cabinet and took out a clear Tupperware. I wiped it with clean cloth before I placed it on the counter. I grabbed the pan and transferred half of the pasta in the empty Tupperware. I sprinkled some grated cheese and herbs on top before I put the lid on. 

"See? You don't even deny." I heard Mariel.  I hadn't noticed she was already standing near me. She placed her now empty mug on the sink before she turned to face me. 

"So, it's true?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're not getting rid of your feelings for him… instead you're just falling for him more." Her last sentence didn't come up as a question. It's as if she could read what's going on with me. 

I bit my lower lip. Mariel… she was right. I couldn't help but fall for Xander more. I thought if I got close to him… if I got used to his presence… my feelings for him would eventually fade. That I would finally be able to unlove him. That… when I went back to Greece, I was finally moved on from my almost decade-long feelings for him. 

But screw me. Because the opposite thing happened. Instead of getting rid of my feelings for him, I just found myself falling for him more. 

And I couldn't blame myself. Xander… he was such a boyfriend material. After being his secretary for more than a week, I got to know him on a more personal level. 

After what he did to me the other day (him wrapping his coat around my waist) I felt like I could no longer remove him from my heart. 

"Yeah." I admitted with a small voice. "I'm just falling more in love with Xander, Mar."

"Then you have to stop this, Charity." 

I shook my head. "I'm enjoying my job."

Did I regret the fact that I applied for this job? No. I didn't regret any of it. I wanted to continue working as his secretary. 

"What? But you said that you're just falling more for him!" Mariel muttered with a deep frown on her face. "What's the next thing for you, then? Seduce him?" 

I gave my best friend an incredulous look. "I'm not cheap, Mar. I won't do that."

"Yeah." Mariel made a scoff. "Says the girl who lied and made up a story just to become his secretary." She looked at me with a serious face. "Sometimes, we can do stupid things for love. Look at you." 

I opened my mouth to protest but in the end, I just chose to pursed my lips. Fine. Applying to be his secretary was a stupid thing, alright. 

"Don't I won't seduce him, Mariel," I reassured her. Then I let out a small chuckle. "I don't even know how to seduce someone." What more seduced Xander? I couldn't even look him in the eye for more than five seconds without blushing. "I'm in love with him, but I know where I stand…" 

I saw how Mariel arched her brow. "You can easily seduce him if you want to, Cha. You know you're beautiful."

"Shut up, I'm not Xander's type." I shook my head. "I wanted to maintain a professional relationship with him. That's all." 

"You don't want him to fall for you?" 

Of course. In a fantasy world, I wanted his love. But I knew I could only dream of that. 

"I'm already content with our boss-secretary relationship." I was already satisfied being around him. Having to talk to him. Seeing him everyday for the next two months. 

She gave me a disbelieving look. "I didn't know you're such a masochist, Cha." She clicked her tongue. "This is why I don't want to fall in love. Love will just make you stupid." 

I just laughed at her comment, then I motioned her to sit back on the island counter. 

"Come on, try it." I smiled at Mariel as I placed a plate of pasta in front of her. I know she's not a fan of pasta but she won't refuse free food. 

"How's the taste?" 

She pursed her lips as she wiped her mouth with a tissue. "Seriously, Charity. If you have no plans of seducing that manwhore, then don't let him eat this. The poor guy might just fall in love with you." 

I just laughed at what Mariel said. "Shut up, Mar." 

She grinned at me as she finished her plate. "No, Cha. Seriously, how did you learn to cook like this?" 

"I told you, it's because of Conrad." Aside from being a great businessman, my brother was also a good cook. One of our bonding moments was spending time in the kitchen. It was him where I learned how to perfect some pasta dishes. 

"If I didn't know that that brother of yours is a playboy, I might just ask you to introduce me to him." 

It was my time to arch my brow at her. "I thought you don't want to fall in love?"