Because the rain was pouring hard, Andrei pulled her closer. Irani could smell his cologne.

Damn. He smelled so good. I wonder what his cologne was? Irani thought to herself.

She bit her lower lip to stop herself from smiling.

Andrei then turned to her. "Are you okay, Irani?" Andrei asked her in a concerned tone.

She smiled at him. "I'm fine, Drei."

Irani pursed her lips as she moved inches closer to Andrei. Of course, she wouldn't waste this chance to be closer to him.

At that moment, she felt like she was shooting a romantic music video. The only thing missing was the background music.

She turned her head to Andrei. She couldn't help herself to stare at his face. His angelic face suited his attitude. He wasn't just good-looking, he was also nice and a gentleman.

When Andrei looked at her and smiled, she bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from giggling.

“Are you going home now?” Andrei asked her.

“Uh, yes,” she answered, still looking at him. “How about you, Drei?”

Andrei was about to answer when his cell phone rang. He easily took it from his pocket using his hand. Then, he answered the phone.

“What, Drei, are you coming with me?"

Irani could clearly hear the voice of a guy from the other line.

"Yeah. I'm coming. Wait for me in the parking lot. I'm already on my way there." Andrei answered whoever guy he was talking to.

"Hurry up, dude. I don't want to be late."

The guy answered before Andrei ended the call.

Andrei then turned to her. "I'm sorry about that, Irani."

Irani smiled at him. "No, it's okay, Drei," she said. "Uh, the waiting shed's still far from the parking lot. You can just drop me there." She said, pointing at the guard house near them. "I can just ask one of the guards to call a taxi for me."

"Are you sure it's fine with you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Drei."

Andrei smiled before handing her the umbrella. "Here. You can take my umbrella with you."

Irani shook her head. "Huh? Not, Drei. You take it with you. It's your Drei."

Drei just smiled at her. "Come on, Irani. Don't worry about me. I can sprint to the parking lot."

Irani bit her lower lip. “If you're really sure then thank you, Drei."

"You're welcome, Irani." He smiled.

Irani's eyes followed Drei as he sprinted in the direction of the parking lot. When he is finally out of her sight, she let out a squeal. She was smiling so wide as she looked at the dark sky.

Thank you, Lord. I didn't expect that the rain would be a blessing in disguise for me.

Her eyes then went back to the red umbrella in her hand. She smiled wider when she noticed the name tag attached to its handle.

Andrei Mendoza’s.

Irani pursed her lips to prevent herself from smiling.

Damn. He really is cute.

Irani was in a good mood as she walked to the waiting shed to wait for a taxi. She usually rode an Uber but couldn't do that right now since her phone was already dead.

A few minutes later, a black sedan stopped in front of her. The car's heavily tinted rolled down. Her lips parted when she saw Red in the driver's seat.

“Hi, shortcake!” Red greeted her, a smirk on his annoying face.

Irani wanted to roll her eyes at Red. But she stopped herself from doing that. She didn't want to ruin her mood.

“What are you doing here?” Red asked her.

Irani inhaled a deep breath to control her emotion in front of this man. “Well, isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a taxi.”

“Oh, just ride with me, then. It's already late.” He grinned at her. “Don’t worry. I won't let you pay Irani."

Irani snickered. She would rather stay here and wait for a taxi until midnight than ride with Red. “Thanks. But no thanks, Red,” she answered, giving him a fake smile.

Red raised his brows at her. “Are you sure, Irani?”

She pressed her lips together and nodded at him. "I'm sure, Red. I won't ride you.”

“Okay, then.," Red said, shrugging his shoulders. “Good luck waiting for a taxi, shortcake.” He flashed a lopsided smile before he closed the window and sped away.

Irani followed Red's car until it disappeared from her sight. Then the rain poured harder much to her dismay. She suddenly wanted to regret that she rejected Red's offer earlier.

Stop it, Cassidy, she told herself. You would just be in a bad mood if you rode with him.

Irani almost jumped when lightning flashed in the sky, followed by roaring thunder.

"Shit," Irani muttered to herself when a tall man in a hoodie went to the waiting shed and stood beside her. She couldn't see the man's face, but he seemed like he was already in his thirties. He was tall and bulky.

When the man was about to turn at her, Irani immediately looked away.

Dammit, maybe I should just have accepted Red's officer earlier. He was obviously lesser evil compared to this man beside her. At least, even if Red is an asshole, she knew him and was sure she was safe with that monkey.

Irani's eyes widened in hope when she saw a jeepney approaching. She raised her hand to stop the vehicle but it just drove past her.

“Miss…” The man beside her called her in his deep voice.

Irani bit her lower lip. Instead of looking at him, she just pretended that she didn't hear him. She didn't want to look at him. She was scared.

“Miss…”

Irani swallowed when the man called her the second time. This time, she decided to finally glance at him. When she saw his smile, she suddenly realized that he seemed kind and harmless despite his built.

But then Irani reminded herself that not all good-looking people are actually harmless.

The man pointed at the wristwatch she was wearing. “May I ask what time it is now?”