The Way to a Man's Heart

Chapter 1

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

For those who might not know him, his name is Dome Woranart Ratthanaphast. He played the role of Beam in 2Moons2.

Dome's POV

I was awakened rudely by the consistent buzzing of my front door.  I glanced at the digital clock on my dresser. Damn, it was only eight in the morning. For me, being awake before ten on a Saturday morning was a sacrilege. Who would be such a buzzkill as to be up and about at this time on a Saturday.

I reluctantly got out of bed and shuffled towards the door in my fake fur slippers. In my drowsy state I almost tripped before I reached the door.

"What do you want?" was my greeting to the unwanted visitor whose hand was still poised in the air, his index finger ready to press on the buzzer once more.

I instantly regretted being rude to him when I noticed how attractive he was. I mean I know I shouldn't be rude to anyone whether good looking or not, but this one was by all means several notches higher than a regular looking guy.

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

For those who might not know him, his name is Pavel Naret Promphaopun. He played the role of Forth in 2Moons2.

"I'm sorry to wake you up," he said. He must have noticed my rumpled hair and my creased up pajamas. I quickly placed a finger to my eyes to make sure to wipe out any sleep dirt that might have formed overnight.

When I continued to stare at him, he repeated, "I'm so sorry to wake you up."

I almost replied, "I'm glad you are" but managed to keep my trap shut just in time.

"What can I do for you?" I asked, still feeling some residual irritation at being woken early on a Saturday.

"I saw the notice outside your building about a vacant unit," he said. "I am interested in renting it."

"I do not entertain prospective tenants during weekends," I informed him. "You will have to come back on Monday."

I was about to close the door on him when he said, "I was hoping you would make an exception of me for humanitarian reasons."

I looked him in the eye, barely able to conceal my annoyance. I was in no mood for exaggerations or theatrics just so he could get what he wanted.

"What exactly do you mean by humanitarian reasons?" I asked him while inwardly asking myself why am I even having this conversation with him.

"My parents threw me out of the house when I told them to stop pushing me to date the woman of their choice because I was not into women, because I swing the other way," he said, meeting my stare unflinchingly.

"How are you going to pay for your rent?" I asked.

"I have sufficient funds in my personal bank account to last me until I'm able to find a job," he replied. "I expect to be able to land a job within this month."

"What kind of job are you aiming for?" I wanted to know.

"I am a fashion designer for men's apparel," he informed me. "The company that I last worked for moved their business to Singapore. They did offer me to join them there but I did not want to leave the country because there's this guy that I'm seriously dating and I'm just waiting for him to agree to make our relationship official."

Okay, so much for thinking that he was single.

"So would you please consider letting me sign a rent contract with you within today?" he asked when I just stood there unable to make up my mind. "All my stuff are in my SUV right now and I don't want to have to check into a hotel when I can already pay for an apartment unit."

"It's not a regular apartment unit," I reminded him. "It's just a studio, meaning it's a one room affair with a bathroom."

"That's just fine with me," he declared. "That's all the space I need."

"The terms include a one month advance rent and a one month deposit which will be returned to you when you leave the place after a one month's notice," I informed him. "Bear in mind though, that the cost of any damages you make in the unit will be deducted from your deposit."

"That sounds fair to me," he replied. "So can I move in right now?"

I sighed loudly to let him know that he was actually imposing on me with this insistence of his to move into my building within today.

"Wait for  me outside the door at the end of this hallway that has a sign that says 'Manager's Office', " I said before closing the door on him.

I didn't feel guilty about making him wait while going through my morning rituals first and taking my shower and changing into a pair of jeans and a white tee. I quickly ran a brush through my hair before leaving my unit and making my way to my office at the end of the walkway.

"You took your sweet time," I heard him mutter under his breath.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my hackles rising. "Is it you doing me a favor or is it the other way around?"

"I'm sorry," he said. He seemed to instantly regret complaining about having to wait for me for far longer than he had expected.

I unlocked my office door and went inside. He followed me and stood in front of my desk.

"You can take one of these seats," I said pointing to the chairs in front of my desk.

I pulled out the set of paperwork from my filing cabinet and handed them to him.

"You can read through each page before signing at the bottom of the last page," I instructed him.

He did so and then he fished out a pen from the purse that he was holding. Then he signed his name at the bottom of the last page.

"Should I make the check payable to the name of this building?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Make it payable to W&P Properties." (A/N: fictitious company name. Doesn't exist as far as author knows)

When the whole initial rental process had been taken care of, I handed him the key to the only available studio unit in my parents' building. I told him that his unit number was 108 and he could find it right across the yard fronting my own unit.

We were halfway down the walkway when he suddenly turned to me and said, "Would you help me bring my stuff inside my unit?"

"Don't push your luck, kiddo," I said before entering my unit and closing my door, taking care not to slam it too hard.