DARK CHOCOLATE SERIES 1 - Sweet Deceptions, Love in Disguise

Chapter 4

Writer's Note: Sorry, guys, I can't find time to rewrite the whole series so I will be posting it as is starting from this chapter on.  I'm sorry for errors or loopholes. Kindly remember, this was written so long ago. Enjoy.

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Jaye was so tense she could not believe it. She had never been that tense before. She craved to have at least two shots of espresso; her cigarette was just not enough. Tapos na silang kumain ni Max. Wala naman itong ginagawa kundi ang tingnan siya. Pero hayun at naninigas ang kanyang likod.

At kani-kaninang kumakain sila ay para bang wala nang ibang tao sa lugar na iyon kundi siya lang. Wala pa ni isang taong pinakitaan siya ng ganoon, na para bang napakaimportante niya. Now she had an idea how Cleopatra must have felt like.

Kaunting kibot ay nakaasiste ito sa kanya, at hindi sa paraang nakakainis. He did not make her feel like a needy kid, but a queen. A goddess even. She was so scrared of what she was feeling. Because she was starting to like the attention.

Siya ang tipo ng taong gusto lang ng atensiyon sa mga bagay na sa tingin niya ay mahalaga sa kanya---tulad ng pagpapalitan ng opinyon tungkol sa stock market, o sa product development, o kahit pa sa makabagong teknolohiyang makakatulong sa kanyang trabaho. In short, sa mga bagay na hindi masyadong personal.

At ngayong pinaliliguan siya ng atensiyon ng estrangherong ito sa ganoong lebel ay nawawala ang tapang niya. This was something so new to her it was freaking her out. She did not know what else to say to him. Sinabihan na niya itong tigilan na siya, parati itong may sagot na mas lalo nang nakakapagpalito sa kanya.

Kung naiba-iba lang siguro ito ay kanina pa siya naalarma dahil kung hindi ito ang kanyang boss, maiisip niyang may ulterior motive ito sa kanya. Pero ano ang maaaring maging kailangan nito sa kanya? Wala siyang makita. At lalong hindi siya sanay sa mga lalaking ganito.

Of course, there had been a number of men who tried to do that to her. But they were never able to penetrate through her shield. Mahusay siyang kumilatis ng tao at alam niya kung ano ang inaasahang role niya sa buhay ng mga ito. Some of them wanted to use her as their stepping stone, while some were simply challenged to conquer her. Hindi naman kaila sa kanya ang laki ng ego ng ibang opposite sex. She had learned to deal with those men, those she classified as silly men. But Max would not fall under that category. Sure she thought his job was too big for him to handle, but it was obvious he was not asking for her help. Isa pa, kung ganoon man ang motibo nito, bakit kailangan pa nitong yayain siya sa isang date? Mas madaling diretsahin siya nito at hindi na magiging komplikado pa ang relasyon nilang bilang mag-amo.

Lalo namang hindi niya maisip na natsa-challenge lang ito sa kanya dahil kanina lang sila nito nagkasama nang matagal. Isa pa'y wala sa estado nito ang magpakaabala sa ganoong klaseng bagay. He was still the CEO of the company, for God's sake. And he was gorgeous. Why would he waste his time on someone like her? Sure, she was pretty, she had been told quite a number of times. But she was sure all of Max's exs were pretty, too. Imposibleng hindi sa hitsura nitong iyon.

So what the hell was his ulterior motive? She couldn't see it. Naturally, she was freaked out. Maybe he was for real. If he kept putting her up on pedestal like that, she wouldn't know what to do.

Ang mga naging boyfriend niya noon, kailanman ay hindi siya pinakitaan ng ganoon. Her first boyfriend when she was in college was a geek. Kaya lang niya ito sinagot ay dahil kapwa sila laman ng library. Ito ang nakipag-break sa kanya dahil hindi nito nakayanan ang demands niya sa mga grades nila.

Ang ikalawang boyfriend niya ay isang med rep. Nakilala niya ito nang magpa-medical siya. Dalawang buwan lang ang itinagal ng kanilang relasyon. Ito rin ang nakipag-break sa kanya dahil hindi raw nito makitang may pupuntahan ang relasyon nila kung ganoong hindi raw niya ito sinusuportahan sa nais nito. How could she have supported him when he wanted to quit his job to fulfill his dream of becoming an actor?