the clock once more. There were only four more hours until her date with Darius. She was growing more nauseous by the minute. Nya couldn't remember the last time she'd been so nervous for a date. Maybe it was because everything felt different with Darius. Her body came alive when she was near him and it gave her a sense of excitement she rarely felt.

A messaged pinged in from Hyeon informing her that her next appointment arrived. She'd been expecting Zoey, so she was surprised when the private investigator she'd hired walked in. In all honestly, she'd forgotten about him ever since she'd handed off the case to the FBI.

"Ms. Malhotra," he said with a smile that displayed his yellow teeth.

Her reply was courteous, but not overtly warm. "Ted, I didn't expect to see you here."

He took a seat before her invitation and Hyeon hovered at the door, awaiting further instructions. It was clear that her secretary didn't like the man in front of her either.

She shot Hyeon a reassuring smile. "Close the door behind you. I don't think this will take too long."

"You might want to hold all her calls," Ted added. "I've got some important things I need to discuss with Ms. Malhotra."

Hyeon's eyes flared with anger at being told what to do by someone else. Nyla herself was annoyed. However, her secretary was professional as ever and she shut the door behind her—with a little bit more force than necessary.

"She's going to break the door if she keeps that up."

Nyla gritted her teeth. "How may I help you?"

Ted fiddled with the stapler on Nyla's desk. "I was actually quite surprised that you didn't call me after the entire bomb fiasco."

"It wasn't in my hands," Nyla replied honestly. "The FBI has taken charge of the investigation."

"Humm,"

"Is there anything you've found?"

Ted stopped fiddling with the stapler and looked her in the eye. "As a matter of fact, yes there is."

He pulled out a couple of tan file folders. "I know who's stealing from your company."

Nyla inhaled sharply. "Who?"

Time seemed to slow down as Ted spoke. "It's the head of your accounting department."

He showed her a picture. It was the same man who had brought up the miscalculations to Nyla. "You might be wrong."

Ted shook his head and showed her the evidence. It seemed like the accounting department was growing hostile because of management changes and the head of the department was not happy. He showed her the sums of money that went missing at that it could be traced to a foreign bank account in Panama. All ties lead back to him. An unpleasant feeling filled up Nyla.

"Thank you for this."

She didn't particularly like Ted, but he had brought her the unpleasant news she'd been trying to find for ages.

"I'm assuming that the payment will be in my account by the end of the day?"

Nyla nodded absentmindedly before ushering him out of the office. Then she collapsed into her chair. Now came the hardest part. She dialed the phone connecting to Hyeon's line.

"Get me the head of accounting in my office please."

♠♠♠♠♠♠

The man, whose name was Bill, arrived in her office about fifteen minutes later. Nyla made sure she shut the door behind her before ushering him towards the seat.

"What is this about?" Bill asked, almost nervously. "Have you found the person stealing from the company?"

"Cut the act." Nyla seethed. "I hired a private investigator and we have evidence that you were the one who was stealing the money."

Bill's mouth dropped open and a bead of sweat made its way down his forehead. "It wasn't me. You must be mistaken!"

Nyla grabbed the folders and laid them open in front of Bill. His eyes glazed through them quickly before they turned pleading towards Nyla. "Someone is framing me. I would never steal from Renne. I've been here for the last five years."

"That is true, but I also know that you recently got an offer from another firm to join the ranks."

Bill paled even further. "I didn't take it. It was offered by my good friend who needed some help, but I love it here."

"Bill," Nyla said in a cold tone. "It's time to stop lying. The evidence has been laid out in front of you."

"I didn't do it!" Bill shouted.

He grabbed the stacks of papers and flung them across the room. Nyla realized that the situation was getting dire. Bill continued taking objects from her desk and tossing them across the room and Nyla discreetly called security.

By the time the men entered her office, quite a crowd was gathered outside. She ignored them, instead focusing on the man who looked broken and confused.

"Bill, these men will escort you out the building now."

The crazed look didn't disappear from Bill's eyes. "You are wrong! I had nothing to do with this. This will be the biggest mistake you've made in your life."

Nyla motioned for the security guards to take Bill away, but he didn't stop his yelling and screeching. It could be heard through the floor, right until the group disappeared in the elevator. George was immediately at her side. "What happened?"

Nyla rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Remember how I asked you to look into the finances? There was someone who was stealing money from the company for months. We just found out that it was Bill."

George's shock expression didn't help Nyla. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Nyla didn't have time to justify her choices. "I meant to, but it must have slipped from my mind."

"I'm assuming this is why would asked for Ted in the first place?"

Nyla nodded.

"So, he told you this earlier when he stopped by?"

"Yes," she sighed. "I didn't expect something like this to ever occur." She admitted.

George shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes the bad apples do a great job of hiding within the shinny ones."

Aware the people still hadn't returned to work, Nyla turned to the rest of the floor. "Show's over guys, time to get back to work."

Everyone scuffled back into their offices, but Nyla knew that they were still discussing the events that transpired earlier—only now they were doing it in secret. She walked back into her office and slammed the door shut, harder than necessary. A headache was already forming.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

The door handle turned, and Nyla's gaze swivelled from the forecast numbers to the entrance of her office.

"Is your door locked?" Hyeon's muffled voice came from the other side.

After the incident with Bill, Nyla locked herself in the office. She didn't want her bad mood to travel to the other employees as that didn't help to increase the office morale.

"Yes," she called out.

There was silence. "Is everything okay?"

Nyla pushed back her chair from the desk and turned the lock before opening the door. Hyeon's concerned face quickly looked her up and down, trying to make certain that she was fine.

"What do you need?"

Hyeon pointed to the clock. "It's time for you to go home."

Nyla gestured to her clustered desk. Normally, she didn't have papers or anything else scattered on it, but an exception would be made for today. "I still have to sign off on the forecast numbers for the vitamin line and confirm with the retailers that everything will be released on time."

Hyeon gently pushed her way into Nyla's office before she began stuffing items into the black Hermes bag.

She made a move to take the bag back from Hyeon. "What are you doing?"

Hyeon dogged her and continued stuffing items into the bag. When she was done, she zipped it up and passed it along to the Nyla. "Anthony is waiting for you downstairs."

Nyla didn't know why Hyeon was so insistent that she leave the office. "I still have paperwork to finish!"

Hyeon rolled her eyes. "Well it's clear now why Darius told me about the date."

"What are—" Nyla glanced up at the clock alarmed to see that it was quarter to six. She had completely forgotten about her date with Darius.

Hyeon noticing her grim expression ushered her towards the elevator. Nyla slipped on her coat while they waited. "I'll have Everly contact the stores and you can look over the forecast tomorrow." Hyeon promised.

"You're the best!" Nyla shouted as the elevator doors shut and she began her descent.

She slipped into the car and her phone pinged with a message from Darius.

Can't wait to see you tonight. We'll be going somewhere more formal but I'm sure you'll enjoy it. 😊

She didn't know where he was taking her but thank God that she'd receive some sort of dress code. That made life a lot easier. Once Nyla arrived at her condo, she quickly slipped into the shower. She didn't have much time to straighten her hair, so she left the natural curls, opting to add a bit of gel to keep them in place. She walked towards her closet and pulled out a long-sleeved champagne coloured dress she hadn't worn yet. It was modest from the front, but her entire back was on display. She paired the look with a nude lip and matching heels.

Just as she was adjusting the straps of her heels, the doorbell rang. She answered the door and Darius stood on the other side looking dapper in a classical black and white tuxedo. He was holding a bouquet of Jasmine's which he promptly passed to Nyla as he softly said hello.

She took the flowers and inhaled the scent. "It matches my dress."

Darius took his time scanning her up and down an when he was done, a smile lined his lips. "You look much more beautiful than the flowers."

Nyla hoped her blush wasn't visibly over her caramel skin. "I'll just put these away, would you like to come in?"

Darius shook his head and his eyes darkened a bit. "If I came in, we wouldn't leave your apartment then."

Nyla ducked her head and quickly placed the jasmines on her dinner table. Later when she came back from her date, she would move them up to her room. She grabbed her coat before locking the door and took the elbow Darius offered.

That's when she noticed that he was wearing the sailboat cufflinks she'd gotten him. "Your wearing them," she pointed out.

Darius followed her gaze and smiled. "Yes, I forgot to thank you for it. It was the perfect Christmas present."

Nyla thought so herself.

"Although I didn't get you anything..."

"I have all I need." she said gently.

Darius was the perfect gentleman, opening the car door for her before she could protest. She settled into the leather seats; it had been a while since she'd been in his Bugatti. "Where are we going tonight?"

Darius' eyes were fixed on the road, but he turned to give her a quick smile. "I thought we could start at the orchestra since I know you haven't been there in a while."

Nyla smiled and nodded in agreement. They both loved classical music and what was better than having someone else enjoy it with her as well. Darius gave the keys to the usher and escorted her inside. The place was packed by Nyla held onto his hand tightly as they wove through the crowd until they reached the upper balcony. It was the same place they had been months ago, together but yet still apart.

Darius grinned at her and they took their seats. Nyla noticed for the first time that their row was completely empty.

She quirked a questioning eyebrow towards him. "I bought all the surrounding seats so we wouldn't be bothered."

Nyla sighed as Darius gripped her hands before drawing slow patterns. The lights were dimmed, and he pushed back a curl before whispering in her ear. "You don't know how much I wanted to do this the last time we were here."

"I couldn't focus on the music after you switched your seat." Nyla admitted.

Darius' grin got wider if possible and Nyla's heart leap. "Well I hope you pay close attention tonight because it's one of my favourite pieces."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"Beethoven 9."

Nyla opened her mouth to say something, but the conductor raised his cue, causing a hush over the crowd. And then, the music began.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

"That was amazing." Nyla gushed. "I can see what that's one of your favourite pieces. The buildup, tempo, descent, it was perfect."

Darius nodded but he was uncharacteristically quiet.

"What's wrong?" Nyla asked as they slipped back into the car.

Darius shook his head, "It's nothing."

Nyla continued to bug him and finally he broke down.

"I didn't think I would meet anyone else who understood and loved music as much as you do." Darius admitted. "I'm just glad to be here."

Nyla's heart skipped a beat at those words, and she forced herself to stay calm. "So now what?"

Darius pointed towards brightly lit building in which dinners could be seen. "Now we eat."

Nyla immediately knew they were in a fine dinning restaurant as Darius escorted them upstairs. "I've never been here."

She never really liked fine dining because everything became so stuffy and overbearing. Half the time the portions weren't even fulfilling, and she found herself eating when she got back home.

"You'll enjoy it," Darius promised.

They were immediately given a private corner once Darius stated his name. She could see the faintly lit street from their view. White wine was poured into the glance and Nyla took a refreshing sip. Menus were presented and as Nyla was reading the menu, a man came up to greet them.

"Darius," the man said in a French accent, rolling the r.

Darius smile. "Louis, it's nice to see you."

The man then turned his charming smile on Nyla. "Mademoiselle, it is wonderful to see you at our restaurant this evening."

Nyla met Darius' eye. "Louis is the head chef," he explained.

Nyla nodded and before she could protest, Louis took away their menu. "You won't be needing that. I have a special meal for the both of you."

Glancing at his confident smile, Nyla decided to trust him. Louis promised to return with a meal that would change their lives. Once he left, silence descended before Darius asked her about her favourite musical pieces. From there on, the conversation never stilled. Even when the food came, the two of them continued talking, jumping from one topic to the next with ease. They talked about politics, real estate, and even gardening.

Then the dinner was over before she knew it. Nyla was stuffed with the delicious duck confit they'd had. She thanked Louis and promised him she would return again. The car ride back was silent but comfortable. Darius walked her back to her apartment, and she fiddled with the keys before opening the door.

"I'll see you soon." Darius said softly before walking away.

"What? No goodnight kiss?"

Darius turned around and smirked. "I don't give kisses on the first date."

"Well you kissed me even before we had our first date." Nyla pointed out.

Darius took a few steps closer and suddenly he was standing right in front of her. Nyla's heart raced and she closed her eyes in anticipation.

"Well because you insisted." Darius whispered before his lips descended on hers in a chaste kiss.

It was over before she knew it and when she opened her eyes, Darius was gone, leaving her with the memory of the lingering kiss and a longing for more.

-------------

So the culprit has been found ;) How did you like Nyla and Darius first official date?