"See this, Nikki! He looks so fucking hot!" Becky screeches animatedly.

"Yeah, I could look at it if you'd stop shoving your phone on my face," I tell her, pushing her phone away from my face. My eyes then fall on the image displaying on her phone. It's a picture showing the back of a man in a suit.

I frown and ask her. "Who is it? And why the hell you would take a picture of his back?"

"It's Peter." She says goofily. "I took a picture of his back because I couldn't get a look of his front." She pouts. "Earlier today, he was at the hotel, but nobody informed me about it. And at the time, I got to know he was already going out. So I settled with this."

I cross my legs, sitting on the kitchen counter. I am currently at my old house, which means Becky's house. I came here from my clinic to meet Becky and now we are in her kitchen as she is making coffee for us. Actually, it seems more like swooning over Peter now because she had been gushing about his picture for the past 25 minutes.

"And look, his back profile looks damn hot. Fuck that well-suited ass!" She squeals with excitement, admiring the picture that barely even signifies that it's Peter.

I roll my eyes at her. "Why the hell you would want to have his picture?"

"Why the hell I wouldn't? He is so fucking sexy. Every woman out there would be dying to get his picture." She says, making googly eyes.

"You are exaggerating, Becks. Yes, I know he is hot." I give her a weird glance. "But this type of behavior isn't appreciated in office premises besides its kind of creepy to take pictures of your boss secretly without having his consent," I tell her, sighing. "That too, from behind? Seriously, Becky?"

"You are probably saying this because you get to meet him in person. How many times did you go out with him? 3 times, right?" She says handing me a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The instant its aroma hits my nose, I breathe in content enjoying the blissful smell.

"2 times...." I take a sip and moan in satisfaction. Coffee is fucking Nirvana!

"So did you guys kiss?" Emily blows over her steamy coffee and asks curiously. I see excitement gleaming in her eyes.

"What the fuck? No... We are just friends, Becky." I say immediately.

"What?" She stares at me in shock. "Did you go out with a hot billionaire like Peter smith, just to be friends with him? Are you crazy or what?" She says exasperatedly. Damn! Her overly dramatic ass is in action now.

"I.. don't know...." I tell her, already losing interest in this discussion.

"He didn't make any kind of move.." I give her an honest reason. It's not like I want him to make. I don't know, but I don't feel anything for him. We went out a couple of times, but he never really told me or gave me any indication that he likes me. And I am completely fine with it because I don't see him as anything more than a friend. I am unaware of the reason why I indeed feel so. He is so handsome, charming, and nice that any woman would easily fall for him.

I wonder why I am not attracted to him. Then a sudden thought crosses my mind. Maybe it's because of Christopher. I remember how good it felt to be in his arms the other night when he was drunk. Maybe I have developed feelings for Christopher. Maybe that's why I always feel fireworks erupting over my body whenever he touches me. Maybe that's the reason I feel like kissing him whenever he is in front of me. Am I really attracted to Christopher? Do I like him? Shut up, Nicole! That's not possible. I dismiss that thought instantly and focus back on Becky.

"Were you giving him like relationship advice or something?" She taunts, looking at me. "Or were you guys busy discussing about starting a zoo all those times?" She says rolling her eyes. "That can be possible considering how much you love being around animals."

"I am highly offended by that, Becky. You are literally attacking my profession." I say, shaking my head in disapproval.

"I am not attacking your profession, Nikki. I am just saying that you are letting go of a golden opportunity." She sighs in exasperation.

"So What do you want me to do?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Girl, you need to seduce him." She says in an extremely serious tone as she places her cup on the counter. Oh no! Not this again. I know her weird theories to woo men.

"What?" I almost choke on my coffee.

"Trust me, I know men." She brags opening one of the cabinets. She takes out a skittles packet, and she continues. "They act being all shy so that they get some show from women." She winks at me, tearing it open.

"What the fuck? Never...I don't know how to do that crazy shit." I instantly snatch the packet from her hand and pop some into my mouth.

She shoots a dirty glare at me for doing that, and I give her a cheeky smile.

"What? you are saying that you don't know how to seduce men? Are you even a woman if you don't know how to lure a man?" She says taking a few skittles from the bag and stuffing into her mouth.

I roll my eyes and say. "Now... you are talking shit, Becky."

"No, I am not...You are going to have classes for it. I am gonna teach you the art of seduction." I snort as she says that. "I am serious about it. You know how helpful it would be later. You would thank me in the future for this training." She wriggles her eyebrows playfully.

"Okay, Okay. I'll think about it. By the way, last time when I checked you had a boyfriend. How is he?" I ask her, trying to change the topic.

"Yes, I had....but I broke up with him." She says calmly.

"Why?" I ask her, popping my eyes out. "When did this happen?"

"Last week...."

"And I broke up because he said to me that I have grown fat than before." She makes an ugly face, saying that.

"Seriously?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I don't like guys fat-shaming women and especially their girlfriends." She says scrunching her nose. "That's a major turn off."

"Yeah..." I chuckle, agreeing with her. The smile on my face fades away when I look back at Becky. She appears a bit distracted. Maybe bringing her boyfriend in between the talk has spoiled her mood. Shit! I need to do something to cheer up. I immediately jump out of the counter. I turn around and open the cupboard over the top and take out flour and cocoa powder.

"So who is ready for some Chocolate cake to have a breakup celebration?" I ask her in an amused tone.

She looks at me, and her eyes lit up with joy. A wide smile appears on her face. She claps her hands in excitement and chimes.

"Definitely girl, bring it on!"

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

After spending a crazy evening with Becky, I head back home. We really had fun baking a cake. Although it was a hectic task still the outcome was pretty good. It's always so amazing to spend time with your friends. Becky is one of a kind. I am glad that I have such amazing friends. Becky reminds me of Emily too. They literally seem to be like sisters. Even though Becky and Emily have never met each other before but I can say that they are pretty much similar. They are so easy going and happy that you never want to leave their company. They never fail to put a smile on your face. I am damn sure that they will get along very well if they meet. We could have our little girls group and have so much fun together. Sometimes I wonder how they even agreed to be friends with me because in comparison to them I am so damn boring.

I get out of the cab and make my way towards the door. It's already dark and the lights of the house are not on. I guess Christopher isn't home. But where are Robert and Michael? They usually don't leave until Christopher comes. I unlock the door and step in. I make my way in and nearly have a panic attack when I see a man sitting on the chair in the living room. I instantly switch on the lights and find it to be Christopher. I walk towards him and gasp in horror when I look at his state. The first thing that appears to me is blood flowing out through his chest.

"Oh, my god! How the hell this happened?" I ask him, terrified. I notice that he is sitting shirtless on the chair. When I get a closer look, I realize that he has a deep cut on the left side of his chest. And he is cleaning it with a towel.

"This?" He points towards it and says in a relaxed tone. "Nothing...it's just a scratch."

"Are you fucking kidding me? You are literally bleeding, Christopher." I say baffled. It is so evident that he is badly hurt! The white towel that he is dabbing over his wound has turned red completely.

"It's fine. Nothing that I can't handle." He says firmly.

"But how did this happen?" I ask him, still in a state of shock.

"I am amazed by your question. You should be knowing this considering the number of times you called me a criminal." He smirks, saying that mockingly. "This is what happens with a criminal." He shrugs.

Seriously? Can't he just give me a straight answer instead of pulling a sarcastic shit on me at this moment?

"We need to get you to a doctor. There can be a serious injury." I say, ignoring his prior statement.

"No...I am not going anywhere and I don't need a doctor." He dismisses sternly.

"What the fuck, Christopher? Why can't you understand? You have a deep cut and it might lead to sepsis." I tell him frustratedly. Is he kidding? Why can't he let me help him? What if something happens to him?

"I am not going to any doctor." He removes the towel from his wound and says stubbornly, looking straight into my eyes.

"Why?" I ask him. I shake my head in annoyance and say. "You are hurt, Christopher. Can't you understand?"

"Why do you care?" He retorts.

I stare at him in disbelief, not knowing what to say. Why do I care? I don't know. But why the hell he is acting like an asshole? Why can't he just listen to me?

Realizing that I am offended by his statement, he sighs. "If you can do anything about this, then it's okay otherwise I can take care of myself." He says.

I groan in frustration and head back to my room. Fine, if he wants to be stubborn then I can show him how far I can get. Without wasting any time, I get down with my first aid box. It's more kind of advanced one with more supplies than a usual first aid box. I keep this with me in case of an emergency. When I walk back to the living room Christopher looks at me in surprise as if he wasn't expecting me to come back. But I could never do that. Whenever I see someone hurt, I always tend to treat them. Either it can be an animal or a human. I don't know, maybe it's in my blood or something, but that's why I can't resist myself helping. And that's the reason why I admire my profession so much. He looks at me when I stand in front of him.

"Nicole..."

Before he says anything, I shut him up. "Shhhhh....don't say anything. Let me do my work."

He looks at me with his soft grey eyes and sighs in defeat, not saying anything.

I take out a cotton swab and dab it with antiseptic. I then lean towards him and start cleaning the wound over his chest. I look at his body. His flexing muscles, his broad shoulders, and wide chest are on perfect display. What the fuck, Nicole? Concentrate. It's not the right time to swoon. Right now you are treating him. See him as your patient. Don't let irrational thoughts take over your mind. I close my eyes to get my composure back and when I open them I continue doing my work without getting distracted. I am so engrossed in cleaning that I don't notice Christopher's hand going behind my back. One moment I am on my feet and the next moment I lose my balance. What the hell? His arms wrap around my waist and he pulls me onto his lap so that I am straddling him. I squeal in shock as I stare into his grey eyes.

"It would be easy for you to do it now." He says playfully, eyeing his cut.

A blush creeps through my neck, but I make all attempts to hide it. I nod at him and continue cleaning his wound. He winces a bit as the antiseptic liquid makes contact with his flesh. The cut is deep, so his wound needs to be stitched. After I am done with cleaning, I pick my box up and then suddenly I realize that I don't have anesthesia with me.

"This needs to be stitched," I tell him.

I look at him and awkwardly say. "I don't have local anesthesia. So would it be okay If I stitch without it or shall I get it from my clinic?"

"No...go on...I am fine with it." He replies.

I agree and start stitching his would carefully. I know it would be painful to do it without anesthesia, and I don't want to hurt him. With every prick of the needle, my heartbeat fastens thinking about causing him discomfort. He doesn't say or do anything as he keeps staring at me with an unreadable expression. I feel his eyes on me the entire time when I am doing it. His gaze is highly intimidating. Why he is making this so hard for me? Can't he just look somewhere else? I sigh in relief when I finish stitching. I finally bandage it and give him a tetanus jab and finish my job. I smile at successfully accomplishing my work. When I look back at him, I see him still staring at me.

Looking at my confused expression, he clears his throat, coming out of the trance he was in. His eyes dart between his now stitched wound and me as he says.

"Thank you, Nicole." I smile at him.

"You are still not going to tell me how this happened?" I ask him timidly.

He studies me for a moment, thinking if he should tell me or not.

"We had a deal with this party. When we reached their place they tried to disagree on what we discussed by giving some bullshit reason and then they attacked us." He blurts it out all in one go.

"Fucking knaves." He then huffs angrily. I try to grasp what he said, but I barely understand any of it. I know that he said it for the sake of telling me. I guess he is not allowed to talk about his work or he himself doesn't want to talk. The only thing that I could understand was that he got badly hurt during it.

"You didn't get any of it, did you?" He smiles and then says amusedly. "To put it in simple words, we stumbled across a bunch of idiots."

"How often does this happen?" I ask him instantly.

"What? Having encounters with morons or getting attacked by them?" He says.

"I am asking about how often you get injured like this?" I snort.

He laughs and says. "It cannot be said in specific. Every day when we go out for a deal we hardly anticipate getting alive out of it."

"Basically, we go out on work with zero expectation of coming back." He says shrugging.

I look at him and ask. "Then why do something where you have to be scared of losing your life every day?"

"I am not scared of losing my life, Nicole." He purses his lips.

I arch an eyebrow questioningly.

"See, people are scared of losing their life when they have a purpose. When they have a motive in their life." He tears his eyes away. A sudden sadness overshadows his face and then his face turns serious as he says. "People are scared when they have a family. When they have loved ones." His voice becomes hoarse. "Love makes you weak. It can be any kind of love. Either it can be love for your profession, people, or things." He then clenches his jaw angrily. His eyes darken. "Because that's when you fear losing." He looks at me and continues. "You fear losing what you love. It makes you vulnerable. Falling in love makes you weak...because you start fearing death. You fear losing the life that you want to spend with your loved ones." His body stiffens and his eyes become steely cold.

"I don't have that...I don't have a purpose. I don't have a family nor did I ever fell in love...." He says focusing his gaze on me.

"I don't have a weakness, Nicole. That's why I don't fear death." He says proudly.

"I don't agree with you.." I tell him. I realize that I am still sitting on his lap with his arms around me.

"What?" He questions.

"You heard me right. I don't agree with you." I repeat confidently, looking at him.

"I don't think having a purpose in your life makes you weak. I don't know about love because..I don't know... I truly don't believe it." A bitter memory flashes in front of me, making my eyes blur. "But one thing I know is caring for others doesn't make you weak. In fact, it acts as your strength. I take a deep breath and continue. "It makes you strong. When you care about someone you would go to any extent to keep them safe." His grey eyes gape at me intently as I say. "You would even sacrifice your life to protect someone whom you care or say you love..."

Without knowing, I gently touch his face, caressing his cheek. "You do become fearless when you care about someone...."

He looks at me with an unusual gleam in his eyes as I finish saying. I feel his grip tightening as he pulls me closer. His hands are secured around my waist. I jerk a bit forward directly facing him. Our faces are just inches apart. I stare into his beautiful grey eyes. His eyes are so captivating that I don't make an effort to move. I can't believe that I have said those things. Why did I even say? I am not aware of what I am thinking but with the longingness he is looking at me, I couldn't stop myself from doing this. I know I might regret this later, but this is what feels right at this moment. It is always said that you should never run from challenges. You should stand there and face it. I always chicken out and run from the situation, but not this time. I know I can do this. I am going to rectify the problem and get it over with so I can move on. Come on, Nicole. Do it!

I sigh closing my eyes and then lean forward placing my lips over his. I don't know where the hell I got the courage to do this. But I know I had to do this. I can't run forever from this. I slowly begin to move my lips. At first, his lips don't move and it appears as if Christopher didn't expect this. I realize how stupid I was to think that he wanted to kiss me. I feel humiliated; I begin to pull away feeling dejected that's when Christopher grabs my waist tightly and pulls me closer.

His mouth claims mine in the most possessive way as he kisses me back. His kiss is nothing near normal as his lips feverishly move against mine. I try to kiss him with the same intensity, trying to match up with his pace. My mind turns into a haze as his tongue coaxes into my mouth. I welcomingly allow it to take over pressing my body against his. Our tongues dance in rhythm. My fingers go into his hair as I feel his soft silks. The kiss heats up more as his hands go behind my back and squeeze my ass. I moan softly against his lips as he kisses me deeply, not letting me catch my breath. We forget where we are and what we have been doing as we continue to make out. Finally, when I feel him getting harder beneath me, I immediately pull away. Fuck! We both look at each other, panting hard. He still looks shocked by what happened between us. He definitely didn't expect this. I quickly stand up from his lap.

"I guess you should get some rest," I tell him coolly, pretending not to be affected by what happened and walk towards the stairs. He gazes at me with his eyes wide open.

"Nicole, wait!?" I hear him calling behind me in a tortured voice.