Dinner date?

'If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work!' Summer was eating herself up on the inside as she was changing out of her work clothes and into her date clothes in the women's lounge.

Hosek Holding wasn't only great because of the handsome paycheck and the prestige that came with the name. The company also promoted itself as a 'happy place to work in'.

One of the many privileges Hosek Holding provided for the mental comfort of its staff was the lounges that were desegregated by gender on each floor. The management encouraged employees to use them if they needed a small nap or a place to simply be by themselves for a while. Each employee had the right to use the lounge for half an hour per day by swiping their ID card against a panel that unlocked the door. The panel turned red so long as somebody was using it and was green otherwise.

For most if not everyone who worked in Hosek Holding, the idea of having a luxurious lounge at their disposal was nothing less than perfect, but Summer was not enjoying her time at the lounge right now.

She hated that she had to go the extra mile and dress up for the guy that was less than civilized with her on multiple occasions, but she knew she'd hate it even more if she was to hear Andrew Wilson complaining about her attire if she went out for their date wearing the same outfit she had on all day long.

'The guy with the emotional intelligence of a boiled potato would be just the one to bicker about that with me,' she thought clinically.

Summer bit both of her lips at the same time and watched her mouth totally disappear in the mirror in front of her. She freed her lips and stopped to take a breath that failed to fill her lungs, she sighed the insufficient breath out with a mild groan at the end, not finding any form of release after consciously breathing at all.

Her date with Patrick in the noon ended naturally and without the awkwardness she dreaded so much beforehand, yet, the experience left a bad taste in Summer's mouth.

All day long she was taunted by one thought after witnessing that car hit the tree. She didn't want to be on auto-pilot mode with every man that asked her out just because she was pressed for time. On the contrary, she had to be with these men with all of her heart before she could really determine if the feelings they had for her were significant, not to mention, mutual.

Her frustration was making her sweat, and the sweat that clung to the fabric was not helping with the task of zipping up the dress that had a back zipper.

"If it fricking doesn't… work…then…it…doesn't…. fricking….work! WORK!"

The zipper was malfunctioning.

Summer paused and looked at her reflection inside the mirror once more, "…True love won't be one that I have to shove down my throat for crying out loud!"

She was back to battling with the zipper, jumping up and down now, frantically trying to pull the thing up. "Urgh!" She groaned out loud.

Her eyes snapped towards the door as she heard it unlocking, it didn't take a genius to know who it was, Carol was just the person to stay behind so she could make sure Summer was dressed impeccably to meet her knight in shining business suit.

When the lounge door opened, Summer quickly turned around, "Thank God you're here Carol, please zip me up," she said as she pulled her hair up with both of her hands.

Two things happened at the same time.

The zipper came up right when a man's perfume reached Summer's nose. She turned around and looked up at brown reddish eyes. Andrew watched with a poker face as Summer slowly but surely flushed.

"…I thought you were Carol,"

"I figured that one out on my own,"

"…Thank you for zipping me up"

"…No problem,"

Summer rolled her eyes at the curt answers; she had half the mind to cancel on him before he showed up and embarrassed her as it was. Her eyes suddenly darted left and right, realizing the situation he was putting both of them in.

The lounge was meant for the individual use of one person at a time.

"…Why are you here?"

"I saw you coming inside and wondered if you decided to pretend to sleep and blow me off instead of going out with me,"

Summer blinked three times, the way Andrew told things as they were was both refreshing and unnerving at the same time.

"I decided to give you some time for yourself. I only double opened on you when your endeavor started sounding like a battlefield,"

"Ha..ha…" Summer tried to laugh the whole thing off, but the guy in front of her didn't look like he was in the mood for jokes.

"I know that Carol was the one to ask me out on your behalf,"

She felt a jolt in her chest that spread to the tips of her fingers, a second later, relief went through the route that embarrassment paved inside her.

"Haah…that's actually fantastic," she nodded in affirmation of what she was saying when it matched the way she felt.

"You still have to go out with me,"

Summer scowled, her relief evaporating.

"Both of us have an image to maintain. This is a place of work, not high school…or junior high."

She couldn't argue with his logic. As a matter of fact, she appreciated his professionalism now more than ever.

There were two Andrews in Summer's head. One that she admired as an aggressive yet accomplished fellow team leader, and another Andrew who was the bully she wouldn't want to get to know on a personal level no matter what.

The man was smartly showing her the side she liked about him.

"Do we have an agreement?" He asked.

"Yes,"

"Are you done here?"

Summer grimaced, "I wanted to powder my nose,"

"Your makeup is fine as it is, I'd like for a couple of people to see us leaving together, if it's bothering you too much, you can use the restroom once we arrive at the club"

'Interesting,' she mused, assessing his authoritative side differently for once. His attitude was that of a leader, drawing a plan by providing a reliable opinion worth considering and not leaving much room for objection without really taking away the final saying in the matter.

She smiled, "You're very reliable,"

"I get that quite often," he said.

Summer regretted complimenting the cocky guy even before they got out of the lounge.