Employees Gossip

"Alex..." Mark's voice wavered as he struggled to push Alex away, his eyes reddening with frustration. 

Startled, Alex finally noticed Mark's distress. "Why are you crying, sweetheart?" he asked, clearly alarmed by Mark's tears.

"I told you I needed to use the bathroom, and you ignored me!" Mark shouted, his voice cracking as tears welled up in his eyes. "What are you standing there for? Put me down!"

Mark's breathing hitched as he continued to yell at Alex, tears threatening to spill over. 

"You're not joking, are you?" Alex asked, still somewhat confused.

"Do I look like I'm joking? Are you out of your mind?" Mark snapped, growing increasingly desperate.

"Take deep breaths, darling. Take deep breaths," Alex finally realized the severity of the situation and rushed out of the room with Mark in his arms.

The employees, who had been quietly working at their desks, were startled by the sound of Alex's hurried footsteps. They glanced up curiously and were stunned to see a tearful Mark being carried by a frantic-looking Alex.

"What's going on?"

"I have no idea!"

"Is the Madam crying?"

"It looks like it. But why does the boss seem so panicked?"

"Did something happen? Is the Madam hurt?"

"But… that's the direction to the bathroom, right?"

"Yeah, that's where the bathrooms are..."

The employees exchanged puzzled looks, the atmosphere growing more charged with speculation.

Suddenly, one employee giggled mischievously and whispered, "There's something going on here."

"What are you implying?"

"Think about it. The boss is always so composed and meticulous. When has he ever been this flustered?"

Another employee nodded thoughtfully. "You know, you might be onto something. But is it true that the boss is really into men?"

The first employee leaned in, lowering his voice further. "Nothing strange about it. Perfectionists often lean that way. At first, I wasn't sure about the Madam, but seeing how the boss is so concerned about him, it seems pretty serious."

"That makes sense. The boss used to be all about work, work, work. The only person close to him was Secretary Howard. I've never seen him care this much about anyone else."

"Exactly! So, I think it's pretty clear that our Madam is the real deal. All those rumors about the Madam being a decoy are just nonsense."

The two continued their hushed conversation, careful to keep their voices low so others wouldn't overhear. 

Meanwhile, other employees were quick to whip out their phones, recording the spectacle of Alex rushing Mark to the bathroom. Within minutes, the entire company knew about it.

Employee 1: "OMG! Is that really our cold, aloof CEO?"

Employee 2: "If this wasn't filmed at our company, I would've sworn it was fake."

Employee 3: "Boss, your image is totally ruined!"

Employee 4: "This is hilarious but also kind of sweet. Am I seeing things, or is this some kind of dream? Carrying his wife to the bathroom, seriously?"

Employee 5: "I don't want to fangirl, but they're forcing me into it. Mom, help!"

The employees were either shocked or secretly shipping the couple, some even squealing with delight. After all, who wouldn't enjoy seeing two handsome men in love?

Meanwhile, Alex finally reached the bathroom, kicking open a stall door.

"Put me down!" Mark demanded urgently.

"But you said it's an emergency, so no need to be modest," Alex replied nonchalantly.

"Like hell it's no big deal! Get out of here!" Mark fumed, kicking Alex out of the stall and slamming the door shut.

Alex, clutching his stomach in pain, winced. Mark hadn't held back at all with that kick. 

The employees who had been using the restroom froze, bewildered by what they had just witnessed.

Finally noticing the other people in the restroom, Alex straightened up, adjusted his shirt, and glared at them with an icy expression. "Is there something you find amusing?"

"We didn't see anything!" The employees quickly finished up and fled the restroom, as if their lives depended on it.

"You'd think I was going to eat them or something," Alex muttered with a cold sneer. Though, in truth, his earlier expression had been terrifying enough to send anyone running.

What Alex didn't realize was that the story of him being kicked by Mark had already spread throughout the entire company.

Employees were laughing and sharing their thoughts:

"Hahaha! The boss is so pitiful!"

"I can't, I'm going to die laughing!"

"Why didn't you record that moment?"

"Yeah, how could you miss out on such gold?"

"The boss's expression was like he wanted to kill us on the spot! Who would dare to film that?"

"You guys have it easy. If you'd been there, you wouldn't have dared to film either!"

As more and more employees chimed in, the situation became a hot topic, with the men finding it amusing while the women began to daydream about the scenario.

Meanwhile, back in the secretary's office, Howard was working away with a frown on his face. "What's all this commotion about?" he muttered, adjusting his glasses. The noise was making it hard for him to concentrate, but he decided to ignore it and get back to work.

Back in the bathroom, Alex checked his watch, realizing that Mark had been in the stall for five minutes now and hadn't come out.

"Honey, are you alright?" Alex called out, knocking on the door.

There was no response from Mark, just silence.

"Sweetheart?" Alex knocked again.

"Sweetheart?" 

Alex was beginning to worry when suddenly, Mark's irritated voice came from inside the stall, "Will you shut up already? You're so annoying!"

Alex let out a sigh of relief, but then he asked, "If you're okay, why is it taking so long? Are your legs too weak to stand?"

Mark glanced down at his wet pants and groaned in frustration, scratching his head in distress.

Damn that idiot! He made me miss the bathroom in time!

"Will you stop talking, already? It's all your fault, you—you...!" Mark trailed off, too embarrassed to finish his sentence. He kicked the stall door in frustration.

Alex quickly understood, his tone softening as he tried to soothe Mark. "It's my fault, sweetheart. Come out, and we'll get Howard to buy you a new pair of pants."

Mark sniffled, too upset to respond. He was frustrated and embarrassed, knowing that Alex carrying him to the bathroom had probably become the talk of the entire company.

"Sweetheart, don't sulk alone. If you're angry, just come out and hit me," Alex pleaded, his voice low and apologetic.

Mark wiped his tears and slowly opened the stall door.

Alex was relieved to see that Mark was okay, but his heart ached at the sight of Mark's tear-stained, red eyes. He realized that Mark must have been holding back his emotions for a long time, which was why he had lashed out so fiercely.

"Don't cry, honey. You'll hurt your eyes," Alex murmured gently, wiping away the tears from the corners of Mark's eyes.

"It's all your fault! I told you I was in a hurry!" Mark snapped, hitting Alex with all his strength.

"My fault, my fault," Alex agreed, smiling as he let Mark hit him.

"Why are you still smiling?" Mark fumed, hitting Alex harder.

Not wanting to further upset Mark, Alex quickly wiped the smile off his face.

"I'll carry you back to the office. It's no big deal," Alex said, ruffling Mark's hair affectionately.

"Don't touch me!" Mark grumbled, swatting Alex's hand away and pouting as he sniffled, clearly still upset.

Even when he's angry, he's so adorable.

Alex couldn't help but smile inwardly.

Then, his eyes landed on the hair dryer on the sink, and he seemed to get an idea.

Mark followed Alex's gaze and saw the hair dryer too. Grabbing it, he pointed it toward the bathroom door and growled, "Get out!"

"Don't need my help?" Alex asked, his tone teasing.

"I don't need anything from you! Get out!" Mark snapped, pushing Alex out of the bathroom and locking the door behind him.

Left alone in the bathroom, Mark took a deep breath, his face turning crimson with embarrassment.

Ugh, Mark, you've really embarrassed yourself this time.