C3 Overtime

Maggie's POV:

I walked into the empty elevator with only one guard. I insisted that they should leave me alone at work. As I drove my sports car here, they had no other option but to leave me alone. What did I know? They followed me in an SUV, and one was standing in front of the elevator. I rolled my eyes. I missed the simpler time when I wasn't surrounded by guards 24x7, which of course, happened only in my dreams. I was drinking my coffee silently and heard a commotion. I guessed the bodyguard wasn't letting anyone else enter the elevator with me. I rolled my eyes under my sunglasses. What a joyful day, I thought!

The morning consisted of meetings with our engineers. Alexa would be there – my heart fluttered at the thought. What was wrong with me? I scolded my subconscious. It was hard not to think about her, given that I spent my night watching her lecture videos. She taught at a university for some time back in her country. I wish she were my professor. My lips curved a little at the thought.

Ding. The elevator opened, and it was show time like every day. I brushed off the smile from my face and went on full ice queen mode. Everyone stopped and stood where they were. Only heels clicks could be heard. Good, I liked it that way. My PA greeted me at the door.

I listened to everyone giving their inputs, and I kept reticent, taking it all in. Alexa was sitting in front of me and others, which made it hard not to stare at her. Her gray suit complimented her curves nicely. Her hair was in a ponytail; I was disheartened at that a little. I liked her wavy hair. Then, someone's phone rang, and I was brought back to reality. She seemed to look at my eyes, and I averted my gaze a little too late to my liking.

After the meeting, everyone went their own way, leaving me with a pile of mess to solve. I was frustrated at this point. My PA was told not to let anyone in. I needed to go into my own world if we came back from this. I started comparing notes and analyzing the data. For example, I didn't know how many cups of coffee I had. I thanked my dad silently for installing a coffee machine in my room's eating area. My room had a little eating area and a closet in case of emergency cloth change. Someone called my name for the third time, and I looked up. It was my PA.

"Boss, do you want dinner?" she asked.

What! What time it was? I nodded, saying yes. She left me with food, and I told her to go.

My phone startled me awoke. God damn it!

"Maggie, for God's sake, go home!" My dad yelled on the phone.

"Why, what time is it?" I asked groggily.

"It's 2 in the morning. God damn it!" his frustration could be heard over the phone.

"Yeah, dad. I will leave after a while. Don't worry." I said, yawning. And, he hung up. I quickly texted my bodyguards to leave as well.

I was focused on the laptop screen when I started hearing chatter. I jumped on my seat. I looked around, and it was already morning. God damn it. I wouldn't hear the end of it from my parents. I didn't always spend the night at the office, but it happened more than they liked. My dad has a link to the CCTV on his phone. Then, I heard a light knock on the door. I looked up, and it was the Goddess herself. What did I just say? I blamed it on the lack of sleep.

"Good morning, Ms. Chan. Did you spend the night here?" she asked.

My mind was too tired to answer, and I nodded. She said something, but I kept losing my focus. And then she wasn't in front of me. Did I doze off on Alexa? Shit.

About 30 minutes later, Alexa was in front of me again with a large cup of latte and breakfast. I was shocked. I wondered what she was doing and where the hell my PA was. Even though I had a coffee machine, I was thankful for the latte. It was from my favorite coffee shop just a block from our office. I stared at her, confused.

"You bought me dinner. The least I can do is get you breakfast," she smiled widely.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you so much!" I was at a loss for words.

We silently ate waffles with chocolate syrup. She made some small talks, but they weren't dull. I was glad to hear her voice. I had it bad. Was it a crush, or it had already turned into infatuation? And, why was she being so nice to me? No one else dared to do what she did. She wasn't afraid of me. It should have hurt my ego, but instead, I felt relieved.

I left the building sometime after 5. The events of the morning were still spinning in my head like a movie. I had a goofy smile thinking about that. Then I remembered the call from my parents. My dad threatened to fire me if I kept spending the night at the office. Go figure! I slipped past my guards without them noticing. Clearly, they weren't doing a perfect job.

I walked to my car, and the keys fell out of my hand. God, I was so clumsy. I was just contemplating if I should drive with sleep in my eyes when someone called me from behind.

"Ms. Chan, are you sure you can drive?" Alexa asked softly.

"I'm thinking about it," I shrugged.

"Let me drive?" she asked, looking directly in my eyes, asking for permission.

"But, can you?" I was worried about my favorite car. But, crush or not, the vehicle was not gonna leave me or break my heart.

She laughed out loudly, "trust me." She took the keys from my hand, and I was too tired to protest.

"I'm glad tomorrow is the weekend," I mumbled, and she laughed again.

Alexa's POV

Was Ms. Chan staring at my lips? God, I must be daydreaming. I walked out of the conference room happy.

"What's wrong with you?" Lin raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," I shrugged.

"The sexual tension between you two is unbearable!" she smirked at me when we were alone.

"What are you saying?" I was shocked at what she said.

"You know exactly what I'm saying."

"Did you sense something?"

"Apart from the staring contest between you and Ms. Chan?" she laughed.

I tried to roll my eyes, but it was the laughter that won.

"But, trust me. I'm your friend. She isn't named The Ice Queen for nothing," she said with concern on her face.

"Care to elaborate?" I pressed.

"The first time anyone had ever seen her smiling was when she was talking to you," she said, thinking something.

"Oh My God! She likes you!" she shouted.

I shushed her, "You're over imagining it."

I came home and showered. Maggie's face kept coming up in my mind. Those dark eyes would be the death of me. Why was I acting so weird? I need to get a grip on myself. I wasn't a teenager anymore. My fingers automatically type Maggie's name on the search bar. I was going through articles after articles about her. Lin was right. She never smiled. But, she always held a power pose; it only made her more attractive. I found my inner teenager blushing.

As I came to the office, Lin dragged me where no one could hear us.

"Do you know she spent the night here?" She said. I only got confused.

"Who spent the night here?" I asked.

"Ms. Chan. She was working all night," she said as a matter of fact.

Without thinking, I knocked on Maggie's door. Yeah, I call her by her first name in my mind. A faint come in was heard. I entered, and she looked drained. I looked at the board beside her. It was filled with ideas and directions. How did she come up with all of that in one night? I was in awe; however, he seemed lost. I called her name and asked if she had eaten something. But she had already leaned her head back on the chair and closed her eyes. I left the room without making a noise. On my way out, I met her PA.

"Hey, what's Ms. Chan's favorite breakfast?" I asked.

"Waffles and latte. I was gonna bring them. Why?" she asked, confused.

"Leave that to me. Thanks," I smiled and went on my way.

As her PA mentioned, I made my way to the coffee shop near our office, which was her favorite. I got the food and came back to the office. I knocked again, and I heard nothing. I went in anyway and found her just the way I had left her – her head leaned back on the chair and eyes closed. Her black blazer was on another chair. Her white shirt sleeves were folded, which made me gawk at her. She was like a goddess even if she was tired. I placed the food and coffee on the table, and she woke up. She was confused at first but smiled, which reached her eyes.

"Hey, where were you?" Lin questioned as I returned.

"Got breakfast for Ms. Chan," I said in a meager voice. She was going to kill me.

"She got you run errands now? What was her PA doing?" Lin was almost yelling.

"She didn't tell me anything. So I got her breakfast on my own," I said, feeling protective over Maggie.

"Why?" Lin asked, confused.

"She got me dinner. It was the least I could do," I shrugged.

"She got you dinner? When?" she asked loudly.

"Sshhh. The other day when I was pulled into a meeting with her dad. Remember her PA came to fetch me after our workshop?"

"Yeah. Oh." She was thinking about something.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"That, my friend, you are whipped. And, I don't think it's one-sided," she beamed at me.

"She would do that for anyone," I felt a ping of hurt when I said that.

"Trust me, she wouldn't give a damn if we starved to death. Well, except you, of course!" she winked. And, I tried to hide my blush and focus on the work.

I waited for something at the garage. I didn't know what. Then, finally, something inside me told me to wait. That's when I saw Maggie struggling with her keys. I jumped on the opportunity to be the knight in shining armor, obviously.

She didn't want to take my help, but I was kind of stubborn, and she was too tired to protest.

As I started driving, she closed her eyes and started yawning. I chuckled.

"What?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," I smiled.

Her expression looked unreadable for a moment then she started laughing.

"Yeah, sorry! I need coffee," she said tiredly.

"You need sleep," I said, not recognizing my tone. It sounded like I cared about her, and I hoped she didn't notice. But too late, I saw her lip curve into a small smile. She got a text and laughed out loud.

"My dad is kicking me out of the company now!" she laughed, showing me the text.

"What?!" I looked shocked.

"Yeah, he hates it when I spend the night here," she giggled. I laughed at her silliness.

"Well, he is not serious, is he?" I asked. I would hate not to see her angelic face every day.

"Of course not! The company can't live without me," she winked. I blushed.

"Wow, cocky much?" I rolled my eyes unknowingly and regretted it the next moment. I was still her employee, not a friend. Instead, she just laughed. I loved the sound. It was hard to see why people called her The Ice Queen.

We stopped in front of a building. The doorman came running and opened her side of the door. She leaned on the door facing me and flashed a smile that stopped my heart.

"Thank you for tonight. See you at the office," She beamed.

"No problem. Please take some rest. Good night," I said as I got out and handed the keys to her guards, who appeared out of nowhere in front of me.