TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

Kring!

Coinciding with the last button that Max fastened on his shirt cuff, his phone rang. Turning his body, Max looked at the slim device on the nightstand, slightly trembling.

For a few moments, Max seemed lost, standing still as if waiting to see if the phone would explode or not. A few seconds later, the ringing stopped. Unconsciously, Max let out a sigh of relief, as if the ringing was not the sound of a phone, but rather the blaring of the trumpet of the Angel of Death.

Max turned back to continue dressing. This time, he reached for the black jacket hanging in the closet.

Kring!

Max jumped in surprise. With a horrified expression, he turned again, cleared his throat, and realized one possibility. If the first call could be followed up by a second, then it was highly likely that the second call would be followed by a third if this one was not answered immediately. Right?

Finally, Max stepped away from where he stood. He headed to the nightstand and picked up the phone. When he saw the caller’s name on the screen, Max took a deep breath. His hunch was right.

“Hello, Mom.”

Max tried to sound as polite as possible. After all, he believed that you should never speak harshly to parents.

“Oh, my goodness, this child….”

But the problem was that parents would never think twice about speaking sternly to their children.

Sighing, Max mustered his courage and prepared to face his impending fate.

“You see? You dare not answer your mother’s call, huh? Why? Did I do something wrong?”

Calm down… calm down….

Max took a deep breath before replying, “I just came out of the restroom, Mom. Did you expect me to answer the phone while I was there?”

“You!” his mother exclaimed.

“That’s why I could only answer your call now,” Max continued quickly. “You called early in the morning… to wake me up? I’m already awake, Mom. I’ll be leaving in a bit.”

“Just casually saying that I called just to wake you up. I just wanted to ask. Did you talk to Vonda yesterday?”

Max closed his eyes dramatically. He felt like cursing right now, but he tried to hold back. He did not want his emotions to lead to disaster. Like having a car accident on the way to the office, for example.

“Mom,” Max said, trying to maintain a calm tone. “Yesterday, I didn’t get a chance to talk to her.”

“Why not?”

Max forced a smile, even though his mother couldn’t see it. His mind kept spinning, thinking of reasons.

“Mom, please. Do you think Vonda is a princess or something? Does she not have anything to do? Even princess has a lot of duty.”

“Oh.”

“She works, Mom. She’s currently busy catching up on four months of backlog in her work.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t you know? She’s the dupaty in her department, Mom. So, her work is not just watching gossip on TV. She’s really busy.”

“Oh.”

“Plus, her department head has been dealing with the police. That’s why she ended up handling all the work by herself. Vonda has to work overtime and run around non-stop, all alone, Mom.”

“Oh.”

“So, can you understand that I need to find the right time to talk to her? I’m afraid that if I press her like this, she might get stressed out.”

A long sigh was heard from the other end. “I’m sorry, Max. I didn’t know that Vonda is a career woman with such responsibilities.”

It seems that someone believes my morning talk.

A sense of relief slowly grew in Max’s mind.

“That’s right, Mom. If you pressure her like this, she might get scared and run away again.”

“Eh? I don’t think it’s like that, Max.”

Unconsciously, a smile on Max’s face slowly turned into a relaxed one. Sensing the change in tone from his mother, Max was confident that he had successfully bought some more time, once again.

“So, how about it?” Max asked, “Can you be patient for a little while longer while I find the right time to talk to Vonda?”

“As if I have any other choice,” his mother replied, playfully.

Max’s smile transformed into an amused grin as he heard his mother’s playful remark.

“Just pray, Mom. So, I can find the right moment to talk to her. And while waiting, please, Mom. Don’t call me every now and then like this. It’s exactly like dealing with a payday loan debt collector. It’s making my life so uneasy, I swear,” Max chuckled.

Laughter resonated in Max’s ears, creating an image in his mind that his mother found his words amusing.

“Alright, Max, I won’t nag you anymore. But instead… if I don’t get news from you, I’ll come over to your place next Friday. Watch out if you try to avoid me.”

Max’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

“Okay. If that’s the case, take care on the road and do well at work,” his mother said.

“Mom. Mom?”

Tut tut tut tut tut…

The call ended.

Max let out a long breath. That call left him sitting weakly at the edge of his bed. His head was pounding. He could already predict that he had no other option but to introduce Vonda to his parents.

Otherwise, Max was certain his phone would be broken shortly, due to receiving constant calls from his mother, asking about Vonda.

But how could he do it?

That was the question that accompanied Max on his way to the office. A question that made Max feel physically drained. He almost felt like a zombie dragging his feet.

Max squinted. As he turned at a corner, his gaze fell across, and he saw Vonda standing still in front of the door.

Why hasn’t she come in? Is the door locked or something?

Max quickened his pace only to find Vonda standing completely still in front of the door. He was slightly puzzled by Vonda’s behavior. However, the urge to talk to Vonda was strong, pushing him to place his hand on the door. To his surprise, he realized Vonda’s hand was already there when he touched it.

Max put on a nonchalant face. “I thought the door was locked, but it’s not.”

When they finally entered the room together, a heated argument ensued. And Max emerged victorious in the debate. Just as he showcased the two keys in his hand before putting them into his trouser pocket.

“It seems like the main key and the spare key have to be kept from you for a while.”

Having stunned Vonda with his string of words, Max smiled triumphantly as he entered his room. A little hum escaped from his lips.

“Alright. It looks like my problem will be solved in no time.”

*

“Von, where are you? I’m about to come down. Hurry up, will you? I’m so hungry. I could almost pass out. If I don’t get some food soon, I might crawl back home due to lack of energy.”

Vonda let out a long sigh. Her eyes glanced at Max’s room and then shifted to the main door, which was still closed and locked. Max really had not opened the door at all. Thankfully, there was ventilation, so air could still come in. If not, Vonda might have suffocated by now.

“Looks like you’ll have to eat alone for lunch, Sarh.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Sarah asked on the other end of the call.

Once again, Vonda let out a long breath. She glanced at the stack of files on her desk and began to make excuses.

“I have a lot of work piled up, Sarah. I need to finish it quickly.”

“Can’t you spare half an hour for lunch?”

“My new boss asked for the report as soon as possible.”

“Oh… I see.”

Vonda heard Sarah sigh on the other end.

“You know what? I’m not surprised to see your new boss pushing you around. His personality must be very similar to Mr. Hernandez.”

“Excuse me?” Vonda furrowed her brows. “Mr. Hernandez?”

“Hahaha. Are you sure you don’t need lunch? Your brain seems to be slowing down,” Sarah teased. “I mean, which Mr. Hernandez could I be talking about other than Mr. Lucas Hernandez? The CEO of our company.”

Not visible to Sarah, but Vonda raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly confused.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know, Von. Your new boss’s name is Maxwell Hernandez, right?”

Vonda’s eyes widened. Suddenly, she remembered Simon’s words from yesterday, during Max’s welcome.

~

“Hahaha. Don’t worry. I guarantee that when you see who’s coming to fill the department head position, all your problems will surely disappear.”

“He’s still young and is related to the CEO. I heard he’s handsome, you know.”

~

As if that memory was not convincing enough, Sarah continued over the phone.

“He’s actually Mr. Lucas Hernandez’s cousin.”

Vonda’s jaw dropped. “Oh… my… God….”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Suddenly, her body froze.

How could I overlook that fact, dear God? Damn!

A shiver ran down Vonda’s spine.

Oh God. That means I almost slept with the cousin of the company’s CEO, where I work!

Gulp!

The ventilation felt useless now. Vonda could barely breathe as she realized the situation. And just as those thoughts flashed through her mind, Max’s room door suddenly opened. Accompanied by his words.

“I hope you like extra spicy chicken mushroom noodles because that’s our lunch menu.”

Completely forgetting the still-connected call with Sarah, Vonda asked, her hand instinctively dropping from her ear, ignoring Sarah calling her name from the other side.

“Can you order an iced cappuccino, please?”

Max approached. “You want that?”

“Yes. I’m feeling sleepy.”

Max snorted. “People who are sleepy drink black coffee, not iced cappuccino.”

Nevertheless, Max still ordered the cold drink. As he did, Vonda suddenly remembered her phone and blinked. She lifted it back to her ear, only to realize that the call had ended. Placing her phone on the table, she sighed.

“If someone knocks on the door, call me, so I can open it,” Max said. “I won’t give you even the slightest chance to escape. Hahaha.”

Vonda could not believe Max’s determination.

He really won’t let me escape, will he?

As if knowing the question in Vonda’s mind, Max grinned.

“Of course, I won’t give you the slightest chance to escape. Hahaha.”

Vonda felt like dying.

About thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. After asking the office boy to wait for a moment, Vonda hurried to Max’s office. Max stepped out with broad strides and opened the door, taking their lunch order and locking the door again.

Locked it again.

Vonda could not say anything as she witnessed the scene, especially when Max sat on the guest sofa in their office, taking out the packed meal.

“Aren’t you having lunch?” Max asked.

Vonda snapped out of it and decided to sit as well.

Max handed her an open bowl of noodles. He had prepared their lunch, pouring a little broth over the noodles before giving it to her.

“Thanks,” Vonda whispered.

“This chicken mushroom noodles are delicious, you know. You should feel grateful to have this,” Max said as he pulled out two tissues, wiping his hands damp from the broth. “And you’re treated by me again.”

While Vonda separated the two wooden chopsticks in her hand to eat her lunch, Max unbuttoned his black jacket, draping it over the armrest before unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt and rolling up the sleeves carelessly, revealing his large hands with familiar muscles and bones that Vonda recognized from the night before.

Vonda’s chopsticks moved, picking up a piece of mushroom and putting it in her mouth. As she watched Max pinch the chopstick between his thumb and index finger, she was suddenly reminded of the ‘familiar’ feeling that her eyes responded to earlier.

Vonda froze, just like Max pinched her nipple that night.

“Ukhuk!”

The mushroom got stuck in Vonda’s throat, and even the chopsticks slipped from her hand. She started coughing.

Max hurriedly grabbed her drink, assisting her in drinking the iced cappuccino. When Vonda’s coughing fit subsided, Max handed her a tissue, asking, “What’s wrong? Choking while eating. What were you thinking?”

Vonda took the tissue, wiping her slightly messy mouth. For a brief moment, her eyes glanced at Max, who reached for his chopsticks again. And for some reason, whether her brain had indeed slowed down as Sarah said, or for some other reason, she blurted out easily.

“Thinking about that night.”

“What?” Max was taken aback. “Thinking about that night?”

Vonda’s eyes widened. She suddenly realized what she had just said.

Oh God. What did I just say?

In front of her, Max stared at her in disbelief.

“Vonda…”

Vonda cleared her throat. Her face froze.

“… are you trying to seduce me again? Here?”

The chopsticks slipped from Max’s hand, and he instinctively crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Oh God, please protect me.”

*