Chapter 204: The Oblivious and the Mischievous

It didn't take a while for Daniel to get what he and Cassidy wanted to order - a slice of strawberry shortcake for her and a cup of coffee for himself. 

"Here you go!" he enthused with a grin as he placed the tray on the table and sat across from her.

"Thank you...!" she chirped and went to take a bite of her dessert right away, brightening up not even a second later. 

"You were right! This tastes awesome!"

Seeing Cassidy get so thrilled about such a small thing, Daniel resisted the urge to laugh. He then took a sip from the coffee that he got for himself. 

"Say, Daniel...?" she called out while he hummed to let her know he was listening.

"The security guard mentioned earlier that Adrian was acting different than usual. So, like... I'm thinking how he is at work lately."

"Well, it honestly was a surprise he came to ask me. He's often in his office, and he communicates by e-mail most of the time. When he does come out, he's strict and business-orientated, but he's a good boss. I mean, he takes our opinions seriously. He also makes sure we have everything we need. Still, at times, he's a little too cold with that calculating look of his," he explained, earning a thoughtful expression from her. 

"Cold, huh? I get what you mean. But I thought that he's no longer like that."

"Huh? So, you know him outside of work?"

Daniel was taken aback when he heard Cassidy call his boss by his first name earlier. It seems like she is not just being bold, though he also would have already guessed since Adrian did say that she is his 'special' guest.

"Yeah, I do know him," she simply said, smiling somewhat mischievously.

"Then, how would you describe him? The boss when he's outside the office, I mean?" he asked, looking more than intrigued. 

"Adrian is the definition of calm and cool. He's kind and caring. His smile always looks so sweet, too."

"It does?! Woah! I didn't think he smiles in such a way."

"Well, yeah. And I was only getting started. Adrian is gentle at times and passionate at others. He is fond of dry humor, has a childish side, and can be a dork sometimes."

"A... dork?"

Daniel blinks at Cassidy incredulously, having a hard time to believe what he's hearing.

He was about to ask more, but that was when he suddenly caught sight of something through the corners of his eyes. There's a woman walking with a hot cup of coffee from behind her. She wasn't paying attention to where she's heading to, and with that, she ended up tripping and spilling her coffee. 

"Hey, look out!" Daniel cried out to Cassidy, bolting out from his seat and sprinting over to her.

He managed to catch the woman and pull her up all at the same time before the coffee could make a mess out of the two of them. But as a result, he almost got burnt in their stead. Thrown off guard, his companion hurried to the woman while she began apologizing frantically.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, feeling more concerned for her than what could have happened to him.

"Y-Yes, I'm okay. Again, I'm very, very sorry. And thank you for catching me."

"No problem. Take better care next time."

Daniel reassured her many times before she finally took her leave. As soon as she was gone, Cassidy chimed in once more and commended him for what he did. 

"That was amazing, Daniel! You were very quick!"

"I-It's nothing. I'm pretty fast since a long time ago. I'd been part of our track team in high school." 

"Really? I used to do fist fights in high school!"

"Fist fights?!"

"Yeah!"

From that point on, the two of them found themselves talking about high school, their hobbies and other random topics that helped them get to know more about each other. It went on and on until the alarm in his phone started beeping. 

"Huh? What's that?" Cassidy asked, glancing at the direction of the sound. 

"An alarm I set earlier. It's just like when I had to pick you up. I'm supposed to start taking you to the President now," Daniel answered, pouting a little.

Too bad he's been enjoying having her around. Time sure flies when he's having fun.

"I should take you upstairs," Daniel sighed and got up. 

"That won't be necessary." 

Then, he stilled. 

Adrian appeared from behind Daniel all of the sudden, making him yelp in surprise. It appears like his meeting has ended earlier than expected. He pulls himself together and tries to greet him as he should, but then came Cassidy bouncing out of her seat and hugging him out of nowhere. 

"Adrian!" Cassidy chirped with a smile, making Daniel gape in nonplus. 

"I take that Daniel has taken good care of you?" Adrian asked and returned her embrace with a smile of his own, surprising their other companion even more. 

"Yeah, he even bought me a cake!" 

"Oh, did he now? And here I was thinking I'd get you some myself."

"Well, no one's stopping you from buying me another slice~" 

Adrian chuckled at that and started stroking her head. Cassidy leaned in his gentle touch, enjoying his affectionate gesture. Still not pulling away from the embrace, he then looked back at Daniel and expressed his gratitude. 

"Thank you for looking after her, Daniel," he said, giving him a smile that almost made him faint.

"Y-You don't have to thank me, President! It's no problem at all!"

"At least let me pay you back for whatever you got her."

Despite Daniel's refusal, Adrian still insisted and reached into his pocket to placed a bill on the table. He then turned back to Cassidy and offered his arm for her to hold onto. She grinned up at him, taking his arm and looping her own around it. 

"Shall we go, Cassidy?" 

"We shall!"

With that, Adrian started to walk away and lead Cassidy out of there. But before they disappeared around the corner, she looked back at Daniel and waved at him. 

"Bye, Daniel! I'll see you around!" 

"U-Uhhh... Yeah!"

Daniel waved back in a daze, still taking in what he just saw while wondering what she meant by seeing him around. It's either she's only being nice or she'll really come back. 

"I do hope she does."

Before taking his leave, Daniel went to pick up the money that his boss had left him - only to nearly scream after seeing four times the amount of what he actually spent.