MIMI

The man"s jet-black eyes stared at the papers in his hand absently, completely unresponsive to the voice calling his name.

"Mr. Itou? Are you all right?" Lina Tong repeated, her eyebrows wrinkled with concern.

Tobias quickly pulled himself away from his thoughts and stared at Lina Tong for a few seconds. The two were currently sitting in a private conference room within Glory Trade Corporation.

For the past few days, Tobias and Lina Tong, who was from another company, had been working together on their companies latest launch. It was the start of a new product that they would be selling nationwide.

When Tobias realized he had s.p.a.ced out during work, he sighed and shifted himself within his chair.

"I apologize. Please, continue."

Lina Tong noticed the man"s tired appearance but chose to say nothing. The corner of her lips curved in a warm smile and she nodded her head.

She cleared her throat. "As I was saying, the new system…"

While Lina Tong went over the project details, Tobias silently listened. Every so often, he would add or comment on improvements they could implement into the product.

As Tobias spoke, Lina Tong listened intently. Her eyes and ears never overlooking a thing the sophisticated man did.

The longer she listened, the more she could not help but admire the man"s calm and authoritative demeanor. Every word he articulated was filled with confidence, intelligence, and power.

It was no wonder the man was such a successful businessman.

Her admiration continued to heighten the longer she came to a.s.sociate with the man, Tobias Itou.

When the two finished for the day, Tobias walked Lina Tong to the elevator. When they arrived in front of the doors, Lina Tong turned around abruptly. She looked up at him with direct, resolute eyes.

"Mr. Itou, I know this out of my place to say, but please rely on me for the project. With all the information you"ve provided for me, I know I will be able to execute this well. So…" Her voice grew faint as if she were struggling with her words.

She finally said with rosy cheeks, "So please take the time to rest and take care of yourself!"

Tobias raised an eyebrow upon hearing her, looking seemingly surprised. He hadn"t expected her to declare such bold words to him. He looked at her silently. Taking note of his silence, Lina Tong felt her anxiety skyrocket.

Were her words too bold just now? Did she offend him?

Silently cursing herself, she was surprised to suddenly hear a deep, alluring chuckle. In shock, Lina Tong raised her gaze, and she unexpectedly confronted a pair of deep smiling eyes.

At that precise moment, Lina Tong"s legs had turned to jelly.

Good, G.o.d! He just laughed! Not only was it incredibly attractive, but the rare smile on his face was even more mesmerizing!

Just as Lina Tong thought she couldn"t be any more dumbstruck, she perceived Tobias extending his hand to land on her head.

At that moment, not just Lina Tong was stunned, but Tobias as well. As quickly as the action was, Tobias retracted his hand.

The two were silent before Tobias uneasily coughed twice, and then put on a diligent face while saying, "Thank you for your concern, Ms. Tong. As for my actions just now, I deeply apologize. You seemed to remind me of someone for a moment."

Lina Tong giggled, she a.s.sumed the person Tobias thought of her as was perhaps a little cousin or a small child. These acts of his showed apparent signs of his soft side that appeared when no one was around.

Knowing she was able to discover a side to him like this warmed her heart a little.

"It"s all right. It was praise, was it not? Although an unusual way of praising someone, I didn"t mind it."

Tobias returned with an expression filled with surprise.

He hadn"t expected her response to be so calm and understanding. At this, Tobias let out a heavy sigh and clicked the elevator b.u.t.ton. As Lina Tong entered, she bowed politely to the man as the doors closed. Now alone, her calm appearance finally cracked.

Absently, she touched the top of her head. She could still feel his warmth. Leaning her body against the wall, she covered her flushed face and produced a faint squeal.

Her heart could no longer bear these attacks!

It would seem she had completely fallen for Tobias Itou.

…

The following day, Lee Odo"s company event had arrived. While finishing things at the company, Tobias had already dressed for tonight"s occasion.

He had on a white shirt, black suit pants, and a very idle and n.o.ble att.i.tude. Tobias was sitting in his office chair; his right hand was pushing up his black hair up, and his eyes focused intently on the work before him.

While writing something down, Tobias covered his cough with one hand, seemingly unaffected. Standing on the side, Juno glanced at him with concern.

"Sir, perhaps you shouldn"t go tonight. You haven"t been well this past week. Not to mention you haven"t had a proper night of rest."

Tobias coughed before replying in his usual magnetic tone, "I"m fine. One night won"t kill me."

"But, sir…"

"It"s fine." When he spoke, his slightly unemotional voice carried an undertone of warning.

After that, Juno no longer pressed him on the matter. The office was quiet, except for the occasional sound of papers turning and the writing of a pen.

A few minutes pa.s.sed before Juno opened his mouth again, "Although sir…Ms. Mimi will also be there."

Tobias"s movements paused, a frown boring on his stiff face. He did not react but merely looked coldly at Juno.

"And?" His eyes seemed impatient, almost irritated by his a.s.sistant"s choice of words.

Juno maintained his mild gaze and did not seem to be affected in the least by the man"s menacing glare.

Lifting his gla.s.ses, he spoke in a steady tone. "Have you not been avoiding her all week? I would a.s.sume you would not want to see her tonight too, no?"

Clenching the pen in his hand, Tobias"s voice dropped a few degrees. "I never said I didn"t want to see her."

He just couldn"t.

Ever since that night, his sense of control has been all over the place! He felt like he was like a raging, hormonal teenager!

To avoid doing something he"d regret, he avoided all contact with the girl, including phone calls. However, this had proven to be fruitless as even the thought of her caused him to react.

On various occasions, he had to rush into the restroom or kick Juno out of his office. It would sometimes last for more than one or more hours.

Tonight, the chances of sighting her were likely. At this point, Tobias couldn"t even imagine how he"d react when seeing Mimi after so long.

Dressed as a man or woman.

He could merely hope he would be able to remain calm and restrain his emotions.

When Tobias finally completed his work, he left the company building to board the car waiting for him downstairs.

The night that would change everything had finally begun.