She blinked. She rubbed her eyes. She slapped her cheeks.
She knew the stranger could see everything she was doing, but she was past caring. She did it all again, needing to make sure that her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.
Daria took a deep breath before raising her gaze to the man’s phone.
The printed design on the bumper was still the same, pandas munching on bamboo on a blue and white background.
Pandas.
Pandas!
Pandas!
Not just one or two but a whole bunch!
As she reeled from the realization, people continued to walk past them on all sides, shouting, laughing, and talking. Teleios had finally wakened, and now it brimmed with joie de vivre. Overhead, the sun had completely risen, casting a golden glow all around. A new day had started for everyone, but for Daria it was more than that.
Oh. My. God.
Are You for real?
This was her Mr. Right?
The realization made her feel faint, made her imagine the skies were parting as angels cast their wings and blew their trumpets while singing Alleluia.
She knew it, she knew it, Daria thought giddily. Because she hadn’t lost faith in God, He had rewarded her, and now she had her prince!
“I want you to terminate her immediately.”
HerGreek had switched to English, and she listened to him speak dreamily. He had such a beautiful accent.
“I want her out of the office first thing in the morning.”
The content of his speech wasn’t exactly romantic, but she chose to ignore the fact.
The voice started to fade. Daria thought it was only her imagination, but when she could no longer hear a thing, her eyes fluttered open, and she realized then that the man had started walking away from her.
Daria gasped. “Wait!” The irony wasn’t lost on her as she tried to catch up to her Greek. “Wait!” But he was walking too fast while her three-inch wedges had her walking slower than usual.
Her impulsive nature reasserted itself then, and before she knew it, she was already hurrying back, picking up the Gatorade bottle her beautiful stranger had tossed back to the sand. She pulled her hand back, aimed, and threw.
She missed her target.
Again.
Daria had been aiming for his back, but instead she ended up hitting his head.
“WHAT. THE. FUCK.”
The pain at the back of his head was irritatingly familiar, and the fact made Nik’s teeth gnash. Goddammit. What was it with that woman? He interrupted his secretary’s report mid-call, saying tersely, “I’ll get back to you later.” He pushed the End button and jammed the iPhone back into his pocket.
Then he turned around and started for her.
Daria found herself rooted to her spot, torn between fear and excitement. Curse it, but he looked angry. Curse it, but he looked even hotter when angry. Curse it, but she didn’t know what to—-
The man stopped an inch before her, icy fury masking his face.
She shrieked.