Fox Life

The next day, instead of enjoying his time with his future wife, Kyro found himself standing in front of Gale's office. It annoyed him, but Iris had begged him to help Elise and in the same vein his best friend. Wouldn't it be nice if the two got together as well?     

Kyro wasn't so idealistic, though. He knew Gale better than that. Women were nothing more than a way to pass the time for him, like most of his acquaintances.     

"Are you here to give me an earful about my actions yesterday?" Gale asked when Kyro opened the door without even raising his head from the monitor.     

When Kyro came around, he saw that it showed Horten's stock value falling with every minute. The greatest dip was after the party the day before, but it was still decreasing. Slowly, that ship was sinking.     

"I could, but I think you did surprisingly well. I thought you would be in Italy or Greece by now. I'm proud of your control," Kyro said with a light smirk.     

Gale turned around to give him a glare. "I wouldn't have." His expression lightened then. "Probably only California or such. No need to leave the continent yet."     

"At least you admit it. So what really happened there?"     

"You don't know?" Gale didn't seem to believe his words.     

It was true that he'd heard a couple versions, and the news were full of stories from the event, but from experience, he didn't trust even one of them. There was only a grain of truth in them at best, but there was no guarantee there was even that much.     

"I flipped out. Can't believe she two-timed me! Me! Can you believe that? I've never been mocked like this in my life! We were only pretending, but god! Couldn't she have left me at least some face? It was her who even pushed for this kind of collaboration!"     

The more Gale spoke, the higher Kyro's eyebrows rose. Was this really his old friend who didn't care one bit about what the woman with whom he went out did? 'Maybe Iris is really onto something… That Elise is clearly not just another woman to Gale.'     

"Did you ask her about it?"     

Gale looked at him with a frown. "Ask what? The proof was right there."     

"Really Gale?" Kyro leaned back against the window, arms crossed. "Are you sure you're a genius schemer and not a fool blinded by his emotions?"     

"What are you—" Gale rose to his feet, anger evident on his face, but then his eyes went wide. "Horten… Those assholes! How didn't I see it? That bastard is one of their employees. Shit."     

It sounded like Gale was on the path to realize his own mistake, so Kyro pushed back from the window. "I recognized him right away in the photos. You should've too, but the fact that you didn't says something."     

"What?" An icy coldness radiated off him as he clenched his hands into fists by his sides.     

Kyro shrugged. "It's your choice, but I would suggest for you to take the chance. You're not your parents and won't become them if you let yourself be a bit more human. It's more like the opposite, really."     

While Gale was raising his hands, Kyro strode to the door. He liked his face as it was, without a broken nose or bruised cheek.     

"You're running away," Gale said, sounding more annoyed than angry.     

"For dear life," Kyro answered without shame and left the office. He'd pushed as much as he could, and now it was time for Elise herself to make her case. It was their relationship after all, so there was a limit to how much he could assist.     

-     

While standing behind the door, Elise wondered what she was doing. When Iris had talked to her, it seemed like the best course of action—simple and to the point—but now that she was there, her confidence scattered like leaves in the wind.     

Who was she to think that Gale would want to do anything with her? He was a star that shone brighter than the sun, blinding everyone around him, while she was but a normal woman. What could she really offer him besides some material things like shares in her family's company?     

Her hand rose to ring the bell, but she hesitated again. Should she really go through with it? Wouldn't she just embarrass herself and put Gale in an uncomfortable position? Then again, it was Gale, and he didn't seem to know what embarrassment meant.     

The door opened on its own the next second, and Gale leaned against the door frame. "How long are you going to stand there? It's been ten minutes already."     

"Wait, h-how, how do you know that?" Elise was mortified, and she hadn't even started talking yet! At this rate, what would she do if he asked a more daring question, like what she was doing at his doorstep?     

"The security notified me that a guest for me has arrived. Besides, Kyro warned me that you might be coming along."     

Gale was dressed in a white polo shirt and beige pants. It was more casual than she'd ever seen him before, and it didn't do anything good to her state of mind. She knew he probably didn't think much of her, but could he at least tone down on the sexy look while she wanted to talk about serious stuff?     

His eyes were roaming over her unapologetically while a smile played on his lips. To her surprise, it wasn't fake but genuine. When he raised his charming green eyes up, he motioned for her to come over inside.     

"Be happy he did. If not, you'd be standing behind that door for the whole day."     

His voice was light, but Elise sensed an undercurrent that she couldn't place. Was he happy or annoyed that Kyro did it? That he had to let her in? Or did he not know it himself?     

The apartment was a lot colder than Elise had expected, decorated in dark colors and arranged with a decorator's hand, but it kind of made sense. If Gale was rarely home, it was no wonder that it didn't seem lived in. However, she saw a few hairbands on the table, and a sparkly pink fairy wand on the sofa.     

"Your sisters?" she asked before realizing how stupid that sounded. If he answered no, wouldn't it mean that it was his? "I'm sorry, that was…" She wished there was a way to disappear, vanish out of existence.     

Gale just shook his head and pointed for her to sit on the sofa. He then chose the armchair opposite her. Leaning back, he didn't say anything more.     

He seemed to be waiting for something, but Elise had no idea what it was. Should she just start explaining herself? But it was too abrupt… She couldn't just go out and say 'I like you' straight in his face like that, could she?     

"Why don't you start with why you came here?" Gale suggested, his hawk-like eyes following her every move.     

She felt like a prey who had entered the nest of her predator, but how else could she attempt to win him over? As far as she knew, no one had been brave or stupid enough to do that.     

"Right, it's about… about…" How exactly did she plan to do it again? Why was her mind empty now that it mattered? 'Calm down, you can do this. It's your one and only chance.' She took a deep breath and raised her gaze which had went to her shoes sometime ago. "I want to talk about what happened yesterday."     

"I'm listening,"     

It wasn't a very encouraging response, but better than nothing. At least he wasn't throwing her out right away, which she almost hoped would happen so everything would end quicker.     

"I wasn't spending my time with someone else behind your back. It was my first time seeing that man, that's why he caught me so off guard and I didn't refuse him right away." Once she started speaking, words began to come a lot more easily. "I wanted to apologize for what happened, even if it wasn't my fault."     

Gale inclined his head, but his expression remained the same, calm and detached. "That's fine. You didn't need to come all the way here to say that."     

"I-I have another reason."     

"Oh?"     

Fear, trepidation, excitement, and many other emotions fought for supremacy in Elise's heart. Her insides twisted at the thought of what she was going to say next, but she'd come too far to turn around now. Her future joy or disappointment was only one sentence away.     

She knew full well that confidence was only a state of mind and forced it upon herself. Her back went straight like a bamboo shoot, and she placed her hands in her lap like a proper miss. With these artificial actions, a sense of rightness coursed through her, and she smiled at Gale.     

"Why don't you become my boyfriend for real? I like you, and you don't seem indifferent to me too."     

If surprise could be given visualization, Gale's face would have been a perfect fit. His eyebrows rose as his eyes widened a little, and his mouth turned o-shaped. It lasted for a millisecond though. The next moment he was grinning at her like he was seeing something really amusing.     

"I didn't think you'd just come out with it like that. You seemed so nervous and jittery, I even had a feeling you're gonna flee the next moment," he said in what Elise guessed was praise.     

She shook her head, holding onto the fact that he didn't refuse right away like a drowning man onto a straw. "I know what I want."     

"Do you?" He put his right hand on the armrest and rested his chin against it. His blonde hair fell sideways, and Elise's heart threatened to jump out of her chest. "What do you even see in me?"     

It was a question Elise thought about every day for the last couple weeks, when she wasn't dreaming about his looks. "You act like you care about nothing, but you actually have a saint's heart. I've never seen anyone so dedicated to their friends. You didn't agree with Kyro's choice, but you did all you could for him, even disregarding your own health.     

"You act wanton all the time, but you have principles. In the time we were together, even if it was fake, you weren't seen with another woman. Besides, we had fun. I've never enjoyed being around someone this much before."     

There was no reaction from Gale, so she continued. "I don't know about you, but I would like to know more about you, good or bad."     

"Just bad," he said softly while straightening up with a thoughtful expression. "There's nothing good to learn about me."     

"I'll reserve my answer for when I have seen it for myself," Elise replied resolutely. His past might be full of darkness, but she was certain that he wasn't a lost cause. The fact that he didn't fall into substance abuse was enough to know that he was yet to fall to rock bottom mentally.     

"Obstinate." Gale shrugged then. "Fine, let's try it, but don't blame me if you're disappointed with what you find."     

Elise shook her head so violently her whole body swayed. "I won't, I know it."     

As she said it, she realized what his words meant. 'He agreed! He agreed!' That single phrase echoed in her mind a thousand times without stop, overshadowing any and all other thoughts. She'd hoped for it to happen, but had thought it was impossible—they were talking about Gale, for god's sake!     

He rose from his seat then and came to sit by her side. He cupped her cheek, his thumb sending waves of heat through her face. Elise stared at him wide-eyed, both expectant and embarrassed. It so happened that she had never had a boyfriend before…     

"Let's do something I've been wanting to do for a while," Gale said in a low voice, his minty breath fanning her face. His lips descended on hers, and for a blissful moment, Elise allowed herself to imagine a happy ever after for the two of them.