Chapter 8

• Upon seeing his boss approaching, Jonathan felt his body heat up like a volcano about to erupt. His hands trembled, slightly sweaty, and his face turned as red as a tomato.
• He couldn't explain it, but the sensations that flooded him when he was near Elliot were hard to process. The only thing he knew for sure was that it was not appropriate to feel this way when close to his own boss.
• Looking at him, the blond extended his hand, handing him a card with his information.
• "This is my personal number; you can contact me anytime." They were so close that Jonathan could feel Elliot's sweet breath touch his face.
• Jonathan felt his body tremble, fearing such close contact.
• However, Elliot noticed that Jonathan blushed slightly, and he couldn't hide that this fact pleased him. It was good to know that he caused the same confusion that the younger man provided him, even without knowing.
• And, for now, he had no idea that his boss reciprocated the intense feeling that took hold of him when they shared the same space. Elliot had no intention of making it known, as he didn't know how to deal with the fact that his body reacted when near Jones.
• For now, it would be something that would remain only in his mind. His unique and personal secret.
• Jonathan left Park's office more affected than usual. He felt his senses were jumbled and confused, as if they needed some time to adjust to the environment without his presence.
• Avoiding thinking about the matter, he focused on what mattered at the moment. As he approached Eric, Jonathan slumped his shoulders, giving his friend a pleading look, which Eric couldn't contain his smile upon seeing.
• "What do you want, looking at me like that?" Eric asked with a suspicious look, trying to hide his suppressed laughter.
• "My friend is starting here at the company today. I'm going to have lunch with him to celebrate, and I want you to come. I think you two will get along," Jonathan pulled a chair to sit next to Eric. Close, he put his arm around the blond's shoulders, studying his expression.
• "Hmm, I don't know..." he bit his lower lip, adjusting his glasses perched on the tip of his nose.
• Eric was a typical introvert, feeling extremely uncomfortable making friends with new people. However, once he became close to someone, you could see how pleasant a person he was to have as a friend.
• "Please!" Jonathan pleaded, making an almost childish pout.
• "Alright, alright. You can stop making that face," Eric laughed at Jonathan's expression, which turned into a smile when he realized his friend had given in to his precious idea.
• "I promise you'll like him," Jones replied, affirming with all the certainty in the world.
• Eric enjoyed listening to Jonathan do some sort of advertising about his friend Hugo, who indeed seemed like a great person.
• However, his expression quickly changed as he saw Elliot approaching their table.
• Jonathan noticed Eric's cheerful expression turn quickly. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Elliot coming to their table.
• "Hello, Eric," the CEO greeted him quickly with a nod, then turned his gaze to the younger man, who anxiously awaited his contact. "Jonathan, thanks again for the favor. I'll be out for the day, if there's any problem, contact me."
• "Alright, Mr. Park," Jonathan replied.
• "And no getting distracted by kitten videos," Elliot whispered in his ear discreetly. Jonathan laughed, embarrassed, as he said goodbye to Elliot, who walked away with an adorable smile on his face.
• At that moment, he noticed that he completely failed to hide his reaction, which was more fitting for a teenager, with a silly smile on his face and ridiculously blushed cheeks that exposed how affected he was by his boss's actions.
• "You naughty!" Eric exclaimed with a mischievous smile on his face. "Flirting with the boss? I didn't expect that." In an impulsive action, Jonathan covered Eric's mouth, who laughed at his friend's desperate expression.
• "Don't say that, not even as a joke. If anyone hears, they might interpret it wrong," Jonathan looked around, checking if anyone was nearby.
• As much as he didn't admit it, he was being neurotic. But deep down, he knew he had a reason to be so disturbed by such acts. He recognized, deep in his heart, all the electricity that ran through his body when he allowed his imagination to dare to simulate some inappropriate scene with Elliot.
• "Calm down, calm down. It's just a joke. But I've never seen him act like this with an employee," Eric stated.
• And it was true. He had worked at Park Empire for two years, and in that time, he had never seen him smile the way he smiled at Jonathan or when they were close with their inside jokes and poorly disguised whispers.
• "It's because you haven't seen him a few weeks ago; he barely looked at me. Now we can talk, and he even laughs at my stupid videos," Jonathan shuffled the papers on the desk, trying to distract himself, failing to hide a silly smile that appeared every time he remembered something pleasant.
• "That's great," Eric replied, smiling discreetly at seeing the happy expression on his friend's face. He understood that Jones was in denial. However, anyone could see what was happening between the two.
• Setting the subject aside, Jonathan saw that it was lunchtime. He would finally see Hugo again. Excited, he put his papers aside, pulled Eric, and headed to the elevator, which took them to the tenth floor.
• He introduced Eric and Hugo, who sounded shy with each other at first until they began to chat on their way to the restaurant they were going to. They spent a long time talking about their school days, and Hugo made a point of showing Eric the pictures he kept of Jonathan.
• Despite being embarrassed by the images of his past, he was glad not to be alone as he used to be.