Magnetic

THREE

DANAI

Patrick sat outside of Danai's office, waiting patiently as she finished collecting herself enough to leave the walls of the building. She still felt a bit distracted by what had happened not even ten minutes earlier, but she pushed it down enough to look as calm as she could when she opened her door to see her assistant there.

"Sorry," she apologised as she secured her office door. "I feel like you've been sitting out here for years."

Danai relaxed slightly when Patrick smiled, waving off her unnecessary concern, "it has not been that long. I had some texts to send and notifications to check, anyway. If anything, you did me a favour."

He stood up then and led the way to the elevator down the hall, carrying an over the shoulder bag now, which Danai thought suited him. As she followed behind Patrick, she was able to get a better look at the bite mark she'd seen earlier on the nape of his neck. Though she still felt it was a little too soon to ask, she'd try to steer the conversation that way.

"Maybe he'll bring it up..." She thought to herself.

Not even ten minutes later, they'd arrived at the tea shop. It was cozy, yet modern, and the two of them had managed to grab a comfy booth in one of the quieter corners of the place once they'd arrived.

"One of us should probably stay here and hold the table," Patrick whispered to Danai as he took his bag off. He said it more like a friendly suggestion, and Danai got the feeling that he still wanted to treat her like his boss, even outside of work. She smiled, taking her jacket off and placing it on the table in front of them.

"Maybe not." She shrugged, "I doubt anyone will be bold enough to steal a table with jackets on it."

Patrick considered the idea, but didn't seem totally convinced. His eyes went to the cashier's counter, and it was like he was measuring the distance between there and the table they'd secured.

"It's not that far," Danai assured, surprising Patrick slightly.

He got up, peeled off his coat, then placed it on the seat under him. Before leaving, he grabbed his bag then whispered, "just in case," which made Dani smile. Even though they spent a lot of time together at work, she felt like she was learning much more about him in this time outside of their office.

They went to stand in line together, behind two other pairs of people, and Danai took the chance to ask Pat, "what's your favourite flavour?"

"Hmm?" He asked, distracted as he tried to sneak glances back at their lonely table. She gave his side a gentle nudge, followed by a "sorry" when he jumped more than she'd expected him to.

Danai couldn't help but chuckle at him a bit, "I asked what your favourite bubble tea flavour is."

Patrick flushed slightly, not expecting Danai to have been paying enough attention to notice his weariness about their table. He cleared his throat and smiled before he said, "Thai tea."

"Really?" Danai asked, surprised. She'd always associated the seriousness of someone like Patrick with a taste for bitter and bland things. Thai tea wasn't like that at all, and it was even a bit too sweet for her. She grinned at her assistant, "I did not expect that."

He frowned slightly, "what did you expect?"

Danai laughed, "I didn't mean that in a-"

"I can take your order next!" Patrick and Danai looked over at the cashier who'd interrupted their conversation.

The two of them walked up and made their orders. Unsurprisingly, Patrick ordered a large Thai boba tea, and Danai ordered a large matcha boba tea. Even though Danai said it was her treat, Patrick still tried to pay for his own drink. Danai noticed the barista giggling as they fought to give her each of their cards.