“Hold it right there, Michael! Who’re you calling a vampire?”
I couldn’t believe he was disgusted by the fact that I did not know how to plant a hickey.
Today, Michael offered me a ride to the company. I did not refuse because that meant I did not have to take the subway and could save a few pennies.
I then got into Michael’s car. Glancing sideways, I spotted the hickey I had planted on his neck. I felt a sense of accomplishment as well as the satisfaction of revenge.
The CEO of the company had a hickey on his neck, one that was more obvious than mine. I wondered if Michael would be worried that other people could see it.
“Are you done yet? I don’t mind if you want to plant a few more.” Michael spoke.
He eyed me when he noticed that my gaze was still fixated on his neck.
“No. I think one is obvious enough. Not everything is a number’s game.”
I was looking forward to seeing how he would react once he stepped into the office. Would he be overcome with embarrassment? After all, I planted that thing in plain sight.
However, Michael merely peered at me. Keeping his eyes on the road, he said nothing.
Soon, we reached the office. Right then, the coast was clear in the underground parking, so I quickly got out of Michael’s car.
The two of us basically arrived at the office one after the other. Michael was the Prince Charming in the eyes of most of the women working there, so naturally, his presence attracted the most attention. My gaze followed him as well.
With a blank expression on his face, he walked towards his office. Right at that moment, everyone gasped when they spotted the hickey on his neck—some widened their eyes in shock, while others expressed disbelief.
After all, this had never happened before.
Everyone returned to their senses only after Michael entered his office. And right after that, chaos ensued.
“Did you see that? There’s a hickey on Mr. Shaw’s neck!”
“I saw it! I saw it! It’s so obvious!”
“Has Mr. Shaw spent the night with a woman? If so, it must have been quite exciting!”
“Oh my gosh, how did it end up this way? I thought Mr. Shaw’s not interested in relationships. I’m so heartbroken.”
“Who do you think Mr. Shaw’s spent the night with? If I ever find out who she is, I’ll never forgive her.”
“You said it! How dare she steal Mr. Shaw from us, and right under our noses too! She’s got a death wish!”
Everyone present had started gossiping about, many of whom seemed disappointed.
Although I knew Michael could not possibly be inexperienced with women, he was just too good at keeping secrets. Even if he had dated or slept with anyone, there was no chance we would find out about it.
I just never expected that me leaving a hickey on his neck would cause such an uproar.
Besides, what those women said somehow made me anxious. If they find out that I’m the one who planted the hickey on Michael’s neck, will they come after me?
I was starting to regret what I did and began to worry about myself. I worried that they would come to trouble me the way they did before.
“Anna, did you see that? Mr. Shaw’s got a hickey on his neck.”
While I was indulging in my thoughts, I heard Millie calling me. She, too, had not snapped out of the shock.
“What? Oh… so there is,” I mumbled, somewhat ashamed.
“Who do you reckon could pull off a stunt like that?”
Millie turned around to look in the direction of Michael’s office, seemingly in deep thought.
“How would I know? I’m not very close to him.”
Perhaps it was because I knew what I did, I was beginning to feel guilty. I could not bring myself to look Millie in the eye.
“True. We’re just regular employees. How could we possibly get a handle on Mr. Shaw’s private life? I’m guessing the woman who managed to sleep with him must be absolutely gorgeous. Oh dear, the girls here are going to have their hearts broken.”
After she got my reply, Millie stopped pursuing the matter. I then heaved a long sigh of relief.
However, what she said next made my heart leap to my throat.
“Hey, Anna, what’s that on your neck? Is that a hickey?”
Millie’s gaze fell upon the hickey on my neck, while a surprised look crossed her face.
She saw it! In a panic, I covered my neck with my hands while guilt flashed across my face. “What do you mean? I was bitten by a mosquito. There were lots of those in the room last night.”
“A mosquito? Anna, what do you take me for? I’m not a kid, you know. Do you think I can’t tell a hickey from a mosquito bite?”
Apparently, Millie did not buy my explanation; she pursed her lips, doubt written all over her face.
Sometimes, Millie was just too smart for her own good. If only she could apply her cleverness to her work, she would become more than just a regular employee.
“It’s really a mosquito bite.” I insisted.
Even though I could not convince Millie, I would not want to admit it either. After all, having a hickey on the neck was not exactly glorious.
“Whatever, you can’t fool me! We’re all adults here, so there’s nothing to be shy about. So things got a little too intense last night. That’s totally normal.”
Unlike me, Millie did not think that hickeys were embarrassing. She had, in fact, spoke of it quite generously.
I looked at her and gave an awkward smile, not sure how to get the conversation rolling.
“Well, this is a coincidence. You and Mr. Shaw got a hickey at the same time. Don’t tell me you two spent the night together…”
Millie seemed to have thought of something when she suddenly linked Michael and I together. Although she was just making a guess, my heart skipped a beat. After all, one could not help feeling guilty after committing a bad deed.
“N-Nonsense! How could I have gone out with Mr. Shaw? You can’t joke about stuff like this!”
Driven by my guilty conscience, my heart kept thumping. Deep down, I was scared, but I still put up a false pretense of calmness and composure.
I could not let anyone know that I was the one who spent the night with Michael. Many female coworkers were currently speculating about the mystery girl who slept with him, and they made it clear that if they found her, they would make her pay. Knowing what was at stake, I would never admit it.
“Alright, fine. What’s the matter with you? It’s just a harmless joke. You should see how nervous you looked, almost like you’re the one whom Mr. Shaw spent the night with last night,” Millie said with a smile when she saw how flustered I got.
“Don’t ever make these kinds of jokes, okay? Don’t you know that those people,” I pointed at the women around the workplace, “won’t think twice about sinking their teeth into the girl who slept with our boss? If they think it was me, I’m dead meat!”
I knew a lot about women’s jealousy and what the ladies could do because of it. Hence, there was no way I would want to stick a target on my head.
