Fortunately, it was late, and the building was nearly empty. Chase let Xiao Ting hide her face in his chest, her embarrassment radiating off her in waves.
"Ting, there's no one here," he assured her gently.
"No! I hate you!" she whined, squirming in his arms before attempting to bite his neck.
"Ah, Ting, for God's sake!" he exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth with his hand. "Do not put your lips on a guy's neck!"
She glared at him, her eyes narrowing as she tried to bite his hand instead. He couldn't help but chuckle at how adorable she looked.
"You can't force me to hang out with you, Chase!" she grumbled in frustration, her voice muffled by his hand.
"Uh, yes, I can. It's my job," he retorted, clearly amused. "Besides, you need to be more social. You can't stay cooped up all the time."
Realizing that, indeed, no one was around, she finally relaxed a little. Her legs were still wrapped around his waist, and she rested her face against his neck.
"Why do you want to be friends with me, Chase? I have a bad attitude," she muttered, her voice quieter now. "Are they paying you that much?"
Chase abruptly stopped walking, prompting her to lean back and meet his gaze.
"You're very pretty, Ting," he said simply, his tone serious.
Her cheeks burned instantly. "What? You think I'm going to blush just because you said I'm pretty?" she scoffed, though her voice wavered.
He burst into laughter. "But you are blushing, Ting," he teased as they reached the front doors of the building.
"I am not!" she protested, only to freeze when the sudden flashes of camera lights startled them both.
She let out a small shriek, mortified as realization struck her. She was still in Chase's arms—outside the company building, no less!
Burying her face back into his neck, she groaned, "Chase, get me the hell out of here."
"Roger that!" he said, grinning. With one hand, he fished a face mask, cap, and sunglasses out of his pocket and quickly put them on.
"Are you the new CEO?" reporters and paparazzi shouted, their voices overlapping in a chaotic frenzy.
She wanted to melt into nothingness, disappearing into the safety of his arms out of sheer embarrassment.
"How do you even have those?" she whispered as he ran toward his car, still carrying her effortlessly.
"A celebrity is always prepared," he replied with a laugh, effortlessly dodging the paparazzi.