"Why are you here? Where is your house anyway?

" asked Richard curiously.

Right in front of an elite housing estate, Richard stopped his car. Beside the housing, there was a small alley that looked dark and lonely.

"My house is behind this housing. From here I have to walk through that road, because cars can't go there.

" Ellena told Richard, pointing to an alley not far from them.

The man swiftly opened the seatbelt on his body, after turning off the car engine.

"I'll take you home,

" said Richard, about to open the car door.

"Don't!

" Ellena refused reflexively restraining Richard.

"Why?

" Richard looked at Ellena questioningly.

"I can go home alone. You can go home. Besides, my house is not far from here,

" answered Ellena.

Ellena really didn't want Richard to take her home. Of course her mother would wonder and think if she was close to that man.

"But it's getting late, Particia. I can't let you walk alone when it's dark like this.

" Richard replied, worried.

"You don't need to worry, I'm used to walking at night,

" said Ellena not wanting to lose.

"No! I'll still take you!

" Richard chuckled and immediately got out of the car.

He seemed to walk around to the front of the car and opened the car door for Ellena. Rarely is there a boss who is willing to do that for his employees. Richard was a truly extraordinary boss.

"Come on, come down!

" He asked Ellena after he managed to open the car door.

"No! I won't come down if you insist on taking me home!

" Ellena insisted warningly.

"Oh my God, Patricia ... why are you so stubborn. I'm doing this for your good. I just don't want you to be upset, there's no other purpose.

" Richard explained, still consistent with his stance.

He thought that the reason Ellena rejected him was because he was afraid that he would do things. Yes, that was what he believed, though he had no idea why Ellena had rejected him.

"But my house is close, Richard. I don't want the neighbors to see me coming home with a guy at night like this. They must think it's okay.

" Ellena explained trying to give Richard understanding, though that wasn't really the main reason.

"You care too much about what people say, Patricia. I don't care what they talk about, what I care about now is your safety, Patricia!

" said Richard emphatically.

"But my house is close. There's no way any criminal would dare to harass me.

" Ellena tried to convince by giving various reasons.

"You can't just predict, because criminals can be anywhere. Especially on a deserted and dark street like this,

" replied Ghibran, pointing to the path that Ellena would follow to the house.

"I won't, Richard. I've been down this road many times,

" argued Ellena, confident that it would be all right.

"I don't want to know. Whether you agree or not, I'll still walk you home!

" Richard insisted that he didn't care about the various excuses that Ellena tried.

"I'm not getting out of the car, if you keep insisting!

" threatened Ellena.

Instead of being annoyed, Richard grinned happily at the statement.

"Okay. It means that I can take you anywhere, right?

" Richard teased, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Hearing that statement, Ellena immediately widened her eyes perfectly. Didn't think that her attitude would make Richard look even more insane.

"How? Shall we go to the hotel?

" Richard asked before Ellena responded.

"Oh, or should we just go straight to my apartment? We can have fun and do whatever you want over there.

" He added, looking at Ellena sensually.

Ellena was really getting frustrated. It turned out that Richard's attitude was really similar to her husband's. Ah, she was thinking about Lucas again.

Not! She couldn't let that happen. It was good that Richard wanted to take her away. That is what threatens her safety. Yes of course. She could already imagine what would happen there if Richard managed to take her away.

"No! I'm going home now. Get out of the way!

" said Ellena as she asked Richard to move and not get in the way, just as she was about to get out of the car.

"Why? You'd better come with me. I rarely allow women to come to my apartment. Only selected women are allowed to come there and one of them is you,

" said Richard, hiding a smile behind his face.

He wanted to know how Ellena would react to his remarks. In fact he was still standing in the same place and didn't want to leave Ellena's face.

"No! I'm not interested at all. You take another woman!

" firmly Ellena began to worry about her own fate. Hoping this time Richard would understand and give her a chance to go.

"Oh, well, Patricia. Maybe next time. Especially for you, you can come at any time to my apartment.

" Richard said again, squinting one eye, deliberately trying to tease Ellena.

Seeing Ellena who was scared like that, it made Richard even more challenged to seduce the woman.

"Don't dream, Richard! I wouldn't do that! We'll always be just colleagues, nothing more and never will be!

" Ellena sarcasm forced to speak like that, even though it might make Richard disappointed and hurt. Even though herself did not know what her destiny would be like in the future.

"We'll see, Patricia.

" The corner of Richard's lips lifted into a triumphant grin.

Richard then shifted his foot to the left, making way for Ellena.

"You're so annoying, Richard!

" cursed Ellena, as soon as she set her foot on the asphalt.

"Yeah, maybe you're right, but most women are attracted to men like me,

" Richard replied confidently.

"Yes, except for me!

" Ellena answered firmly, deliberately trying to make Richard aware that she couldn't possibly be attracted to her.

Although Richard and Lucas have similarities. However, it still didn't change Ellena's current feelings.

Her whole heart already belonged to Lucas completely. In fact, even Keenan's name, which has been imprinted in there for years, can in fact be easily forgotten because of Lucas' figure.

Lucas did have an extraordinary charm, so that Ellena could melt so easily, while she still had high hopes for Keenan.

"And you've managed to intrigue me, Patricia. I'm sure one day you'll know where my apartment is.

" Richard rolled his eyes again, making Ellena shudder. Feel amused to see the sensual style shown by the man.

"What about your car?

" Ellena asked as she looked back at the car with the door closed tightly.

"Leave it here. It seems the streets are deserted too.

" Richard replied, not at all worried about the car.

Yes, how could he be worried about the car, when he still has a lot of cars in his house and he can use any car he wants.

"But what if some bad guy steals your car later, Richard?

" asked Ellena putting on a worried expression.

"I'm more worried about you than my car, Patricia.

" Richard replied.

"You're so stubborn, Richard!

" Ellena cursed again, before finally moving first from that place.

"Same as you.

" Richard quipped not wanting to lose, as he followed Ellena from behind.

"No! It's good that you equate with me,

" said Ellena, not accepting it.

"If you weren't stubborn, you'd follow all my orders, but you're not. You're still snickering at your will,

" said Richard deliberately wanting to give Ellena more sarcasm.

"That's called principle, not stubbornness!

" Ellena said she didn't want to lose.

"Yes, it's up to you, Miss. You are indeed a smart woman. I'm getting more and more attracted to you,

" said Ghirban which suddenly made Ellena chuckle in annoyance.

silence. There is no more discussion between them. the light suddenly seemed to illuminate their path, after approaching a simple settlement located in an elite housing complex.

After a few minutes, Ellena and Richard had arrived near the rented house. From a distance, Briana was seen pacing indistinctly in front of the house. It seemed that the woman was waiting for Ellena's arrival.

Yes of course. There was a worried look on her face. However, she immediately became happy when she realized Ellena was walking a few meters from the house. Briana frowned when she saw the figure of a man walking beside Ellena.

"Good night, Ma'am,

" said Ellena after she stood right in front of her mother.

"Elle, why did you just come home? You know what? I'm really worried about you.

" Briana asked, holding Ellena's arm.

"Sorry, I've made you worry, Ma'am. I was working late. Lucky to come home with my boss. Introducing, Ma'am. He is Mr. Richard, my boss at work.

" Ellena answered trying to calm her mother.

Briana swiftly turned to Ellena's side, looking at Richard who seemed to be smiling kindly at her. She forced a smile, replying the man.

"Thank you for taking my daughter, Sir,

" said Briana in a friendly manner, even though she didn't really like seeing Richard close to her daughter, even more so that she dared to take Ellena home like this.

"You're welcome, Ma'am. I came here only intending to take your daughter home, there's no intention whatsoever.

" Richard replied as if he could catch the negative aura that radiated from Briana's face.

"Oh yes, thank you very much. I'm so glad that Ellena has a kind boss like you, Sir.

" Briana said with a smile, not wanting to show disdain in front of the man.

"I'm just doing my responsibilities as a boss. There's no way I can let my employees go home alone at night like this.

" Richard replied again with a smile and Briana responded with the same thing.

"All right, then I'll excuse myself, Madam,

" said Richard again, bowing slightly as a sign of respect to his elders.

"Don't come in first, Sir?

" Briana asked pleasantly.

"Thank you, Madam. Maybe another time,

" said Richard.

"Oh, fine. Thank you again for your kindness, Mr.. Richard,

" Briana whispered, trying hard to hide her distaste for the man.