TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

One bright morning, Vonda smiled at the guard on duty, then walked into the office. Feeling refreshed, she walked with her mind wandering.

It’s still Tuesday, but why does it feel as refreshing as a weekend? Hm… even though yesterday was quite exhausting. But…

“Hehehe.”

Unconsciously, Vonda laughed. She did not know why her mind was drifting back to yesterday’s event. When she and Max had fried chicken in her unit.

Frankly, Vonda had not expected the chicken dinner to last that long. Much longer than Vonda had originally anticipated.

At first, Vonda thought they would eat comfortably while watching TV. Yeah… maybe it would take an hour or two at the most. But guess what? Max ended up leaving at eleven in the evening. Something that puzzled Vonda.

How could it take so long?

Vonda stopped in front of the elevator, paying no attention to the other employees who were also waiting for the elevator. She was lost in her own thoughts. After the impromptu venting session, Vonda finally gave in to Max’s suggestion. That is, to change the movie.

Thinking about it, whether she liked it or not, Vonda burst out laughing again.

Oh, my goodness. Such a big and tall guy. Who would have thought that he’s actually a coward? Hahaha.

The amusement had not quite worn off, however, when Vonda remembered the backup movie she’d chosen. Kung Fu Panda.

“Hahaha!”

Several pairs of eyes immediately turned to Vonda, who suddenly burst out laughing herself. They exchanged glances with furrowed brows, as if they collectively found her behavior disturbing.

“Ahem!”

Vonda cleared her throat. She quickly brushed her hair back around her ears to cover the embarrassment and awkwardness caused by her sudden laughter.

Oh, my goodness. They must think I’m crazy.

Trying to compose herself, Vonda stepped into the open elevator door. Just as she turned around, the source of her morning laughter entered.

Max walked in. Vonda remembered his anxious expression. And Vonda burst out laughing again.

“Hahaha!”

Now there was Max, looking at Vonda in confusion. With a furrowed brow, he approached and stood next to Vonda. He glanced over and noticed that Vonda was struggling to hold back her laughter with one hand.

“Ahem!”

Vonda cleared her throat again.

“Good morning, Sir.”

Max looked at her in confusion.

“Good morning, Ma’am,” Max replied casually. “You seem very happy today, Ma’am?”

Vonda pursed her lips, trying to hold back the amusement that was about to turn into laughter. She took a deep breath. It was enough to calm her laughter and make it more composed.

“Uh… maybe it’s the effect of yesterday, Sir.”

Max blinked, his forehead wrinkling even more. Instinctively, he turned and asked, “Yesterday?”

Vonda rolled her eyes, looking a little embarrassed. “Uh…”

Oops, she slipped up again.

“The pre-order schedule for my favorite shoes opened, Sir.”

“Oh.” Max nodded in acknowledgement.

The elevator door opened, and with the courtesy of an employee, Vonda gestured for Max to step out first.

“Please, Sir.”

Vonda then followed Max’s footsteps from behind. She remained silent the entire way until they entered a room with a closed door.

Vonda kept walking, assuming that Max would go straight to his office. But she was wrong, for what happened next was that Max chose to sit at his desk.

“You were laughing at me, weren’t you?”

At first Vonda wanted to deny it, but oh my goodness. She had been so careful to keep her amusement in check, and now Max himself was the one causing it. Her mind spontaneously recalled the moment.

“Hahaha!”

Max’s eyes widened immediately. “It’s true, right? You were laughing at me back there.”

“Hahaha!”

Max raised his hand and pointed at Vonda, who was still laughing heartily.

“You really went too far. A horror movie can make you that happy?”

Vonda’s laughter escalated. In fact, she started pounding on the desk, unable to contain the overwhelming ticklish sensation.

“It’s not like that, Max. It’s just…” Vonda took a deep breath. “… I just didn’t expect it, you know?”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Max’s expression immediately turned to annoyance.

“You’re a big and tall guy, and your name is as cool as it gets.”

Max’s eyes rolled lazily. He could already sense the direction of Vonda’s conversation.

“Why would you be afraid of a horror movie?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… Go ahead and laugh to your heart’s content,” Max said with a raised eyebrow. He could bet that this horror movie joke would not stop for a long time. He was willing to bet that Vonda would keep pestering him about it for at least a week.

Oh, damn it.

“Hang in there… hang in there…”

Max patted his chest repeatedly.

“It’s okay if I can make you this happy. I’ll consider it a good deed.”

“Hahaha. You’re too much.”

“Well, because it’s not often that I see you laughing so heartily in the morning.” Max nodded once. “No problem. I sacrifice myself in body and soul.”

Vonda stopped laughing and quickly replaced it with a broad smile. “But even without the horror movie prank… honestly, I’m genuinely happy this morning because the pre-order schedule for my favorite shoes has opened.”

Max’s eyes flickered. It was clear that there was a hint of doubt in his eyes. A hint of doubt that Vonda was more than willing to dispel. She immediately hit the power button on the computer. She addressed Max as she did so.

“Look here. I’ll show you.”

Max’s eyes went from Vonda to the computer. Swiftly typing on the keyboard, Vonda brought up a web page. Adjusting the angle of the screen slightly, she pointed it at Max and showed him the web page.

“Here’s the pre-order for those shoes I mentioned,” Vonda pointed out. “Actually, it’s been open since last night, but I haven’t placed an order yet. The pre-order closes at noon today.”

Nonchalantly, but in reality, Max unconsciously crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes fixed on the images on the screen.

“Why haven’t you ordered yet?” Max asked flatly. “Don’t you have the money?”

Vonda’s bottom lip twitched for a moment. “It’s not that I don’t have the money. Just so you know,” she continued. “I always set aside twenty percent of my salary for shopping. So, it’s not like I’m running out of money for shopping.”

This time Max snorted with a hint of derision.

“I haven’t ordered anything because I don’t have the money. Quite the opposite. I have quite a bit of money because I didn’t shop last month, and in fact, the new shoes I bought when I went shopping with your mother yesterday were bought by your mom. So, practically speaking, my shopping budget is still intact.

There seemed to be some new information that made Max’s eyes widen.

“My mom bought you shoes? Didn’t you say yesterday that Mom only gave you options?”

“Yeah, kind of. Your Mom paid for them.” Vonda nodded. “I wanted to refuse, by the way. But Mom insisted on paying. Well… it does feel a little awkward.”

“Don’t refuse,” Max said quickly.

“Huh?” Vonda blinked. “Really?”

“If Mom wants to give you something, don’t say no. Mama might get sad.”

“Oh,” Vonda murmured. “Anything?”

Max nodded. “Anything.” But his eyes widened again. “Don’t think Mom will give me to you, though.”

“Hahaha.” Vonda laughed. “Hey, haven’t you forgotten? Mom already called me the future daughter-in-law.”

“Ew!” Max made a face and blinked once. “That was just a joke.”

Vonda smiled and returned to the subject at hand. “Back to the shoes,” she said then. “Now I’m torn between buying two pairs, three pairs, or just one that’s a little more expensive.”

Max looked back at the computer screen. “Which one do you want to buy?”

Looking at the screen while her finger deftly scrolled the mouse, Vonda let out a soft sigh.

“Um… I’m not sure. They all look beautiful to me.”

“As beautiful as the shoes are, they’re still meant to be on your feet.”

Vonda looked lazily at Max. “They say the right shoes will lead us to the right person.”

“Hahaha. That’s great marketing.”

Whatever Max said was like a passing breeze in Vonda’s ears. Instead of enjoying Max’s words, Vonda tried to concentrate on the shoe pictures on the screen.

Ugh!

Vonda was almost overwhelmed by all the beautiful shoe pictures. There were many styles with different types of heels and captivating colors.

“Stop!”

A sudden exclamation from Max startled Vonda. Unconsciously, she stopped moving her finger on the mouse. With a puzzled look, Vonda turned to him.

“What?”

Max’s hand pointed to a shoe picture on the screen. “Those look good on you.”

Vonda immediately shifted her gaze to where Max was pointing. A pair of shiny black ankle-strap heels with crisscrossing straps on the back caught her eye.

“Um.”

Vonda narrowed her eyes as she looked at the shoe. She tilted her head slightly to the side.

“I’ve never worn shoes with straps like that before,” Vonda whispered softly. “Do you think it suits me?”

“I’m sure it does. Your feet are slender. They’ll look great with those straps.”

Vonda turned with a skeptical look. “You really think so?”

“Trust me,” Max said confidently. “You have beautiful feet. Long and graceful. Wearing this kind of shoe will make you even more beautiful.”

Vonda fell silent. This time, suspicion flickered in her eyes as she looked at Max, and she asked in a curious tone.

“Are you secretly looking at my feet?”

“Eh?”

Caught off guard by such a question, Max stammered. He blinked and seemed a little embarrassed.

“Are you a foot fetishist?” Vonda accused playfully, and this time, without holding back, she pointed her index finger at Max.

“Come on,” Max snapped, grabbing Vonda’s index finger and pulling it down. “I’m not a foot fetishist. It’s just that the other day there was a girl who was so confident that she sent me a photo of her feet.”

Vonda paused for a moment before breaking into a cheeky grin. “Oh.”

“Forgot, huh?” teased Max.

“Sorry,” Vonda said with a hint of embarrassment. “Besides, I didn’t think you’d actually seen the photo.”

“Like I didn’t see it. The photo automatically popped up on my phone,” Max grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah. But…” Something crossed Vonda’s mind. “You said my feet were nice, um…” Her gaze changed. “Does that mean you don’t like my face?”

A question that brought a grin to Max’s face. A mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes.

“You just figured that out now?”

Vonda growled, especially when she saw Max immediately get up and rush to his own office, closing the door behind him, leaving Vonda’s muttering echoing in the air.

“Coward!”

Meanwhile, Max’s laughter echoed in his office.

“Hahaha!”

*