Ari and Ray looked at each other surprised for none of them had expected the other to be burning the midnight oil. It was one of those awkward moments that Ari had wished never to experience. He advanced towards the left, Rey mirroring his act then to the right and Rey followed in his direction once more. After several failed attempts, Ari decided to end the embarassing moment.

"I'll move to the left, you stay where you are."

"Yes, branch manager."

Upon successfully passing through, Ari stiffened his back and walked away however, his heart was beating too loud, his vision blurred that he prayed not to miss a step and fall to his shame. 

'I've been avoiding him for a while... Whatever is he doing here at this time of the night?"

"Branch manager, may I have a word?"

Ari stopped in his tracks and was tempted to turn Rey down but decided against it. He didn't want to give himself away than he already had. His palms felt sweaty and listening to Rey's voice only gave him shakes and shivers he couldn't ignore. 

'So all that effort was for nothing. I'm still trapped by this old and pointless feeling, panting after him just as Mun had put it.'

"I won't take much of your time branch manager." Rey said upon noticing the hesitancy from his superior.

"How may I best assist you?" Ari inquired as he turned to face Rey. He still wanted to maintain a professional atmosphere between him and this subordinate that had haunted his dreams for years on end. "I'm in a bit of a hurry therefore make it brief."

"Actually, I was hoping to catch you before you left. Team leader Mun informed me you will be away for sometime..."

"Get to the point." Ari spoke impatiently.

"A-Ah... Of course..." Rey replied feeling a little anxious. He'd pondered over having a word with Ari but the project had kept him tied up for the last couple of weeks that he hadn't had time to clear his name. The first time they met was awkward and the atmosphere around them had remained pungently tensed and bitter. Thankfully, Mun had been the one to remind him to man up to his responsibilities.

'This is work. Put aside your prejudices and perform. At the end of the day, Ari remains your superior and if you need this job as much as you've told me, then perform. That is all that's expected of you.'

Mun was right. He might not agree with his superior's personal lifestyle and preferences but that was his private life doomed to the core and he shouldn't care for it. His boss may like him but he wanted to set the record straight. As freaked out as he was the first time, it didn't matter anymore. As long as they were both in a working environment, they had to get along as subordinate and superior. 

Additionally, Rey had come to admire his boss' work ethic. As it seems, Ari had so much respect and admiration from the old staff both young and old. Most of his work if not all was praised for being impeccable not to mention, many clients would come in only seeking to have an audience with him and him alone. It was only while overwhelmed that he'd delegate his duties to other departments or colleagues however, the final verdict always remained with him.

"I wanted to thank you for taking down my resignation, and dissuading me from resigning. The past couple of weeks have presented me with a learning opportunity to grow in my career and improve. Additionally, despite working for a different environment from my original one, I find the energy of teamwork still the same with all colleagues. Of course, with your management, this has been achieved repetitively. I am also apologetic for not seeing the opportunity that was presented in front of me as I should, and lying about my reason for resigning too." 

Unable to maintain eye contact any longer, Rey added, "Earlier, I was taken off-guard with your confession that is why I didn't know how to react when I met you here..."

"Confession? What confession?" Ari asked despite a voice inside his head telling him to let it go but his pride couldn't. "I simply said I was gay and that was it."

"I-I must have misunderstood then..." Rey replied, looking back at Ari and formed a smile. "That is a relief."

'Relief? What does he mean relief?' Ari wondered to himself, angry yet too prideful to ask aloud at the same time. 

"Well then, I appreciate you for taking time to listen to me. I shall be on my way..."

"What do you have against homosexuals?"

"Pardon?" The question took Rey off-guard. He had an answer for it but didn't want to cause discord with his superior right after making amends.

"You heard me. What do you have against people like us?"

"None at all."

"None at all? Your disgust to share the same room with me can be seen all over your face."

Rey remained quiet for a brief moment not knowing what to say. He'd expected to be called out but he still believed he did nothing wrong. After all, what is a guy seeing in someone of the same gender with them? The mare fact that a man found him worth an attraction repulsed him; it made him self-conscious and nightmares of men coming to confess to him had flooded his mind for days to the point of sleeping with his pants on. 

"How typical." Ari smirked. "You discriminate us but have no words to defend your prejudice."

"Why?" Rey whispered seeming irritated. His question felt heavy to ask and listen to at the same time.

"Why I'm I gay or how I'm I gay?" Ari asked as a matter of fact. He'd faced this scenario many times and lost friends because of it but then, he hadn't stalked them like he did Rey while in collage, neither had they been a long time crush he'd thought had died. Even now, as Rey stood in front of him, Ari payed attention to each and every feature of his body, the movement of his jaw, the parting of his lips, his large hands, his rounded eyes and the lingering body odor specific to him that despite masking it with perfume, Ari could still manage to pick Rey's scent out.

"Both. It's strange and that's that." Rey replied shamelessly. 

"A man should be with a woman, correct?"

"Exactly."

"That was a rhetorical question." Ari said, hiding his hurt but fought to stand his ground. "Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts on my sexual preference. It sure will help me steer off from people like you..."

"I saw you two. You and that man kissing." Rey interrupted, pausing briefly to see Ari's reaction. "Your flustered expression gives you away branch manager Ari. I didn't need to see that neither does anyone within the office premises. I may sound as if I'm overstepping my boundaries but I have seen that man before whilst collecting data of the project we were working for."

'Damn that client!' "You eavesdropped on us?"

"No. I had gone downstairs to the printing room and I saw you escorting him to parking. Of course you wouldn't know if someone was around but I did see you two sharing an unwarranted intimate moment..."

"Mr. Rey," Ari's expression turned cold. Despite his flushed face betraying him, he still refused to admit feeling embarrassed. "Is this conversation leading to some blackmail or what?"

"No Manager Ari. Please do not misunderstand me. I'm not one to judge how the company bags major clients but discretion is necessary for such kind of a peculiar relationship, especially a homosexual one." 

"That was a low blow." Ari shifted his gaze towards the floor unable to face Rey anymore. There was no doubt in the meaning behind the remark. Clearly, Rey was being a jerk yet here he was, taking it all in just like the many times he'd been ridiculed by those that shared the same thoughts with Rey. Still, a desperate need to defend himself pushed him to clear his name, especially to an obnoxious homophobe like the person standing in front of him. 

"I don't sleep with clients. It is unethical in my book of practice. The gentleman as you said is a client of this company and is aware of my sexual orientation. Even if it puts you off, people like me exist and some of them end up being clients of this company. If you were watching us, I'm sure you must haven noticed the gentleman advancing foreword to kiss me despite fighting him off. It was forced. As disgusted as you were, or still are, believe that people like me undergo sexual harassment and that is not acceptable in any moral book."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Wow." Ari couldn't contain his anger any longer. "You are one obnoxious bastard."

"I know what I saw."

"Nonetheless, whatever happened, happened outside company premises so think whatever you want. Additionally, I'm sure you enjoyed the show to have stood by and watched. I wonder, if that man had gone overboard, would you still have stood by?"

"Maybe that's how gays do it. You were two men after all."

"Screw you!" Ari exclaimed in anger. "Do whatever you like with what you saw! Some apology that was! In fact, go to hell and die!"

"I assure you, if there is anyone going to screw me, it's going to be a woman. I do not care how old they are, pretty or ugly. As long as it's a woman, I'm fine." Advancing towards an infuriated Ari, Rey added. "I respect you as my superior but the stunt you pulled a few minutes ago with another man was unsightly. Both of you need to go get fixed. 

There are plenty of hospitals for broken people like you."