4. The Polar Prince

"Oh, God. I'm finally done," Kimberly complained as she stretched her stiff neck. Kimberly took a sip of mineral water from her glass. Then she looked at the watch on her wrist. "Oh my! It's already 10 p.m."

"This is all the refrigerator director's doing," Kimberly grumbled. Kimberly peered around her dark room, which was the only one with lights.

"How did I not realize that everything was so dark?" Kimberly muttered.

She hurriedly put her things into her bag and rushed out of the room after turning off the lights.

"Hello!" she shouted as the atmosphere became very tense. Kimberly took out her cell phone and turned on the flash. She walked around, looked right and left, and then looked back. There was literally no one else there besides her.

The woman quickened her pace towards the elevator. She pressed the elevator button and waited for the elevator on the ground floor to reach the 40th floor.

"What a long time," she muttered. She couldn't possibly use the fire escape to get down. That would be too scary.

Kimberly heard footsteps approaching. She was getting more and more agitated, even as cold sweat began to break out on her temples.

"Who is it?" she shouted. "Sam... Sammy...?" Kimberly called out to the OB at the location. But there was no answer. As the elevator doors opened, there was the sound of approaching footsteps.

Kimberly rushed inside and pressed the button to close the door immediately.

"Arghhh!" Kimberly screamed, falling to the floor as someone held the elevator door.

"Leave me alone; go away. I don't care about ghosts!" Kimberly said this while covering her face with both hands.

"Do I look like a ghost?" The question made Kimberly freeze in place. She peeked through the cracks in her fingers and saw a handsome man in a neat suit standing tall in front of her.

The woman lowered her hand and stared at the figure in front of her. "Mr. Danial?"

"Yes, do I look like a ghost?" Danial inquired coldly.

"Not at all. You're too handsome to be a ghost," Kimberly replied innocently. "Umm, I mean..." Kimberly was unaware of the words she was uttering.

Danial said, "Get up," while pressing the button of the elevator that was stuck on the floor.

Kimberly tried to get up, but she fell again because her heel slipped.

"Do you always have problems with your shoes?" Danial joked while extending his hand toward Kimberly.

Kimberly accepted his hand and moved from her position until her body collided with his chest.

Deg

Their touch enthralled Danial. The warm touch evoked memories of someone, and the look in those eyes bore a striking resemblance to the woman he knew in the past.

Danial quickly dismissed her hand and kept his distance from Kimberly, leaving her flustered with an uncomfortable feeling.

"Umm, I thought you had gone home," Kimberly said, opening her voice to break the awkwardness between them.

"I still have work to do. Besides, I usually work late at the office," Danial said, to which Kimberly nodded her head in reply.

"I thought there was no one around. So tense," Kimberly joked.

"Didn't you use your eyes to look into my dimly lit room?"

Kimberly was awkward enough to hear Danial's cold and piercing words. "I didn't look in there. Maybe I was too scared," Kimberly replied.

Ting

The ground-floor door was wide open. Kimberly followed Danial out of the elevator. They both walked out of the office lobby, where Danial's personal driver was standing next to a luxury car with the passenger door wide open.

Before getting into the car, Danial stopped his steps.

"What are you taking?" Danial asked.

"I'll take an online taxi home."

"Can't a famous lawyer like you afford a car?" Danial's question clearly offended Kimberly.

"I have a car," Kimberly replied.

"So?"

"The car is being serviced. And what does it matter if I have a car or not?" Kimberly asked irritably.

Danial replied, "I'm just asking," as he got into his car, forced the driver to close the rear passenger door, and drove off, leaving Kimberly frozen in place.

"What a heartless polar person!" He asked me about my preferred mode of transportation, "leading me to believe that he intended to take me home. It turns out it was just to insult me. Really annoying," Kimberly grumbled.

Soon after, her online taxi arrived. Kimberly got into the car.

***

Kimberly walked languidly to her house. Kimberly's house was quite large, with a large yard. Her father was very fond of the classic-style house, which he built while her mother and father were still alive.

"Hey Kim."

The call made Kimberly turn her head toward the source of the voice.

"Ertan?"

"You just got off work at this hour?" asked Ertan.

"Yes," Kimberly replied while holding the back of her neck.

"Didn't you just join a new company? How can you work overtime at the beginning of work?" asked Ertan.

"I don't know. Stop asking about work; it makes me sick. I'm so tired," she complained.

"Alright, then we're going in," said Ertan.

"When did you come?"

"Two hours ago, I played chess with your father." Ertan explained, "And I waited for you to come home when he was asleep."

"Okay, by the way, aren't the police busy?" asked Kimberly.

"There are no criminals on the loose anymore," Ertan joked.

"That means our country is crime-free, huh?" said Kimberly.

"Then I'll be unemployed because I don't have a job." They both laughed as they entered the house.

They walked into the kitchen. Kimberly served wine in two-foot glasses. They took a small sip and sat down opposite each other.

"I heard you joined the GM company?" asked Ertan.

"Yes, I've only been working as a GM lawyer for two days," Kimberly replied.

"What's it like working there?"

"I don't know yet, but so far, it feels pretty good. The offer was big enough to get me interested. I even earn twice as much as my previous law firm. I'm very happy," Kimberly said with a big smile. "At least there will be extra money for my father's treatment."

"You are a dutiful child. Since prosperity has always been a hallmark of your life, I assumed that misfortune would depress you. Unexpectedly, you were able to rise up and become someone to be proud of," Ertan said, making Kimberly chuckle.

"I don't know; I guess I'm used to life being harder than this. And the current situation isn't the worst in my life," Kimberly replied.

"Yeah, you can definitely make your dad proud," Ertan says, to which Kimberly nods.

Ertan and Kimberly are close friends. They went to school together, but in college, they had different majors. Ertan immediately pursued a military education.

***

The next day during working hours. Kimberly didn't go straight home because she had an appointment with Danial. She'd prepare herself in her room so as not to go back and forth.

Kim turned to the door when she heard a knock.

"Yes, come in."

"Ms. Kim, this is a gift from Mr. Danial for you," said a woman whom Kim knew as Danial's secretary. The woman Kim knew as Danial's secretary said, "This is a gift from Mr. Danial for you."

"A gift?" Kimberly got up from her seat and approached the woman, who was placing two square boxes on the table.

"Mr. Danial has spoken. You can wear them to the event tonight," the woman explained.

"Oh, okay. Thank you!" Kim exclaimed.

The woman left Kimberly's room and walked away.

After she left, Kimberly opened the parcel in front of her. It was a beautiful black dress with a pair of lovely shoes.

"There's no doubt about her taste," Kimberly muttered.

The woman gazed at Danial's room, where the man resided, surrounded only by a pair of clear glass cubicles. Even when viewed from a few meters away, his attractive looks and charisma did not fade.

"Sweet polar prince," Kim murmured with a smile.

Kimberly got ready in the bathroom located on the floor. She changed into the dress Danial had given her earlier, when all the employees had gone home. The dress fit Kim's slim body perfectly and also matched and contrasted with her fair skin.

Kimberly walked out of the bathroom and into her room. She started applying her own makeup there; luckily, she had a bit of a knack for it. After a simple makeup application, she looks fresh and elegant. Kimberly takes off the hair roll she was using earlier. Using hair spray, she lightly smoothed her hair and styled it as neatly as possible.

"I think it's perfect," she muttered while wearing shoes that contrasted with the dress she was wearing. The bold and sexy black dress looked stunning on Kimberly.

She looked at the clock on her phone, and there was an incoming message.

[Car in the lobby.]

Kimberly saw an incoming message from a new number, but the profile used told her who sent it.

"Wow. Besides being a polar dweller, he also never shows up for literature class," Kim grumbled.

She hurriedly left her room to meet the man.

Arriving at the lobby, a driver was already standing next to a white luxury limousine.

"Please come in, Miss," the driver said as he opened the passenger door. "Sir is waiting for you."

"Thank you," Kimberly said, getting into the luxury car.

When the door closed, Kimberly sat down. A handsome man sat in front of her, looking dashing and charming in his black tuxedo.

The man looked at Kimberly for a long time without even blinking.

"Umm... khemm..." Kimberly's whispered voice brought Danial out of his reverie. Kimberly was relieved to be spared from the piercing gaze that made her cold.