Love Like Chocolate

“The perfect chocolate?” William asked sarcastically as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Yes. The perfect chocolate.” Lance replied seriously, despite his friend’s obvious mockery. “You think I’m joking?” He added questioningly.

“No offense, but yes. There is no such thing as a perfect chocolate.” William scoffed. “There are good chocolates, great chocolates, but there would never be such a thing as a perfect chocolate.” He raised an eyebrow at Lance.

The two had known each other ever since they were little boys. They attended the same school, went to the same university, not to mention that their parents are business partners.

Lance is taller than William, he has straight black hair, tanned skin, and a slim but muscular body. They were both good looking men, and everywhere they go, heads would always turn.

They were in a crowded coffee shop, merely a block away from their office, and as usual, they could feel the heavy stares. It had been like that most of Lance’s life, but even after 25 years, he still isn’t used to all the attention.

“You’ll see, I’ll find the perfect chocolate. Then I’ll shove it into your mouth to shut you up.” Lance said in a jest. “You are supposed to be supportive, you know. The last time I checked friends support each other. They don’t crush each other’s dreams.”

“Well, a true friend would wake you up from an impossible dream and bring you back to reality.” William replied with a grin.

“I need a normal friend.” Lance said sarcastically.

“What is your idea of a perfect chocolate anyway?”

“A perfect chocolate would please all the senses. Eating it would give them the sensation of bliss they always yearned for. They would feel pure happiness, not just because of the chemicals, but because of the mere fact that they are eating it.” Lance said with his eyes closed. He sounded very serious which only convinced his friend that he is out of his mind. “That’s what chocolate is all about: making anyone who eats it happy.”

“Seriously dude, do you need some help?”

“I’m not crazy, William.” Lance complained.

“That’s what they all say.” William said and then laughed. “Have you ever heard anyone admit they’re crazy?”

After their coffee break, Lance and William went back to their office. Frost Industries is a company owned by William’s family; a prominent fixture in the food industry. Owning countless restaurants; from fast food to fine dining.

Right after graduating college, Lance started working at the company, even though his father asked him to go back to England and work for their hotel chain, he opted to work there instead. Hotels are simply not his thing. He likes working with food better.

“All these work and stress just because of that food expo.” William complained inside the elevator. “Man, I can’t wait till it’s finally over.”

“We could go for a drink tonight, it’s a weekend tomorrow.” Lance suggested. He was getting tired and stressed as well. “I really need to unwind. I feel like my head is going to explode with all the work piled up.”

“That sounds great.” William said excitedly. Lance knew what was on William’s mind at that moment; he would get drunk and flirt with every woman he finds attractive.

The amount of work that Lance had to do was piling up at an incredible pace, because of the huge food expo that Frost Industries was planning. He was the one in charge of finding concessionaires for the expo; from the most popular restaurants to the most hidden, from the priciest food to the most affordable. He also had to make sure that everything that would be featured in the expo is up to standards.

Although it was a chance for him to find the perfect chocolate, Lance couldn’t even think of using that opportunity for his own goal. He wouldn’t sacrifice the company just to fulfill his dream. Admittedly, though, Lance had made his staff look for chocolate cafés to be featured in the expo, the amount of which was incredible. He had to taste all of the samples bought, only to be disappointed.

A knock came on Lance’s office door and his executive assistant, Abigail, walked in. “What is it?” Lance asked, not looking at Abigail, as he continued on reading the files on his desk.

Abigail handed Lance a piece of paper. It was a medical report ordering Abigail for a complete bed rest for a month, because of her sensitive pregnancy. Lance was surprised, he didn’t know that Abigail was pregnant. He looked at Abigail’s tummy and didn’t see any signs of pregnancy. “You’re pregnant?!”

“Three months…” Abigail said shyly but happily. “Mr. Wolfe, sir…” Abigail trailed of hesitantly.

“I know that tone. You need something. You’re asking for a leave, aren’t you?” Abigail nodded. “When?” Lance asked her with a smile. He was happy for her.

Lance was never the snob boss. He was never rude to his employees, if anything he was the nicest superior anyone could have. His staff likes him a lot. “Well, the doctor said the sooner the better… next week, perhaps?” Abigail looked a little bit worried.

“As much as I want to approve that leave, with the amount of work I have piled up right now, I don’t think I could afford even a day without an assistant. I’ll have to find a replacement first before I can approve your leave, and a week is just too short.” Lance said guiltily.

“Don’t worry, Sir, I have everything under control. I talked to a friend as soon as I got the news and she said she could cover up for me. Well, until you find a replacement.” Abigail said.

“I don’t think I could just hire your friend that easily.” Lance said regretfully. “I still have to look at her credentials. Even if it’s only until I find a suitable replacement, working with an unqualified employee is still not an option for me.”

“She is very reliable, she had the same degree as mine, we graduated from the same university, we have very near GPA’s, plus she is very hardworking and a fast learner. She is organized, and a team player…” Abigail spoke swiftly not giving Lance any chance to counter her.

“Abigail, stop before you oversell her.” Lance finally gave in. “Okay, I’ll trust you on this one, but could you take responsibility for her?” Abigail nodded enthusiastically. “Fine, you could have your leave effective on Monday. And congratulations on your pregnancy again.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

With his eyes covered by his shades, Vincent Cromwell walked out of the arrival area of the airport. He took his shades off to look for his friends and immediately caught the attention of many. He was not that tall but very good looking. His skin was even paler than before, after spending almost four years in Europe.

Vincent was used to the attention. He wasn’t bothered or affected by it at all, mainly because he simply ignores them to the point of denying that they even exist.

He saw two familiar figures waving a placard with his name on it. He walked towards them with a big smile on his face. Melissa and Jovan are two of his closest friends, and he was really happy to see them. The first thing that he noticed, though, was that Abby was missing.

He took Melissa by the cheeks and then kissed her. Then he did the same to Jovan.

Jovan pushed him away instantly. “What the hell?” Jovan looked really embarrassed. “Everyone is staring.”

“Relax. I just missed you guys. Besides, that’s how they greet each other in Europe.” Vincent said teasingly with a smile. “Just let them stare all they want, they’re probably just jealous because we make such a cute couple.” Vincent took Jovan by the cheeks again and pulled him closer teasingly.

“Okay, that’s enough horsing around.” Melissa said with a smile and pulled the two apart. The three of them walked towards the parking lot and got in Jovan’s car. Melissa sat on the back and Vincent was on the passenger seat as Jovan drove.

Vincent was naturally a playful guy. He is friendly most of the time, but when he gets serious, it would be a mistake to fool around. He is an out-going person but really tends to shove people he doesn’t like away.

He met his friends at college, they all have the same majors and were practically inseparable. The four of them became really close to the point of Jovan ending up marrying Abby. That might have happened to him and Melissa as well if only she was his type.

“Where’s Abby anyway. I thought all of you are going to welcome me?” Vincent said.

“Well, she had to be in the office today, because she had to file for a maternity leave.” Jovan said with a big smile.

“No way!” Vincent sounded ecstatic, the moment he heard the news. “Congratulations! How long had she been pregnant, why didn’t you tell me?”

“We just found out yesterday. The doctor said that it’s a sensitive pregnancy, so she had to take a complete bed rest. Don’t worry, we can still afford to throw you a party tonight.” Jovan said excitedly.

“Yes, good for the two of you.” Melissa said sarcastically. “Meanwhile I have to cover for her, because of her sudden leave. Seriously, there’s a reason why I built my own store and hired my own assistants. I hate boring desk jobs.” Melissa complained and Vincent could hear her boredom.

“It’s just for a few days, I’m sure you could manage.” Jovan said.

“Why don’t I send one of my assistants instead? Or better yet why don’t you just send one of yours? Why does she have to continue on working there anyways, when you have your own business?” Melissa complained nonstop.

“I could cover for her.” Vincent suddenly said.

“Really!” Melissa sounded very happy. “That sounds really great!” She said without thinking twice.

“Are you sure about that Vince? Your shop is opening this month, you’re going to be busy.” Jovan said.

“I’m used to having several jobs remember, and after going through the last four years of my life, I could pretty much handle multiple jobs at a time. Plus, I’m sure Abby’s boss would be happier to have me than Melissa.” Vincent teased as he looked back at Melissa.

“Hey!” She complained. “So you graduated top of the class, that doesn’t mean you’re better than me. The real world is different.” Melissa defended herself.

Vince chuckled at Melissa’s reply. They all knew he meant differently. Melissa can never last working for someone else. Instead of assisting, she would be more of a hindrance.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lance and William arrived at The Haven -a newly opened high-class club- wearing casual clothes. There were a lot of people in the club that night, all looking posh and rich. And as soon as the two walked in, eyes turned in their direction.

“This is going to be a good night.” William said with his usual smile.

They went straight to the bar and ordered some drinks. “Don’t get too drunk, or else you’ll start doing stupid things again. And I don’t want to get caught in the middle of your troubles again.” Lance said in a strict tone.

“Relax, this night is going to be smooth.” William was very confident.

Not long after, two girls approached the bar. They kept on looking at William and Lance, sending off flirty vibes as they kept on making eye contact with them. One of the girls even made sure her lips would get wet as she drank her cocktail.

William stood up and talked to them for a few moments. When he walked back to Lance, he was accompanied by the two. “Lance this is Amy and Sandra, girls this is my friend.” William introduced with a flirty smile.

Being bothered on the inside, Lance only gave a small smile. He really didn’t want to socialize with anyone that night, especially with someone whom he knows that would only flirt with him. He really doesn’t believe in showing someone even the slightest of affection if you don’t intend on ending up in a relationship.

It was already too late to tell William not to involve him any further, the next thing he knew, he was in the middle of the dance floor with Amy. The girl was really trying to get to him. She was dancing so close to him and Lance was starting to feel really uncomfortable.

Amy was very out-going. She was doing everything she could to get her body closer to Lance. She was dancing sexily in front of him, but Lance just wanted to look away. Having people’s eyes on him was enough to make him very uncomfortable. Having someone dance in front of him in a seductive way just made him want to run away.

He wasn’t paying attention to the woman and simply looked away. As he did, someone in one corner of the club caught his attention. For the first time in his life, he learned how it feels to be attracted to someone, to want to look at that person as much as you can, to want to engrave in your mind that person’s face, and to want to get close to that person no matter what.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Could we please go home?” Vincent complained to Melissa. He was really tired. After having a dinner party with Jovan and Abby, Melissa asked them to come with her to that club. And since Abby was pregnant, Vincent was left alone with Melissa. Vincent really wanted to go home and rest but he just couldn’t let Melissa go alone. He was sure that Melissa would cause trouble if she is left by herself.

“We haven’t even danced yet. I haven’t even met any cute guys.” Melissa said and looked at the dance floor. “Wait.” She said with a gleam on her eyes.

“Oh no.” Vincent said. He knew what that look meant.

Melissa stood up and pulled Vincent to the dance floor. “Come on, I saw two guys in the middle.” Melissa sounded excited.

Vincent looked at the guys. He saw them dancing with girls, well, the other guy was sort-of dancing. He looked like he wanted to run away. He must admit, though, both guys were good looking. Of all the people on the dance floor, those two stood out of the crowd. Vincent could even see people around staring at them.

“They’re dancing with someone else.” Vincent tried to get Melissa to give up. Melissa ignored him.

He danced with Melissa near the two guys. Vincent could see the girl dancing with the taller man was really trying to get into him, tut the man doesn’t look like that he was into her at all.

Somehow, Vincent found it very difficult to look away from the man. The whole time he was dancing, his eyes were on the same man. Everything around him became a blur and all he could focus on was that one man.

If he wasn’t so tired that night, Vincent would have loved dancing, but all he wanted to do that night was to rest.

At first, everything was going smoothly, but then Vincent felt someone getting close to him from behind, and when he turned around it was already too late. A man already had his hands on Vincent’s chest and butt. The man – who reeked of alcohol – was feeling Vincent’s body through his clothes.

He looked for Melissa for help, but she was already gone dancing so close to the other guy.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lance couldn’t believe his eyes; a drunken man was harassing another younger man. The drunken man was touching the young man’s body, feeling it. The young man looked grossed out and looked very helpless.

Although Lance could see why the drunken man would want to get into the young man, he still couldn’t understand why he needed to harass him. The young man was very good looking, and Lance could see people staring at him.

He wanted to help him, first because he seemed so helpless, and second, it was the same man in the corner that caught his attention.

Without even thinking twice, Lance took the drunken man’s hands and threw it off before pulling the young man closer to him. Without saying any words, he pulled the young man out of the dance floor towards the bar.

“Thanks.” The young man said with a wonderful smile.

Lance was about to ask the young man’s name but then another commotion started on the dance floor. He saw William between Sandra and another young woman. They were fighting and William was trying his best to stop them, although he looked like he was enjoying the attention.

William was to blame for everything, Lance just knew. “Great, William, just great.” Lance complained.

“Oh, Melissa, I knew it.” The young man said looking at the other woman. He sounded very irritated and very tired.

On the dance floor, the two girls were clawing and pushing each other.

“I saw him first!” Lance heard Sandra said as he approached the commotion. Lance pulled Sandra away while William held the other girl back.

“So what if you’re first, I definitely look better than you.” The one named Melissa said. “And he obviously likes me better.”

“Oh yeah!” Sandra sounded very angry and managed to get away from Lance and pulled Melissa’s hair.

Melissa looked very angry, and in an instant, she had Sandra’s hair on her hands. “Melissa! Stop it!” Lance saw the young man approached Melissa, he looked really angry “I leave for one second and this is what happens.”

“She started it…” Melissa sounded afraid as she let go of Sandra’s hair and moved away.

“I don’t care who started it. We’re going home.” The young man looked very serious. Lance could see that Melissa was afraid of him. “I would say sorry for her if you haven’t been violent as well.” The young man said to Sandra before pulling Melissa away.

They haven’t even taken one step when Melissa took a glass of cocktail from someone on the side and threw the contents towards Sandra. She must’ve been tipsy because her aim was way off and the liquid landed on Lance’s clothes instead.

Just his luck, he was only trying to help but then he got messed up instead. The young man turned around and saw the mess on Lance’s clothes. “Great…” The young man exclaimed.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The night couldn’t have gone any worst. Melissa caused trouble, big time. “I’m so sorry.” Vincent apologized once again to the man who saved him, to the man Melissa threw a cocktail to.

The man was trying to clean his clothes in front of the mirror in the men’s room. The man only looked at him and smiled. Vincent felt really guilty, although he wasn’t the one who caused the mess.

Vincent took a tissue and wet it. “Here, I’ll lend you a hand.” Vincent wiped the stain from the man’s clothes which were very near to the man’s chest.

The man stopped cleaning and Vincent could feel that he was staring at him. Vincent looked up and saw the man was really looking at him. Seeing the man up close, Vincent could see how good looking the man.

“What’s your name?” The man suddenly asked.

“Vince.” He was really nervous for some reason.

“Well Vince, you could stop feeling my chest now.” Vincent looked at his hands and saw that the tissue was already on the floor and yet his hand was still on the man’s chest. Vincent pulled his hand away, embarrassed. “By the way, Vince, my name is Lance.”

That was the most embarrassing night of his life. He just simply wanted to forget that it even happened. Vincent couldn’t stop thinking about that day, he couldn’t stop feeling embarrassed. He spent the next day feeling bad about that night. He just hoped that on Monday, he could forget everything when he starts covering up for Abby at the office.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lance arrived at the office and was greeted by his department’s supervisor. “Director Wolfe.” Fredrick Jones sounded enthusiastic. “Abigail’s replacement is waiting in your office. I looked at his resume and it is pretty impressive, I think we should convince him to stay in the company for good.”

“Wait… him?” Lance was confused. “Abigail said it was woman, didn’t she?” Lance asked Jones as they walked in the elevator.

“Well, Vincent Cromwell said that something came up and he ended up being the replacement instead. You won’t be disappointed in him, he graduated top of his class.” Jones said.

Lance didn’t know what to expect of his new temporary assistant. When he entered his department, he could hear all the female employees gossiping excitedly, apparently, they were talking about his new assistant. They were all saying how good looking the guy was.

Opening the door of his office, Lance saw a very familiar man standing up, and walking towards the door in a hurry. It was the man he met at the club, Vince. Lance automatically smiled as soon as he saw Vince in his office. Who knew that such a pleasant surprise would be waiting for him that morning? “You’re not trying to run away, are you?” Lance said and walked towards his desk.

Vince looked very troubled and embarrassed when he sat in front of Lance’s desk. Vince’s resume was on top of Lance’s desk, but Lance couldn’t care less about it. Even if Vince was unqualified for the position, Lance would still hire him without any second thought.

“Who would have thought that we would meet again like this?” Lance smiled at Vince. For some reason, Vince couldn’t look directly at him. Lance was wondering why Vince was acting embarrassed in front of him. Was it because of what Melissa had done? Then Lance remembered the incident at the restroom.

Lance scoffed. It was not his intention to make Vince feel embarrassed at all. He was nervous at that time and didn’t know what to say exactly. “So your full name is Vincent Cromwell.” Lance stood up and went to one side of his office where his espresso machine was.

He made two cups, the other one for Vince. He looked at Vince and saw that he was still looking pretty embarrassed. Seeing Vince like that made Lance just want to tease him even more. It was the first time he ever felt the urge to tease anyone at all.

Lance walked towards Vince and offered him the cup of coffee. Vince took it reluctantly. “Ahhh…” Lance reacted as he moved away from Vince. A small smile was visible on his lips. Vince looked at him confused. “Sorry, I thought you were going to pour the coffee on me.” Lance said with a teasing smile. He was surprised by the way he was acting as well.

Vince frowned, he looked pretty pissed. Lance remembered how scared Melissa was when Vince became serious; he had to tread carefully to not anger Vince. He looked at Vince again and saw that he wasn’t angry, but very embarrassed instead. Lance was amazed by how Vince looked. He never thought that a man as handsome as Vince could make such a cute expression.

For some reason, Lance couldn’t stop smiling. He sat down on the chair in front of Vince. “You must be really popular.” Lance said. “The ladies outside are talking about you. The girls at the club were staring at you. And don’t forget that perverted man. Does that always happen to you?” Lance asked.

Vince looked at Lance and sighed, exhausted, and still looked very embarrassed. “What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you saying anything? Well, it seems that from now on, we’ll have to work together, so you might want to start talking to me. We could work together better that way.” Lance stretched his hand forward intending to shake hands with Vince.

Vince looked at his hands with hesitation. Vince bit his lip and looked very nervous. “Don’t worry, I just want to shake your hands, I won’t touch anywhere else.” Lance said with a smile.

Vince’s expression changed and became really pissed. “Fine, I get it.” Vince stood up. Lance had done it. He was being careful not to remind Vince of the incident at the restroom, he knew that it was what causing Vince discomfort. He didn’t want to piss Vince at all, but that’s exactly what he did.

“Where are you going?” Lance was very worried when he saw Vince walking away.

“I’m going home. It’s obvious that you still couldn’t forget what happened at the club, and it’s clear to me that it would be impossible for us to work together without making each other uncomfortable.” Vince looked very serious. “If you didn’t like me then you could have said so earlier, you didn’t have to make me feel even worse than I already am.” Vince’s expression changed, he looked really hurt.

Lance felt really guilty. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Vince. He didn’t want Vince to go away, he wanted Vince to stay and work close to him. He wanted Vince close to him.

Lance stood up. “Who said that I don’t like you?!” He blurted out.