The Rise of the White Lotus

Time passed by in a blink of an eye for Beauty DR and it was time for the employees to go home. One after another, everyone left the office, while Lexi was still inside the lab doing lab samples.

"Boss, I'm off." From the door, Nico informed her which stopped her work temporarily and raised her head up.

"Take care." Lexi nodded in understanding. Nico offered a meek smile as he slowly closed the door. With that being said, Lexi returned her focus on her work. 

Almost a year ago, Nico wouldn't leave the premises unless Ethan arrived to pick her up. But now, he was like any other employee that goes home when the clock hits the time for everyone to leave. Well, he now has a lovelife and it was normal for him.

At the very least, Lexi could still rely on him anytime of the day. So, this was actually fine. Not that they have hectic schemes to prepare. Mostly, everything was peaceful for them and Beauty DR became more popular over the years.

Her collaboration with Rika Song truly broke their bottleneck and their sales skyrocketed, beating Benjamin Shao's peak sales in one month. Thus, it was safe that Beauty DR was now part of the biggest beauty line in the industry.

"What's taking that guy so long?" Minutes after Nico bid his farewell, Lexi stopped what she was doing and checked the time. Usually, Ethan would be prancing his way in here but he wasn't there yet.

Now, she wondered what could he have been doing that made him forget to tell her beforehand. "Should I go home alone?" Lexi murmured before she shrugged her shoulders and decided to wait for him for another hour. She's busy anyway, and Ethan arriving early means he would be all over her causing her to put the work for tomorrow.

"Oh well…" 

*****

Meanwhile…

"Hey Rick, I'm off. Where are you?" As he walked towards the corridor towards the elevator, Nico decided to call Lyrick Jiang as he was his first time going home without them waiting for Lexi.

"Uh," A disconsolate sigh escaped Lyrick''s lips, turning his gaze back to his crazy boss through the rear mirror of the car. "On the way." He answered, shaking his head.

"Okay. Should I wait for you?" Nico asked, pertaining that he could wait with Andy in the lobby until they arrived. After all, he felt a bit restless to go home while Lexi was still working in the lab.

"Sure. We'll be late for…" Lyrick checked the traffic ahead before he heard Jarred Guo speak. "Thirty." 

"Thirty minutes." Since Jarred gave his estimated time of arrival, Lyrick didn't need to think and repeat.

"Alright." With that being said, Nico hung up and entered the elevator going down. Minutes later, the lift stopped a few levels below and he exited the elevator, then headed towards the Human Resources Director's office.

Upon reaching the door of the said office, he knocked and without further ado, Nico opened the door. When he did, his eyes immediately landed on the pretty lady arranging the stacks of documents on the desk.

"Hey, wait, I'll be done in a minute." Andrea said, glancing at the man who was closing the door behind him. Andrea hastened, panicking as he didn't want him to wait for her again.

"It's fine. Take your time. I'll be waiting for Rick, anyway." As he walked inside the office, Nico shrugged his shoulders as he perched on the long sofa inside the office.

"Huh? They're not here yet?" Andrea paused, turned her attention to her boyfriend with a knitted brow. She then checked her wristwatch. "That's weird." She uttered. Well, everyone was used to the time Ethan Lu arrived.

That's why some employees often finish their task for the day for the reason of being fed up with dog foods. Also, Ethan Lu's reputation was scary so others just didn't want to look at him, afraid he would find fault in them or assume they're looking at his wife. 

Indeed, Ethan Lu had already lost his mind. What a shame. If Andrea didn't know better, he would also feel scared at the terrifying reputation Ethan Lu has for monopolizing the business industry. Even the beauty line, the Lu Corporation had entered it by collaborating with Beauty DR. Now, that's what they call a power couple.

"Mr. Lu must have another grand idea to show his love." Nico guessed, shrugging his shoulders because it was obvious by the sound of Lyrick during their brief phone call.

"Ohh…" Andrea nodded in understanding, not doubting Nico's assumption as it wasn't surprising if Ethan Lu had that kind of plan. After all, he had executed such a romantic act and some of them caused punishment as he had gone over the line.

A literal lost cause. Andrea couldn't unsee all those moments. Ethan's image for her, and for those close employees of his truly shattered to pieces. There was no way of bringing back the dignified and wise image of the business king. Just a hopelessly in love husband that was fanboying his wife every second of every day.

Andrea continued to fix the documents, placed some inside the desk drawer while leaving some on the desk. Just as Andrea looked up, she jolted as Nico was already standing in front of the desk. "Gosh… you startled me." She muttered in relief, patting her chest.

Nico leaned on the edge of the desk, tilting his head to the side. "You can ask me to help." He said with a frown. He'd been here and as usual, Andrea wouldn't ask him for help. She would rather make him wait until she finished. Not that he minded the waiting, he just preferred that she should start relying on him too.

"This is an easy task. Why would I…" Her words trailed off, eyes widening as he leaned down, closer, and sealed her lips.

"Because you never rely on me on hard tasks, rely on me on simple tasks instead." He whispered, biting her bottom lip playfully. Andrea gulped down, nodding her head as her cheeks blushed.